Children's Home run by Trafford Borough Council in Trafford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 1 SC032475 Registered provider: Trafford Borough Council 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 local authority. It provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The post for a registered manager is vacant.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/07/2025 Full Inadequate 16/04/2024 Full Good 31/10/2023 Full Good 06/12/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 3

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improvement to be good

The inspector spoke with all the children as part of the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls in leadership and management and safeguarding practice has reduced the effectiveness of care afforded to children living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home, and one child has left. The staff handled the child’s departure from the home sensitively and provided appropriate support.

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improvement to be good

Children are not consistently supported to understand the action taken in response to their requests for social activities. This means that they do not always feel listened to. Systems for gathering children’s views, such as children’s meetings, are not used regularly. This reduces children’s opportunities to influence decision-making about their care.

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improvement to be good

Children have established positive and trusting relationships with staff. Staff receive guidance from the home’s therapist on strategies to help them respond to children in ways that are sensitive to their individual needs. As a result, children speak positively about staff and the supportive relationships they share with them.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported in travelling to and from their education provision. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the barriers that prevent children from attending their education setting. They advocate effectively for appropriate support to be put in place to help children return as soon as possible when they are not attending. In addition, staff provide children with opportunities to develop their independence skills so that they are prepared for adulthood.

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improvement to be good

Staff are respectful of children’s views about spending time with their family and friends. They work effectively with professionals to ensure that children have safe, well-planned and meaningful time with important people in their lives.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a large, spacious and homely environment. They are encouraged to take pride in their personal space by decorating their bedrooms in a way that reflects and supports their individual identities. This helps children feel at home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are not used effectively by staff. Staff do not consistently update these plans when safeguarding incidents occur. In addition, strategies designed Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 4 to protect children are not always implemented. This compromises the effectiveness of safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

The quality of direct work with children is variable. It is not consistently carried out following safeguarding incidents or in response to children’s identified safety needs.

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improvement to be good

When direct work takes place, records do not consistently demonstrate that staff are teaching children how to keep themselves safe. This is a missed opportunity to enhance children’s awareness of their safety and how to manage potential risks.

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improvement to be good

Medication is stored securely. However, records are not routinely monitored to ensure that medication is administered and recorded correctly. As a result, an error in the recording of controlled medication was identified during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

There has been a reduction in missing-from-home incidents for one child since moving to the home. The child’s social worker recognised this as a positive achievement and commended the staff for implementing strategies that contributed to the change.

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improvement to be good

Professionals are confident in the staff team’s ability to protect children from harm. Children report feeling safe and are comfortable speaking to staff about any worries they may have.

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improvement to be good

There has been one allegation since the last inspection. This was appropriately investigated, ensuring that the child’s safety and welfare were prioritised.

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

The post for a registered manager is currently vacant despite the provider’s efforts to recruit for this position. This has contributed to shortfalls in management oversight. Additionally, staffing arrangements in the home remain unsettled due to staff changes. The responsible individual is aware of these practice issues and is taking action to address them.

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

Staff say they feel supported and that supervision takes place regularly. Despite this, supervision records lack evidence of reflective discussions to support staff development and improve practice.

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

Team meetings take place monthly. The minutes are brief and do not provide evidence that leaders and managers are using these opportunities to strengthen staff practice and improve outcomes for children.

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

Staff training records were not available during the inspection. Because of this, the regulator was unable to fully assess whether staff have completed the required training and have the skills and knowledge necessary to care for children safely and effectively.

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

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have implemented new systems to monitor staff practice and the quality of care children receive. Progress has been made, Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 5 but these systems are still developing and not fully embedded to provide effective oversight. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)) 5 February 2026

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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; 5 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 7 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that staff carry out regular, proactive work with children to help them better understand risk and how to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that children’s risk assessments are updated following safeguarding incidents.

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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; 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that the home is suitably staffed with a permanent and stable workforce.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that the systems to monitor the quality of care provided to children and staff practice are used effectively and that work is evaluated and areas of learning identified to make continuous improvements. This includes monitoring the direct work carried out with children and the administration of medication.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff have the opportunity to participate in reflective supervision. 5 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 8 Leaders and managers must ensure that information pertaining to the home, such as staff training records, is available for the regulator to review.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that an experienced manager is appointed and registered at the earliest opportunity.

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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: SC032475 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Trafford Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Talbot Road, Stretford, Manchester M32 0TH

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Inspector

Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 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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