Children's home run by 3S Adolescent Care Limited

Inspection report children’s home for 2738499 1 Registered provider: 3S ADOLESCENT CARE 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

A private company runs this home. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in this home at the time of the inspection. The child spoke with the inspector during this visit.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 1 July 2025. There is a manager in place who is applying to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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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 requires improvement to be 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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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted issued a restriction of accommodation notice on 5 August 2025 preventing any further children from moving into the home. Inspection report children’s home for 2738499 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/07/2024 Full Good 13/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report children’s home for 2738499 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the child well. Most staff have positive relationships with the child. When relationships deteriorate, the manager works hard to support staff and the child to repair these. The child is happy in the home and rates it highly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers carefully plan for a child moving into the home. Assessments consider the needs of the child and how staff and the setting can meet these needs. Transition plans are undertaken at the child’s pace. This means the child moves into the home in a planned and positive way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the child have access to a psychotherapist through a commissioned therapeutic service. The psychotherapist supports the staff team and their care of the child through attending team meetings and offering incident-specific and one-to-one support of staff. They also provide regular direct support to the child. The child receives coordinated therapeutic care and has predictable boundaries in the home. This promotes their feelings of stability and belonging, and they have shown considerable progress in their emotional regulation as a result.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the deprivation of liberty order the child is subject to. They understand the permissive nature of the order and follow a structured safety plan to ensure care of the child is no more restrictive than necessary at any time. The child has made significant progress since moving into the home and is safely having independent time in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and decorated to a high standard. The child’s personal items are both in the child’s bedroom and the communal areas. The child is comfortable and relaxed in most areas of the home. However, the bathroom that the child uses the most does not have a lock and the child must prop it shut. This impacts the child’s sense of dignity and privacy. A requirement has been made in relation to this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know and promote the child’s interests. The child likes animals and the home has adopted a rescue cat for the child to care for. The manager has arranged volunteering and rent of a horse at a local stable. The child regularly engages in their interests and hobbies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child had had a significant period out of education prior to moving into the home. Leaders and managers have prioritised their learning, engaged a tutor, and supported them to achieve qualifications that will allow them to attend college. The manager is liaising with education professionals and advocating for the child to obtain a suitable college place, as well as providing educational activity in the interim. Inspection report children’s home for 2738499 4

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

Staff understand the risks to the child. The risk assessment for the child is comprehensive and contains clear strategies for the staff to follow. It is regularly updated and there are systems in place to ensure that the staff are promptly made aware of any changes.

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

Staff generally manage behaviour well. The police have been called on three occasions to manage behaviour in the community, however these calls have been proportionate to the risk to the child. On one occasion, the police would not have been required if staff had effectively intervened at an earlier stage, however this was recognised by the manager and learning taken from the incident.

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

Consequences are used only in response to the child’s behaviour. They are time limited and reviewed by managers. The manager seeks the views of the child and staff when they are implemented. The child is learning to make positive choices and keep themselves safe.

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

Children rarely go missing. Staff know what to do in the event a child goes missing. There has only been one missing episode in the inspection period. Staff were tenacious in attempting to locate the child and liaised effectively with police and family members. As a result, the child was returned to the home swiftly. The manager spoke with the child to understand the missing episode and support the child.

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

Staff are all trained to hold children safely when required. Physical intervention is used as a last resort to keep a child safe. The manager has prompt oversight of the practice, and reflective discussions with staff and the child following them. The use of physical intervention has reduced throughout the child’s time in the home.

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

The child knows how to complain. Their concerns are taken seriously, whether expressed verbally or in writing. The manager responds to the child’s concerns promptly and investigates any concerns thoroughly. The manager ensures the child is aware of any decisions or outcomes as a result of their complaints, the rationale, and how their views have been acted on. However, one allegation about staff was not notified to Ofsted. This prevented the regulator from having prompt oversight of the matter.

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

Staff recordings of incidents are detailed and clear. They ensure the child has the opportunity to contribute to their own records and explain in their own words. Managers ensure that staff and the child are spoken to promptly following any incident, and any learning is drawn out with staff. Staff manage the child’s behaviour well and encourage the child to understand their own triggers and emotions. Incidents are well managed and reducing for this child.

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

The managers ensures that all relevant checks are undertaken when employing new staff. Staff are safely recruited. Inspection report children’s home for 2738499 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Inspectors were aware during this inspection period that the appropriate authorities were investigating serious child protection allegations. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A child was removed from the home by their placing authority, prior to the current child moving in. No other children have moved into the home since the home was restricted. Therefore, the conditions of the restriction of accommodation notice have been adhered to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is an ongoing investigation into a suspected significant breach of professional boundaries by a member of staff. Once managers and leaders became aware, they addressed this informally and ensured it ceased. This was not recorded, reported to the child’s placing authority, or notified to Ofsted. This meant that relevant professionals and the regulator did not have oversight of this matter.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been a change of senior leaders within the organisation. However, the provider has mitigated the impact of changes through internal promotion. The former registered manager is now the responsible individual. They have submitted their application to Ofsted and their suitability has yet to be assessed. The interim manager is the former deputy manager, and they have also submitted their application to be registered to Ofsted. There has been a measure of consistency for staff and children over a period of change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff report managers and leaders to be approachable, available and supportive. Managers understand the specific development needs of staff and implement support according, for example creating cooking sheets with the child’s favourite meals for a member of staff who was not from the UK.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers undertaken regular and thorough supervision of staff. They allocate staff to be champions of particular areas, encouraging ownership of their work and promoting peer development. Managers undertake detailed post-incident debriefs with staff. Staff have regular opportunities to reflect on their practice and consider their strengths and development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staffing is stable. There are no vacancies at present. Agency staff were used when a former child required support in the night; they were always supported by permanent staff sleeping-in. This ensured that the child was supported in their waking hours by staff that knew them well. There has been no use of agency staff whilst the current child has lived there. There is a consistent staff team providing care to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers provide appropriate training to staff. Staff complete all the training allocated to them. Managers and leaders have provided detailed training on professional boundaries, safe care, and polices and procedures of the home. Staff have retained this learning and Inspection report children’s home for 2738499 6 found the training to be impactful. Staff are well trained to meet the needs of the child they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager recognises the importance of effective partnership working. They organised an event at the home where the child invited all of their family and professional network. This allowed the people around the child to build and reinforce their links, as well as the child to visually see their important people interacting. This creatively and effectively improved relationships and made the child feel valued. Inspection report children’s home for 2738499 7

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

(Regulation 40(4)(c)(e)) 27 October 2025

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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

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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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

(Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(iii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that there should be a lock on the bathroom door to allow the child dignity and privacy in the bathroom. 27 October 2025 Inspection report children’s home for 2738499 8

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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 children’s home for 2738499 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: 3S Adolescent Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hobart House, 3 Oakwater Avenue, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Cheadle SK8 3SR

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Inspector

Sarah Huntbatch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home for 2738499 10 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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