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Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 1 SC394463 Registered provider: Cornerstone Children’s Homes Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company and is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties. Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. All three children spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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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 widespread failures that mean children are not protected and their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 3 September 2024

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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: SC394463 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/09/2024 Full Good 29/08/2023 Full Good 28/09/2022 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The children living in this home have been left at risk of harm as the staff do not always take appropriate action to keep them safe. This is combined with limited progress for most children living in the home, due to poor care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection, two children have moved out and three children have moved in. Moves into the home have not always been well planned. One child moved out after less than 24 hours’ notice being given to the placing authority, despite the child having lived in their home for over a year and making some progress. The provider had not sought support from the placing authority or fully considered how this unplanned ending could be avoided. This was undoubtedly traumatic for the child, who has had to leave their home with little preparation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff find it difficult to manage group dynamics. Relationships between children have not been well managed, and this has led to bullying between children. The current group of children have now been living together for two months, and, despite the concerns around bullying, no meaningful education has taken place for children. This has led to a child having to leave their home, which impacts on their future ability to settle and form relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There is a lack of consistent and positive routines and boundaries within the home environment. The manager has identified that irregular sleep patterns are contributing to fluctuations in children’s mood and concerning behaviours. Despite this recognition, staff have not implemented sufficient support strategies to help children establish healthier sleep routines or manage the resulting behavioural impacts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Some children have received support to maintain positive relationships with family members and friends. However, for some children, scheduled family time with siblings has not been initiated promptly, despite being outlined in their local authority care plan. This delay adversely affects children’s ability to maintain strong familial connections while living apart.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite the significant shortfalls in practice, education is valued in the home, and one child is attending college and making progress. When children are not in mainstream education, the manager works with professionals to ensure that an education provision is secured. Tutors have been provided to children to help them learn when they are not in school.

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

Leaders, managers and staff have not consistently taken steps to keep children safe. Staff do not always supervise children adequately, and this has led to incidents between children. There have been several incidents which have not been managed effectively by Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 4 staff. Staff have at times been slow to intervene, resulting in situations escalating and children causing injuries to one another.

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

Risks around fire setting have not been well-managed. On one occasion, children were able to make a small fire in the garden. There was a delay in staff taking action to prevent this incident occurring. Children have also had lighters in their bedrooms, and they have not been removed to prevent children burning items. In one child’s bedroom, there was evidence of smoking in their bedroom. Staff had not identified that the smoke detector in the bedroom had been covered up. In the event of a fire, this would lead to a potential delay in the alarm being activated.

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

Children’s risks and vulnerabilities are not always well understood. Leaders did not fully consider how the location of the home may exacerbate existing risks when planning for one child to move in. Children’s risk management plans are confusing and do not always provide clear direction to staff.

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

The manager has not taken action to consider a recommendation made at the last inspection to improve the quality of care. Door alarms and sensors continue to be used without a consideration of how these measures are safeguarding children in the home. A rigorous assessment of individual children’s needs has not been recorded or kept under regular review.

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

Physical intervention is rarely used. However, when this has happened, staff have not been given the opportunity to reflect on this with a manager. This has prevented learning being taken from incidents.

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

Two children living in the home have experienced numerous missing-from-home episodes. These have been broadly managed in line with procedures. Staff search for children, using creative methods to locate them, and collect them when they are ready to return home. Both staff and the manager have tried to implement measures aimed at reducing the frequency of these episodes and preventing the children’s involvement with unsuitable adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not always identified shortfalls in the care provided to children. At times, the manager has found it difficult to accept advice and direction from the experienced responsible individual. Although the manager provides support to the children and staff team, he does not always recognise how decisions made, particularly regarding care planning, have impacted negatively on children. Shortfalls in staff practice are not always addressed in a robust or timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager’s internal and external monitoring systems are not used effectively. This impacts on the quality of care and safety for children. The regulator has not been notified of a fire in the home. This compromises the regulator’s oversight of the home and ability to respond swiftly to escalating concerns. In addition, external monitoring visits do not provide sufficient scrutiny of the home. Children are not routinely spoken to Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 5 and there is limited feedback from a range of external sources. The manager has completed a review of the quality of care, but this also lacks feedback from children or others.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has attempted to foster positive working relationships with professionals and family members. However, he does not always fully document interactions with professionals. This has led to occasions when there has been confusion around actions that need to be implemented by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When safeguarding concerns were highlighted during this inspection, leaders provided reassurance to the regulator about the immediate actions they would take to safeguard children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 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

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

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. 6 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 7 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff provide adequate supervision of children. Staff must intervene in a timely manner to prevent children from harming each other.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all steps are taken to prevent fires in the home. He must ensure that fire detection systems are fully working and prevent tampering with these.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff are provided with clear guidance, which is personalised to individual children, on how to prevent and manage incidents in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the location of the home is suitable for all children living there. They must ensure that a child’s risks are not increased by placing them in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; 20 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 8 help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(xi)(xii)(xii)(xiii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that bullying in the home is not tolerated. Staff must ensure that positive relationships between children are encouraged. Children should be supported to understand their behaviour and how this impacts on others.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that positive routines and boundaries are promoted in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed; 20 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 9 that, subject to regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), contact between each child and the child’s parents, relatives and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)(c)(d)(e)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all possible measures are taken to prevent immediate notice being served on a child’s placement. This includes joint working with the placing authority and other partner agencies to provide support to the child.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that when considering new children coming to live at the home the impact on children already living there is fully assessed. Furthermore, robust consideration must be given to the suitability of children living together.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they challenge the placing authority in a timely manner when family time for children is not being promoted in line with their plans.

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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

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; 20 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 10 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that he has effective oversight of the home. Incidents in the home must be fully evaluated and any learning from these is taken into consideration when making improvements to the care provided to children. Any shortfalls in staff practice must be addressed in a robust and timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they make effective use of monitoring systems and tools in the home to monitor the quality of care. He should ensure that any external monitoring of the home is robust and feedback on the quality of care is gathered from a range of sources.

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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

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the matter; 20 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 11 the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that he notifies Ofsted of any fires on the premises.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they speak to staff after any use of physical intervention, to allow for learning from the event. 20 October 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that movement sensors in the home are only used in order to safeguard the child in the home. Furthermore, sensors and door alarms should only be in use after a rigorous assessment of individual children’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10) This was not reviewed and has been restated.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC394463 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cornerstone Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4th Floor, Centenary House, Centenary Way, Manchester M50 1RF

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Inspector

Eve Ostridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC394463 13 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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