Children's Home run by Sycamore Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2828167 1 Registered provider: Sycamore Care Limited 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 managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home. The child was not spoken with.

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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: 2828167 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home opened, one child has moved in. Leaders and managers demonstrated a sensitive and child-centred approach to the child’s move into the home. This helped the child to settle into the home well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is cared for by a consistent staff team. This has helped the child to build trust and feel comfortable talking about personal and sensitive issues. Staff use these opportunities to support and guide the child to make decisions about their health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is nicely decorated and well maintained. It is homely and provides the child with a space of their own that they can personalise. This helps the child feel settled and gives them a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to promoting the child’s education and future aspirations. Staff have played an integral role in helping the child secure a college place and ensuring that they can attend.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has regular opportunities to spend time with people who are important to them. Staff work closely with the child and their social worker to develop and implement plans that support these meetings taking place in a safe and positive way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is encouraged to contribute to decisions about their day-to-day care. Regular consultations take place to ensure that they are happy with the support they receive. This lets the child know that their views are important.

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

Staff are aware of their role and responsibilities to safeguard children. All staff have completed safeguarding training, and those spoken with were confident about the child’s risks and how to manage these.

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

The child’s safety plans are comprehensive and provide staff with detailed and clear guidance on how to respond effectively to the child’s risks and protect them from harm.

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

The child is supported to learn about behaviour that is harmful. Staff speak to children about their behaviour and the associated risks. They also help children to access services that can provide expert knowledge and guidance on how to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff understand the child’s risks well. They understand the underlying reasons for the child going missing from the home and work with other professionals to implement plans to reduce the risks. Staff spend time with the child to increase their understanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2828167 3 of the associated risks of going missing. However, staff do not always take swift action to look for the child when they are missing from the home.

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

Staff recognise the risks associated with substance misuse and engage the child in meaningful work around this. However, on one occasion, there was a significant delay in completing a room search despite staff being aware that the child had returned home with cannabis.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that safer recruitment practices are followed. This means that staff are vetted before working in the home to ensure that they are suitable to work with children and can provide safe and good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a strong understanding of the child’s needs and actively advocates on their behalf to ensure that these needs are met. She is passionate about the quality of care provided and is committed to supporting her team to deliver this to a good standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are confident in the registered manager’s leadership and feel well supported in their roles. They receive regular formal supervision and have opportunities to meet with the registered manager informally. Staff speak positively about her willingness to listen to their ideas about developing the service. This helps them feel valued and encourages their increased investment in their work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings routinely take place. These are used to reinforce the registered manager’s expectations of staff practice. It is also an opportunity to promote a collective and consistent working approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the registered manager has good oversight of the home. Incidents and discussions with children are routinely reviewed to ensure that the registered manager has a good understanding of the day-to-day operation of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is effective. Leaders and managers work closely with external partners to implement strategies that reduce the risk of the child going missing. Additionally, they ensure that the child has opportunities to speak to an independent person about the reason for their absence. This allows the child to be open and honest about any concerns related to living at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2828167 4

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders, managers and staff must ensure that they immediately search for children in areas they are known to frequent when they go missing.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, leaders, managers and staff must ensure that following safeguarding incidents, where it is relevant to do so, a room search is completed without delay. 22 January 2026

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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: 2828167 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sycamore Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office 08 Business First Ltd, Empire Way, Burnley, Lancashire BB12 6HH

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Inspector

Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2828167 6 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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