Dovedale House in Derbyshire is part of Kedleston Group and supports children and young people with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

In their most recent visit, inspectors from the regulator found staff support at Dovedale was ‘excellent and impactful’ and that children are happy living in its ‘safe and homely’ environment where they receive ‘exceptional’ care.

The report noted that all children at the home have excellent school and college attendance, have made good friends and enjoy learning. They also, the report added, access an excellent range of services that promote their physical and emotional well-being. The children, inspectors noted, made progress and achieve educationally.

Close work between the team at the home and independent psychologists, who provide ‘excellent support’, has helped ‘significantly reduce’ self-harm for some children, the report noted.

There was praise too for the staff team and the manager of the home of whom inspectors said: “The manager is aspirational, passionate and child centred. She is a role model to staff and children and a great advocate.” Ofsted noted that team member at the home are ‘trained to a very high standard’ and are ‘knowledgeable and skilled’, enabling them to provide ‘exceptional care’.

The report also noted that staff love working at Dovedale and for Kedleston, saying they feel ‘incredibly well supported, saying: “I have never been happier working for a company’ and ‘I am honoured to work for this company.’

Gillian Miele, Group Head of Social Care at Kedleston Group, said: “We are thrilled that the exemplary care and support Dovedale provides, and the progress and happiness of the children who live there, have been recognised by Ofsted in this fantastic report. The team work incredibly hard to offer truly exceptional care and support.

“They are incredibly proud of the children and their achievements, and they should be rightly proud of this report.”

Read the full report here.