Children's Home run by Residential Child Care Community (Town Hall) Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2819926 1 Registered provider: Residential Child Care Community (Town Hall) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed effectively by an experienced registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first time the home has been inspected since it re-registered as a new limited company.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2819926 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care from a committed team of staff who know them well. Staff take time to develop their understanding of children’s needs, which enables them to provide effective individualised care. Children said they feel confident that staff listen to their views and advocate them on their behalf.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions into the home are well planned and carefully managed by staff who use a child-focused approach. Although two children moved on from the home in an unplanned way, the registered manager and staff worked hard to make the experience as positive as possible. The staff continue to offer support and maintain contact after children move on, demonstrating their commitment to children’s ongoing emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to engage with education in a way that suits their individual needs. When barriers to learning arise, staff are proactive in working with education providers and other professionals to find effective solutions. When one child did not meet the criteria for their chosen further education course, staff worked closely with the child and external agencies to explore a range of alternative pathways. These included vocational training, apprenticeships and local college options.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer children a wide range of activities to promote their social and physical development. Staff are proactive in planning opportunities that reflect children’s individual interests and needs. Activities continue to be made available even when children initially decline to participate. This ensures that children are encouraged to engage at their own pace, helping them build their confidence and develop positive relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s independence is actively promoted in line with their individual care plans. One child has successfully progressed to full independence, with staff continuing to offer support and reassurance as required. Staff are consistently available to all children and work hard to ensure that children have the necessary skills to enable them to progress into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children’s relationships with people who are important to them. Staff actively promote and facilitate time for children with family members, friends and other significant people to ensure that these relationships can be maintained.

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

Staff have strong skills in de-escalating challenging situations and using effective communication and empathy to manage behaviours safely. As a result, there have been Inspection report for children’s home: 2819926 3 no incidents that have required the use of physical intervention, and the home has a calm and supportive environment where children feel understood and respected.

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

There has been an increase in missing-from-care incidents during this inspection period. This rise is specifically in relation to two children with complex needs and vulnerabilities. These children have since moved on from the home. Staff responded swiftly and appropriately to each incident, working closely with the police, social workers and other agencies to ensure that the children’s safety was prioritised. Staff were proactive in seeking children’s views to identify triggers for missing-from-care incidents and regularly reviewed individual risk factors to identify areas of support.

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

Advocacy is a clear strength of the home. Staff maintain an open-door policy that actively encourages children to express their views and concerns. Staff promote the involvement of independent advocates, ensuring that children have access to external support when needed. This commitment empowers children by acknowledging, respecting and taking seriously their voices in all aspects of their care.

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

Risk assessments contain clear actions for staff to follow, which supports consistent safeguarding practice. However, in some cases, they become overly focused on providing a chronology of events rather than a clear analysis of current risks and strategies to manage them. This reduces the effectiveness of documents as a risk management tool and detracts from informing staff of actions to take relating to emerging risks.

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

Bedroom door alarms are used in the home. However, they are not subject to regular review to ensure that they remain proportionate to each child’s current level of risk. As a result, their continued use does not consistently reflect children’s individual needs or changes in risk over time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is well supported by a committed deputy manager. Together, they provide strong and consistent leadership that promotes a positive environment for staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report feeling well supported by the management team, particularly during challenging periods. Staff speak positively about working at the home, highlighting strong leadership and a shared commitment across the team to providing high-quality care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular reflective supervision, which they find useful in supporting their professional development. Managers use supervision to help the team maintain high standards of practice by providing appropriate professional challenge as well as support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly. They are well attended and encourage staff participation. These meetings provide opportunities to review children’s needs, share updates on policies and discuss relevant training. The discussions are detailed and Inspection report for children’s home: 2819926 4 inclusive, ensuring that all staff are informed and involved in maintaining effective care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although the registered manager demonstrates good oversight of the home, there are some inconsistencies in staff recordings. There are occasions where recordings do not fully reflect staff practice. This limits the effectiveness of records as a reliable account of the care provided by staff. The registered manager has identified this as an area for development and has requested additional training for the staff team to promote consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff appraisals are carried out within appropriate time frames. However, they do not currently include feedback from children or external professionals. This limits opportunities to gain a full overview of staff performance, particularly in relation to the quality of relationships and multi-agency working. Inspection report for children’s home: 2819926 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 registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that surveillance alarms on bedroom doors are subject to regular review and responsive to children’s current needs. 13 August 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that risk assessments are clear and directive and do not become a chronology of events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should include the views of the children and other professionals when carrying out appraisals with staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2819926 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Residential Child Care Community (Town Hall) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 843 Finchley Road, London NW11 8NA

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Inspector

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2819926 7 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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