Children's Home run by Trafford Borough Council in Trafford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 1 SC032475 Registered provider: Trafford Borough Council 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 local authority. It provides care for up to five children who may experience social or emotional challenges.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. The inspector spoke with two of the children.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager in the home. A senior member of staff is supporting the home in the absence of a registered manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2024 Full Good 31/10/2023 Full Good 06/12/2022 Full Good 12/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There are significant concerns about the leadership and management of the home that are impacting on the ability of the staff team to safeguard effectively and protect the children. Serious incidents have not been managed appropriately, leaving children at risk of harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Some children have made progress in their education. Staff and managers have advocated for the educational needs of two of the children to be better met. However, when children are not attending school, staff do not complete any educational activities with them to prevent them from falling further behind.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not regularly complete work with children to support them to develop their independent living skills. One child, who will legally be an adult in approximately six months, has not benefited from any substantial work to support them with their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff and managers do not have a good understanding of the importance of supporting children to celebrate their culture and heritage. Managers were not confident about what one child’s family culture was, despite identifying this as a need to be met. This does not support children to feel confident in sharing and exploring their cultural identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

More positively, children say that they enjoy living here and that staff listen to and respect their views. Staff support children to explore new interests, and they encourage them to develop aspirations. Children are provided with ongoing access to mental health support from an independent practitioner, who works with children individually and supports staff to better understand children’s needs.

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

Significant shortfalls in safeguarding practice have led to some children being left at risk of serious harm. On one occasion, despite the police informing staff that a child was likely to possess a large knife, staff failed to identify the immediate risks posed to the child and others and act in a timely way to safeguard the child. When managers were made aware of this information the following day, they did not educate the staff involved about appropriate safeguarding procedures.

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

When children go missing from home during the day, staff are responsive and search for the child. However, when children go missing overnight, they experience differing responses from staff. For one child, managers appropriately put a member of staff on shift who would remain awake all night to ensure that there was someone who could search for the child at any time required. For another child with very similar vulnerabilities, staff did not go out searching for the child overnight. No staff member Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 4 was placed on shift to stay awake and search for the second child when needed. This means that one child has been left at significant risk.

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

When one parent raised safeguarding concerns about their child, leaders and managers failed to ensure that the correct procedures were followed. A full investigation was not completed, and no conversations were recorded to demonstrate any action taken.

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

Staff do not understand safeguarding procedures and their responsibilities. Staff also do not understand the roles of key safeguarding professionals.

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

Leaders and managers have failed to inform the regulator of serious incidents that have taken place, on at least two occasions. This prevents Ofsted from ensuring that all available action is taken to safeguard children.

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

Staff and managers typically understand the risks and vulnerabilities that each child faces. However, there has been little proactive work completed with children to help them understand these vulnerabilities. This means that children are not being taught to understand their risks or how to keep themselves safe.

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

The home is generally kept clean and tidy. Children can personalise their bedrooms. However, some maintenance tasks have not been completed in a timely manner. One child said that broken items used to be fixed quite quickly, but that staff know it will happen again, so they take their time now.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is currently no registered manager in the home. The registered manager left in April 2025, and a senior member of staff has stepped into the role under temporary arrangements. Leaders are taking appropriate action to identify a suitably skilled and experienced registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not been proactive in providing effective leadership and guidance to the staff team. They have failed to address shortfalls in staff practice and have not taken adequate action to improve staff knowledge. Leaders and managers have not ensured that the home has sufficient staff to provide appropriate care to always safeguard each child. When safeguarding concerns have arisen, managers have not adequately evaluated staff practice to consider the impact on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not provided staff with suitable opportunities to reflect on their practice or to consider their development goals. Staff have not had regular supervision and have not had annual appraisals of their practice. Additionally, team meetings have been irregular and are poorly recorded, with no evidence that current research is being discussed in these. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 5 There is a lack of focus on supporting staff to develop their skills. Some staff have not completed training relevant to the children’s specific needs. While many staff have completed qualifications relevant to their roles, the staff who are currently completing these have not completed them in the required timescales. This means that some staff are caring for children without the appropriate qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers complete a biannual review of the quality of care provided to children. However, this review lacks evaluation or consideration of how the care provided is supporting children to make progress. Additionally, the review does not include any feedback from children or stakeholders. Intended actions are included, but no identified person is named as responsible for each, and they do not include any timescales for completion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children’s case records are in disarray. During the inspection, leaders and managers struggled to find necessary records when requested and were frequently unsure what work had or had not been completed. This does not enable managers to have sufficient oversight of work completed or issues that need escalating. It also does not provide children with a clear understanding of their journey through care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 6

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff have a full understanding of their responsibilities when safeguarding concerns are raised and that all safeguarding procedures are fully followed in every instance. Any damage to the home must also be addressed in a timely way. 31 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

* The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 31 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(d)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they are leading the home in a way that supports staff to care effectively for the children. The home must be suitably staffed to ensure the safety and well-being of all children. The registered person must ensure that they have oversight of all work being completed and that work is evaluated and areas of learning identified in order to make continuous improvements.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all allegations and serious incidents are fully documented and reported to the regulator. 31 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— 31 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 8 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 personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult; and

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(vi)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that work is completed to support children to develop independent living skills. Additionally, children must have the opportunity to explore their cultural heritage and use their native language.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children are supported to make measurable progress towards achieving their education potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that staff help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support through the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that educational timetables are put into place when children are not in school. These should provide children and staff with an understanding of the academic areas that children need to be supported with. 10 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 9 The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s files are complete and all documents are available. Children’s files must provide children with a full and clear understanding of their experiences living in this home. 10 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the quality of care review incorporates feedback from children, families, and professionals. The quality of care review must be evaluative in nature and should identify learning from the past six months. This should then be carried forward to create an action plan with clear, measurable goals. 01 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 10

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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: SC032475 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Talbot Road, Stretford, Manchester M32 0TH

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Inspector

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 12 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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