Five children's homes close after 'hotel assault'

Ofsted inspectors found two children had "regular missing-from-home episodes"

An operator of privately-run children's homes has closed all five of its sites after Ofsted found a child was sexually assaulted by men at a hotel while living at one of the facilities.

Dimensions Care ran five homes in areas including Birmingham, Coventry and Telford.

The Coventry facility was inspected by Ofsted in May and rated as "inadequate" overall, with inspectors uncovering "serious failures".

Dimensions Care said it had decided permanent closure and voluntary de-registration was the "most appropriate way forward".

The company previously said it accepted Ofsted's findings and had acted "quickly and robustly" to improve care, including removing the senior operational team.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Dimensions Care revealed it had applied to Ofsted to cancel its registration as a provider of social care.

"These decisions have been extremely difficult to make, and they are outcomes that we've worked hard to avoid," the statement said.

"Disappointingly and sadly for everyone involved, there was a decline in our previous 'good' Ofsted-graded standards, which should not have happened.

"Having completed an internal investigation and after continuing to collaborate with Ofsted, we determined that the permanent closure of our homes and our voluntary de-registration is the most appropriate way forward."

Dimensions Care said it was working with local authorities to find alternative places of care for four children from across three of its homes.

Children from the other two homes had already been placed with alternative registered providers of care.

The BBC has sought clarification over the broad locations beyond Birmingham, Coventry and Telford, and whether there are multiple homes within one or more of those places.

'Chaotic'

The Coventry home was inspected on 12 and 13 May 2025, when four children were living there, with inspectors saying "serious and widespread failures" meant residents were not protected.

Ofsted's report said leadership and management at the home failed "to keep children safe" and there were "immediate risks" to the well-being of children.

Inspectors found there were "several incidents" of children harming themselves and described how two children had "regular missing-from-home episodes", and had been subject to sexual exploitation.

One one occasion, Ofsted reported, two children left the home late at night and travelled to Birmingham and then to Coventry to access nightclubs.

"On their return to the home the following morning, one child disclosed that they had been taken to a hotel by adult males and were subject to a sexual assault and possible ingestion of drugs unknowingly," the report said.

"The support for these two children following this disclosure was poor."

Inspectors said there was also "significant damage" around the home, including broken door frames, torn flooring, graffiti and overgrown nettles in the garden.

Some children at the facility said they had enjoyed certain relationships with staff, Ofsted added, but they also described the home as "poorly run and chaotic".

One child told inspectors: "We have no rules and boundaries. We run rings around them and do what we want.

"Even when I went missing last night, returned intoxicated and fell asleep on the stairs, no one has addressed this with me, and they never will," they added.

In response, a spokesperson for Coventry City Council said last month the authority took the safety and well-being of children in care "extremely seriously".

"We have robust arrangements in place to ensure provisions, where our children are placed, are regularly monitored and we respond swiftly to any concerns raised," they said.

"There are a number of private children's homes in Coventry which are not run by the local authority and have children placed in from various authorities."