Children's home run by Safe Children’s Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2819189 1 Registered provider: Safe Children’s 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

The home is owned and operated by a private provider. It is registered to care for up to three children with social and emotional needs or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of this inspection. Both children spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager registered with Ofsted in June 2025.

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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: 2819189 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, well-furnished and warmly presented. The home was decorated for Halloween with carved pumpkins made by the children. Toys and books were present around the home and garden. Children’s bedrooms are clean and tidy and personalised with their belongings. One child proudly showed the inspector their collection of wall art featuring their favourite band.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive education that is tailored to their individual needs. The manager advocates for each child to ensure that they receive support specifically tailored to their needs and abilities. When children refuse to attend school, staff take an empathic approach to understand the reasons why. Children who are educated at home are actively engaged in learning, supported by encouraging and attentive staff. During the inspection, one child was observed completing education with staff who were supportive, encouraging and engaging. Following this education session, the child shared their geography knowledge with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with local health services and are encouraged to attend routine appointments. Children’s health needs are understood by staff, who take a proactive approach to ensure that the home is free of products that can trigger children’s allergies. Meal planning takes place in consultation with children. However, menus do not include a broad variety of nutritious food options, to encourage children to try new foods and to promote children’s health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in activities that enable them to explore their identity, hobbies and interests and have active lifestyles, such as playing football with their peers, having their nails done, visiting their favourite café, attending youth clubs and inclusive events such as pride.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage in frequent discussions with children; however, the quality of these discussions varies and does not always demonstrate how staff provide advice and information to help children make informed decisions for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is supported by the staff team, which enables children to maintain and sustain positive family connections when they live far from home. One child’s parent has built a positive relationship with the staff during family time, which supports their relationship with their child.

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

Risk assessments are in place which detail how staff should respond when a serious incident occurs. However, not all staff have a full understanding of children’s risks and what they should do in the event of a serious incident occurring. A requirement has been raised in relation to this issue. Inspection report for children’s home: 2819189 3 Children know how to make a complaint, and their wishes and views are gathered through a variety of participation tools. When children have grumbles, these are listened to and considered, and the manager seeks to establish an appropriate resolution.

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

When children self-harm, appropriate treatment and medical advice is sought and followed. However, when children experience periods of low mood, staff are not always consistent in demonstrating professional curiosity to explore the underlying reasons for their behaviour or to gain the child’s views in a meaningful way. This lack of exploration may limit opportunities to identify and provide additional support for the child.

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

Children are supported to be safe online. Staff complete regular device checks in line with children’s plans to ensure that they remain safe when they are gaming or when having conversations with others online.

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

When children disclose sensitive information about their lived experiences, this is shared with the child’s social worker and other professionals involved with the child. This enables the child to have the opportunity to discuss these worries in more detail and without delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced manager who receives regular support from the responsible individual, and who is visible in the home. Together, they have begun to implement systems designed to ensure that staff receive the necessary support needed to meet the needs of the children in their care. These systems are still developing and are reviewed regularly through monitoring by the responsible individual and the independent visitor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works collaboratively with a range of external agencies, and feedback from them is positive. One child’s social worker said, ‘The staff have been amazing, they keep me up to date and there is regular communication with the manager and all the staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records relating to the home generally demonstrate management oversight. However, this oversight is not always consistent or sufficiently evaluative. As a result, some shortfalls have not been identified, such as the use of inappropriate or unclear language in daily records about children’s routines.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training is provided to staff which helps them understand the needs of the children they are caring for. However, not all staff are up to date with training specifically relating to children who self-harm or go missing from home. A requirement has been raised in relation to this issue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, good-quality supervision as well as ad hoc reflective sessions. Records of these meetings are maintained and include details of staff development. This enables the manager to monitor staff progression. Team meetings are held regularly and Inspection report for children’s home: 2819189 4 are well attended. These are used effectively in order to share updates with staff and discuss practice-related matters.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they are happy working at the home. New staff feel welcomed and well supported by their colleagues. Staff feel listened to and describe a positive working environment that enhances their confidence and satisfaction in their individual roles and responsibilities. Inspection report for children’s home: 2819189 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 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

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

The registered person must ensure that all staff have a full understanding of children’s risk management plans and the strategies required to keep children safe. 21 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

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

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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h)) 21 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2819189 6 The registered person must ensure that management oversight is critically evaluative, that it identifies necessary actions and that these are regularly reviewed.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that staff undertake training relevant to the needs of the children they care for, such as missing from home and self-harm training.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills to identify signs that children may be at risk, and exercise professional curiosity to support children in strategies to manage and reduce any risks. Staff should encourage children to express their views through discussions which are meaningful and impactful. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 43, paragraph 9.10)  The registered person should ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and well- being needs are met. This includes supporting children to eat a variety of nutritious foods that promote their health and well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that all staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of clear recording. This includes

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Recommendations

ensuring that all records do not include the use of institutionalised language. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2819189 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Safe Children’s Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Safe Children’s Care, Regus, Chapel Road, Oldham OL8 4QQ

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Inspector

Michelle Greenhalgh, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2819189 8 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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