Creating Safe Spaces: The Importance of Quality in Residential Children’s Homes
Tuesday 10 March 2026
Last updated: Wednesday 11 March 2026
Victoria Elworthy has a track record of driving high levels of care to get the best outcomes for children and with detailed knowledge of children’s homes regulations and 21 years of experience, it’s no wonder Victoria has spearheaded our Residential Team to “Good” and “Outstanding” ratings from Ofsted. We sat down with her to discuss our recent Ofsted ratings, how she cultivates a culture that is child centred and her hopes for the future of her team.
As Head of Residential Homes, what does achieving a “Good” or “Outstanding” rating really mean in practice for the children and young people living in our homes?
Achieving a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating means that children experience consistent, safe and nurturing care. It demonstrates that children feel genuinely valued and listened to. In practice, it means strong trusting relationships with adults who know each child well and are committed to helping them grow and thrive. It reflects homes where children make real progress, emotionally, socially, and educationally.
How do you build and maintain a positive culture across our residential homes ensuring high standards of care are consistently upheld every day?
Building and maintaining a positive culture across our homes starts with clear values and high expectations that are lived, not just written. We model the standards we expect, invest in strong leadership at every level and ensure all staff feel supported, are skilled and confident to do the right thing for our children every day. Consistency is maintained through excellent reflective practice, robust oversight, and a learning culture where good practice is shared, and challenges are addressed early. By listening to our children, valuing our teams, and holding ourselves accountable, we create homes where a high standard of care is not an aspiration; they are an everyday reality.
What role do our Registered Managers and senior teams play in driving quality and achieving strong inspection outcomes?
Our Registered Managers and senior teams are pivotal in setting the tone and direction for quality across our homes. They lead by example, creating values-led homes where high expectations are clear, aspiration is high, and the children’s needs remain at the heart of every decision.
How do we ensure that children and young people feel listened to and that their views genuinely shape how our homes operate?
We feel children are listened to by building trusting relationships where their voices are sought out, respected and taken seriously every day. Our team creates safe spaces for children to share their views or worries and ideas and respond in ways that show their voice leads to real change. Our children’s feedback is actively used to shape care planning and the overall running of the home. Children can see the impact of their voice, reinforcing that they matter and that their experiences genuinely influence how our homes operate.
In residential care, the staff really make the biggest difference. How do we support, train and retain our staff, so they feel confident and feel able to deliver outstanding care?
Our teams are our greatest asset and delivering outstanding care starts with how well supported and valued they feel. We invest in high quality training, reflective supervision, and experienced, high-quality leadership, so teams have the skills and confidence needed to do their role well, even in challenging situations. Retention comes from creating a culture where people feel listened to and appreciated. The 40% reduction in turnover reflects our focus on well-being and recognition, alongside clear career pathways. When our teams feel supported and proud of the work they do children benefit from high quality care every day.
“We have had the privilege of supporting Chris Sweeney and Vicci Elworthy in the opening of two outstanding new schools and two new residential homes: Sky Vale School near Bristol, River Valley School near Rotherham, Clara House in Plymouth, and Namwera in Darite. These successes reflect exceptional teamwork between IT, Facilities, and our colleagues across the Education and Residential services. From identifying and acquiring new sites, securing planning permissions, and overseeing construction, to furnishing the buildings and navigating extensive regulatory requirements, this has been a true collective effort. The result is a set of fantastic, nurturing environments for the children and young people we educate and care for.” – Jon Reed, Head of IT and Facilities
We operate residential children’s homes across different regions; how do you ensure consistency in quality while allowing homes to retain their individuality?
Our 3 regional hubs all have consistency by having clear standards, and a shared values led approach that sets the benchmark for quality in every home. Our Regional Operations Managers have robust oversight, undertake regular visits and work closely together to ensure there is shared learning. At the same time, we encourage individuality so that each home reflects the children who live there. This balance is key to all homes to achieve outstanding outcomes while remaining warm and personal places for children to live in.
How do internal audits and feedback from children help drive continuous growth rather than just compliance?
Our internal audits, delivered through high quality reviews, are designed to strengthen practice rather than simply check compliance. Because our Responsible Individuals are operationally competent and highly credible, their feedback is practical, insightful and focused on the lived experiences of children. This helps teams to reflect honestly on what is working well and where practice can be better. When this professional challenge is combined with direct feedback from the children, it creates a powerful cycle of learning and improvement. We use both to drive meaningful action and continuously raise standards, ensuring that quality evolves and grows rather than standing still to meet minimum requirements.
When a home faces challenges, how do we ensure it receives timely support, clear oversight and effective action?
When a home faces challenges, we act early and decisively. Our ‘Line of Sight’ calls allow us to identify emerging fragilities quickly, maintaining our real time understanding of what is happening in the home and work proactively rather than reactively. Support is rooted in strong relationships and clear accountability. We stand alongside our leaders and offer practical guidance and additional resources where needed while setting clear actions and follow up. This approach ensures homes feel supported and not scrutinized and that effective sustained improvement is achieved.
How does our therapeutic and trauma informed approach contribute to the success of our residential homes?
Our ATIC ™ model and approach is at the heart of our children’s homes success, shaping how we understand, support and respond to each child’s needs. It ensures that care is not just about routines, but about helping children process experiences, manage emotions, and build resilience in safe, consistent environments. By embedding therapeutic principles into daily practice, our teams are equipped to respond with empathy, turning challenging movements into opportunities for learning and growth. Using this approach, we support stronger relationships which directly contribute to outcomes.
“The leadership teams across Residential and Fostering integrate seamlessly with Clinical Services. Meaning we can harness the therapeutic knowledge and expertise built within ATIC and ATIC-F to support ‘Turning children’s lives around.” – Richard Cross, Director of Clinical Services
From your perspective, what sets Five Rivers residential homes apart from others in the sector?
From my perspective, what sets our homes apart is the combination of our values, quality of care, and social purpose. We operate as a social enterprise, so every decision is driven by what is best for children rather than profit, ensuring investment goes directly into our people and the environments that support their growth and wellbeing. Our homes stand out because of the consistency and strength of our leadership, the highly skilled and committed teams, and our embedded therapeutic approach that shapes everything we do. Coupled with a culture of learning, reflective practice, and genuine listening to children. We never settle and are always pushing forward to be the absolute best we can.
What are your key priorities for residential services over the next year to ensure we continue to achieve and sustain high standards?
Our priorities are to focus on sustaining and building our high standards while continuing to innovate and improve outcomes for children. Firstly, maintain consistent quality across all homes. Second, investing in our teams, through using the’ Art of The Possible’ workshops and cascade this coaching, mentoring and development to ensure our teams feel able to deliver outstanding care. Thirdly embedding our therapeutic approach further and using children’s voices through the implementation of the ‘Mind of my Own’ app to share practice to keep our care truly child centred. Finally drive a culture of continuous improvement through our quality reviews, and proactive intervention to continue to evolve and move out benchmarks further to the absolute best in the sector.
Finally, what message would you like to share with our residential staff about the role they play in helping us achieve our goals.
Every member of the residential team plays a vital role in sustaining the high standards we are so proud of. It is their care and commitment that turn our values into lived experiences for our children, in the everyday moments, the difficult conversations and their actions that make children feel safe and valued. Our success is built on their compassion and willingness to reflect and grow with us. Because of them, our homes are places where children thrive. We make such a difference every single day together; our residential teams are truly what sets our homes apart.