Children's Home run by Halliwell Homes (Midlands Division) Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2611027 1 Registered provider: Halliwell Homes (Midlands Division) 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 provider operates this home. It provides care for up to eight children with emotional or behavioural difficulties. The home has an attached registered school. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager’s post has been vacant since 31 October 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, six children were living in the home. All children were seen and contributed to the inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: 11 February 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2611027 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/02/2025 Full Outstanding 27/06/2023 Full Good 09/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2611027 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s day-to-day experiences are negatively affected by recent instability in the home. Combined with shortfalls in the leadership and management and weaknesses in how children are helped and protected, the quality of children’s overall care is reduced.

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improvement to be good

Children’s moves into the home are well planned and take place at a pace that meets children’s needs. As the children are young, this approach helps them to settle in. When children move on, staff work hard to make their endings positive. Staff keep in touch with children, which demonstrates commitment to the children’s well-being. A social worker described care planning as a strength of the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff know the children well. The interactions between the children and the staff were warm and nurturing. These positive relationships promote children’s well-being.

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improvement to be good

The clean and welcoming home environment supports children’s comfort and sense of belonging. Children’s bedrooms are personalised with their treasured possessions and there is ample space for children to play. Any damage is quickly repaired.

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improvement to be good

Children’s views are central to life in the home. Children attend meetings and staff listen and act on the children’s suggestions, arranging activities like swimming lessons. The meetings also provide opportunities for children to reflect on their progress.

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improvement to be good

The importance of education is promoted. Children attend school, and staff work closely with education providers to support academic progress and overcome barriers to learning. One child’s reading skills are improved. As a result, their confidence is increasing.

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improvement to be good

Children’s identities and individuality are valued. They enjoy positive experiences, including going on holidays, which helps to create happy memories, and they have fun. Children attend a range of clubs, such as Brownies and Scouts. These experiences enable children to explore their interests and make friends.

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improvement to be good

Staff practice compromises children’s safety. During one incident, a child disclosed that a staff member had been unkind and had hurt them. Despite this disclosure, the staff member continued to support the child when they were distressed. While this has been addressed, it demonstrates a lack of awareness of safeguarding procedures.

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improvement to be good

In addition, staff did not speak up in a timely way to safeguard children when they were concerned about a staff member’s practice. This lack of action may have compromised children’s safety. When senior leaders became aware of these concerns, they shared the Inspection report for children’s home: 2611027 4 information with safeguarding partners and initiated investigations, which remain ongoing.

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improvement to be good

Staff report feeling tired due to the frequency and intensity of incidents. They are struggling to manage some children’s unwanted behaviours, and restraint practice is frequently used to support children when they are in crisis. Although managers review incidents individually, there is limited professional curiosity to explore patterns and trends. This reduces opportunities to learn from incidents, reduce restraint practice and develop more effective strategies to support children.

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improvement to be good

On occasion, children have been accidentally harmed by staff during incidents. A member of staff had scratched a child with their fingernails on two occasions. No action was taken following the first incident to prevent the second incident occurring. This does not demonstrate effective safeguarding practice or show that lessons are learned.

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improvement to be good

Staff demonstrate understanding of the children’s vulnerabilities and the risks they face. Children’s safety plans are generally sufficient, and the risks that children face are assessed. However, one child’s plan lacked important guidance for staff on how to respond to the child’s disclosures. This gap in records could lead to inconsistent responses and increase risks to children. The manager acted promptly to address this shortfall during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Medication is generally well managed, and regular reviews take place with medical professionals to promote good health. However, when a child’s medication was reduced by a health professional, no written confirmation of this change was obtained. Additionally, reasons for a child refusing medication are not always recorded.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to understand and manage their emotions and behaviours. They use creative approaches to help children to learn about acceptable behaviour and the impact of their actions on others. Staff complete direct work on topics such as using safe hands and being kind to each other. This work is helping children to build positive coping strategies and develop safer relationships.

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

Leadership of the home is unstable, and changes have occurred. The previous registered manager was recently promoted, and a new manager was appointed. The new manager applied to become registered, but they have withdrawn their application and are leaving the organisation. A new manager is not yet in post.

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

Leaders are aware of the home’s recent challenges, and, in response, they have started to develop plans to address shortfalls and drive necessary improvements. There are no plans to admit any new children, which will allow time to restabilise, learn lessons and focus on creating a more supportive environment for children.

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

Managers’ oversight of the home and children’s care requires strengthening. Monitoring systems are not sufficiently robust, and there is a lack of analysis and professional curiosity following incidents. This limits the ability of managers to identify patterns and Inspection report for children’s home: 2611027 5 trends, reduce the use of restraint practice, and prevent injuries to children during incidents.

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

Staff morale has dipped over the last couple of months, and staff report feeling tired. Plans are in place to improve morale, including staff recognition schemes to help staff feel valued. These initiatives are in their infancy and need time to embed.

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

While regular team meetings provide opportunities for reflection and sharing ideas, staff are not receiving supervision in line with the provider’s policy. This is particularly important as there is fatigue among staff. Regular reflective supervision is essential to support staff well-being and maintain safe practice.

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

The independent visitor attends the home monthly as required. However, their engagement with children is minimal, which limits their ability to gather children’s views and make a rigorous assessment of the quality of care and safeguarding arrangements.

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

Social workers say communication is a strength of the home, and they are kept updated. In contrast, more needs to be done to promote and build relationships with people who are important to the children, such as children’s families. This is to ensure that they are updated and feel involved in children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611027 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must have effective oversight of children’s care and experiences. Monitoring systems must be robust and effective to keep children safe, promote their welfare and drive continual improvements. 13 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— 13 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2611027 7 that staff—

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children’s safety plans must contain all of the guidance that staff need to manage risks that they face consistently. In addition, staff must follow safeguarding policies to protect children, and the use of restraint practice must be analysed to reduce its use to promote children’s welfare and safety.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation (5)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person, where appropriate, must develop and maintain relationships with people who are 13 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2611027 8 important to the children to share information and updates about the children’s progress.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff receive supervision in line with the home’s policy to help them to reflect on their work and promote their well-being. 13 February 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s medicines are administered in line with a medically approved protocol. In addition, the administration of children’s medicines, which includes when the medicine is refused, should be maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should ensure that an individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. This assessment should include gathering children’s views about their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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: 2611027 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Halliwell Homes (Midlands Division) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Pearce House, 80 Cawdor Street, Eccles M30 0QF

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Inspectors

Amy Richards, Social Care Inspector Joanne Vyas, Regulatory Inspection manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2611027 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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