Lower Roach End Farm

Inspection report for children's home: SC005048 1 SC005048 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this home. It provides care for children with social and/or emotional difficulties. The children’s home can care for up to eight children. There were eight children living in the home at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2024 and holds a level 5 qualification in health and social care leadership and management. She also has managerial oversight of two other children’s homes in the area, which are registered with Ofsted and have registered managers in place.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is in a remote area. The organisation has an independent school on the same site, which has a separate Ofsted registration. The inspector only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC005048 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/06/2024 Full Good 04/07/2023 Full Good 22/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC005048 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop strong, secure relationships with staff who care for them. All children were spoken with as part of the inspection. Children said they liked staff and felt safe living in the home. As a result, children can identify trusted adults who they can share any worries or concerns with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, four children have moved into the home. Children are given the opportunity to visit the home before moving in, and they receive welcome gifts. The manager ensures that children have positive experiences of moving on from the home. Staff arrange leaving parties, and children are given personalised memory books of their time. This practice helps children to prepare well for moves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a wide range of activities available for children. They enjoy taking part in activities such as swimming, visiting the skate park and dancing. Staff actively encourage children to join clubs outside of the home. This has helped children to make friends in the community and socialise with other people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children attend the on-site school, which is part of the same organisation. Staff work effectively in partnership with education professionals. Children’s attendance at school improves, and they make progress with their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. This has increased for some children. One child’s family member said, ‘Staff help with contact and ensure I can see [name of child].’ This effective support helps children to maintain important relationships and promotes their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are actively involved when reviewing their personal targets and progress plans. Children are encouraged to make wish lists of all the things they want to do. This empowers children and ensures they feel heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been some improvements to the home’s environment since the last inspection, including redecoration. However, some children’s bedrooms have damaged furniture, and there is a lack of room personalisation. The manager has plans in place to address this, but this work has not yet been completed. There are also ongoing issues with the outside play areas of the home, with uneven artificial grass on the football pitch and potholes in the basketball area. This impacts on children’s comfort while living in the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager and staff are clear about sharing safeguarding concerns with relevant individuals and on the process for escalating concerns, including using the whistle- blowing process. When a historical concern was raised about staff, this was taken Inspection report for children’s home: SC005048 4 seriously and investigated in agreement with the local authority designated officer and the child’s social worker.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

When there are incidents between children, these are managed sensitively. Staff talk to children about their feelings and emotions. This important work helps children to explore better coping strategies. One child said, ‘When I get angry, I use relaxing techniques to help me.’ Individualised incentive reward charts are used to promote positive behaviours and help children to make progress. These systems provide children with the opportunity to earn additional money for their achievements.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff only use physical interventions as a last resort to keep children and others safe. Staff receive training in how to physically intervene safely and confidently. All incidents involving restraint have been reviewed by a manager, and there are reflective discussions that take place for both children and staff. This practice helps staff to implement strategies to reduce further incidents.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

New staff are safely recruited. This helps to ensure that suitable adults are employed to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A dedicated and committed manager leads this home. She has high expectations and is passionate about supporting children to achieve their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff understand the vision for the home and what is expected of them. The manager ensures that staff receive regular supervision and feel supported in their role. Staff speak highly about the manager and feel part of the home’s development. One staff member said, ‘It’s a lovely home to work in. All the staff put the children first and go above and beyond to make the children happy during their time in the home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a wide range of training. This includes topics that are specific to the needs of the children living in the home. For example, the manager has delivered training on epilepsy management. This ensures staff are confident in managing all aspects of children’s care needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are meaningful team meetings, which are well attended by staff. These include discussions about the children and are used to review incidents and implement strategies. These provide a space for staff to reflect on practice and share knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are effective working relationships between the manager and people who are important to children. Families and professionals speak positively about the care and support children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good monitoring and reviewing systems in place. These systems help her to understand the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. This has improved the support children receive and their experiences of living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC005048 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that the children’s bedrooms have good-quality furnishings and personalisation, staff sleep-in areas are comfortable and children’s play areas are free from defects that could impact on their safety and play. 10 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC005048 6

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC005048 7

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor, Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6LR

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today

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Inspector

Kirsty Truesdale, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC005048 8 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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