Children's Home run by Amelia Care Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report for children’s home: 2743870 1 Registered provider: Amelia 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

This home is owned and operated by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for up to three children between the ages of eight and 18 years, who may be experiencing emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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: 10 December 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2743870 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/12/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2743870 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, improvements to the home environment have been made. Two repairs that were identified during the inspection were actioned and carried out during the inspection. Children’s bedrooms were seen to be personalised; one child has placed a swinging chair and some lights in their room and another child has made plans to paint their room with staff. Communal areas have improved and children were observed to be comfortable in their home surroundings. Staff sleep areas are satisfactory, however, in one of the bedrooms, staff would benefit from storage for the personal belongings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff liaise effectively with healthcare professionals to ensure that children are receiving appropriate care and support in line with their specific medical needs. Staff are supportive and nurturing and provide appropriate advice and guidance when children have worries about appointments and treatment. One child told the inspector about their health plan and had a good understanding of the services they receive and how this promotes their health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage children with their education. One child had recently returned to school after receiving tutoring in the home. On return from their first day home, the child spoke eagerly to the inspector and the manager about how positive their day had been. Another child is awaiting confirmation of a suitable college placement. The manager is liaising with the virtual school regarding this plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take part in activities such as swimming and attending youth clubs. Staff have taken children to visit the zoo and other places of general interest. These activities support children’s self-esteem and encourage new opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A range of significant discussions are regularly taking place with children. These topics include staying safe online, personal hygiene, maintaining appropriate friendships and developing independence. However, staff have not undertaken educational work with children who have used racist and derogatory language. This is a missed opportunity to raise children’s awareness about the legal implications of using such language and the direct impact this can have on others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to express their wishes and feelings. Children were observed speaking with the manager several times throughout the inspection, during which the manager took a nurturing approach to provide advice and support. This means children feel listened to and their feelings are validated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2743870 4

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

The manager regularly reviews children’s individual plans and updates these documents to reflect the children’s risks and needs. These documents provide clear guidance for staff on how to manage these risks. However, there has been an inconsistent response in relation to managing risks in relation to aerosols and the use of e-cigarettes.

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

Although there have been no reports of unauthorised entry to the home, on the day of the inspection, the inspector was able to enter the home when children were present without staff being aware The inspector was informed that a child had just left the home with a member of staff and the door had been left open.

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

The staff team takes a proactive approach in helping children to manage their feelings and behaviours. As a result, there has been a reduction in police being called to the home. Consequently, children are more receptive to talking to staff about their frustrations so that staff can find appropriate solutions. Children know how to complain and feel supported and listened to when they raise complaints and grumbles. When children have made allegations, these have been reported appropriately to external professionals as well as the regulator.

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

When children go missing from home, there is a consistent approach to help the child return safely. Staff respond consistently and work alongside the child’s placing authority. Information sharing and attending meetings alongside other professionals ensured that children’s plans are effectively reviewed.

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

Staff ensure that appropriate checks and room searches are carried out when there are concerns about children’s safety online. When new concerns emerge, these are reported quickly, and restrictions are put in place to safeguard the child from further upset or distress.

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

The manager has been flexible in supporting a child’s plan to return to the care of their family. Staff have undertaken daily welfare checks, as well as providing the child with weekly food shopping to ensure that the child’s needs were continuing to be met when being cared for outside of the home.

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

Staff effectively support family time activities to ensure that children have quality time with their families. This enables children to maintain vital support networks. When new risks occur, staff liaise with the child’s placing authority to share information to safeguard children and to support a review of family time.

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

Staff recruitment practice needs to ensure that references are sought for all potential employees who have previously worked with children and vulnerable adults. Inspection report for children’s home: 2743870 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the appointment of the manager and the responsible individual, there have been positive changes to the leadership and management of the home. Managers’ oversight of serious incidents has improved, and staff have a more consistent approach to caring and supporting children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recording systems have improved, however further work is needed in relation to the quality of handovers and team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that leaders and managers are available, and that they feel heard and listened to. Managers ensure that There is greater emphasis on improving the quality and skills of the workforce. The training matrix is kept up to date and additional training has been provided by the manager to assist staff to develop skills to assist a child with their daily physiotherapy routine.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision is taking place on a regular basis. Staff feel that these sessions are useful and enable them to discuss work-related issues as well as personal matters.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff who have been recruited since the last inspection feel supported to do their jobs well and benefit from a thorough induction and training programme. However, one new member of staff could not confidently say what the whistleblowing procedure was. They did, however, have good insight into what would constitute a safeguarding concern and who they would report that to and seek advice from.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular visits to the home are taking place by the independent visitor. Feedback from a range of sources enables the manager to consider improvements to the home and the quality of care provided to children. However, feedback from children would improve on the quality of the visitors’ reports.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The location risk assessment has recently been updated to reflect known risks in the community. Inspection report for children’s home: 2743870 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

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

In particular, the registered person must make sure that staff understand each child’s individual risks and vulnerabilities.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff effectively challenge the use of e-cigarettes and that children do not gain access to aerosols in line with children’s individual risk assessments.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that the home is secure from unauthorised entry. 7 November 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

promotes their welfare. 7 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2743870 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that staff communicate with one another all information relating to the children they are caring for including any serious incidents that may have taken place. This includes the effective use of team meetings and handover time.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care which includes gaining feedback from children who may not be in the home at the time of the visit. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that new staff are familiar with the home’s internal whistleblowing procedures through the induction process. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice in relation to obtaining references where staff have worked with children and vulnerable adults in their employment history. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Inspection report for children’s home: 2743870 8  The registered person should ensure that staff promote children’s positive behaviour through the use of regular discussions that cover education, advice and guidance regarding the impact of racism on other members of society. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the design of the home should provide staff that sleep in the home overnight with appropriate accommodation and facilities to do so including appropriate storage for their personal belongings. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.26)

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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: 2743870 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Amelia Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 41 High Street, Sandbach, CW11 1AL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Lorraine Gallagher

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Inspector

Michelle Greenhalgh, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2743870 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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