Children's home run by Hart Children’s Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2847164 1 Registered provider: Hart Children’s Homes Ltd

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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 managed by a private company. 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

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home, and they spoke with the inspector about their experiences of living here.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection after the home was registered in July 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

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: 2847164 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has settled well into the home since moving in. They enjoy strong and trusting relationships with staff. These relationships promote a sense of belonging for the child. As a result, the child is making good progress in many areas of their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Educational outcomes have improved for the child. Staff ensure that alternative arrangements are made for the child to access education when they are not attending school. This has helped the child to engage in education on a consistent basis, having previously been out of education for several years. Staff work closely with education providers to ensure that barriers in attendance are addressed, and that the child has access to materials to aid their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff implement purposeful and structured daily routines for the child. This supports the child to engage with staff and enjoy planned activities. Activities are tailored to the child’s interests. These help the child to build their confidence and reinforce positive role modelling by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child’s health needs are prioritised. They support the child to attend appointments and ensure that discussions about healthy lifestyles are embedded in practice. Key ‑ work sessions provide opportunities for staff to reflect with the child and support them to make informed choices about their lifestyle. However, records do not fully capture the depth of the conversations that take place. The manager recognises this, and she is developing approaches to strengthen the quality of these records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to maintain close relationships with their family. Staff provide weekly updates to family members, which promotes inclusivity and transparency in the care being provided to the child. This consistent communication ensures that family members remain actively involved in the child’s progress.

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

Staff know how to keep the child safe. They ensure that the child’s risks and vulnerabilities are well understood. The child’s risk and behaviour management plans are clear and include specific steps for staff to follow to maintain safety. Since living in the home, the child’s risks have significantly reduced. One parent said that they could not speak highly enough of the managers and staff and that they ‘take my hat off for them’ and thank them for the support given to the child.

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

There have been no missing-from-care episodes or significant safeguarding incidents. When incidents do occur, staff manage these effectively and take time to reflect and learn. Any lessons learned are embedded into the support provided to the child, which strengthens practice moving forward. As a result, incidents have reduced. Inspection report for children’s home: 2847164 3 Staff provide the child with stability and reassurance through consistent boundaries and routines. Even small expectations, such as asking for washing to be brought down, are reinforcing structure and contribute to the child’s sense of security in the home.

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

Restorative conversations and positive reinforcement are used consistently to build up the child’s resilience. Staff help the child to reflect on behaviour, to understand its impact and repair relationships when necessary. This has been evident in the child’s relationships with some family members. These approaches reduce conflict, promote the child’s ability to manage their emotions and support the child to sustain progress.

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

External professionals speak highly of the staff and manager and state that they are informed in a timely manner about any issues that arise. This ensures transparency, promotes multi ‑ agency collaboration and evidences the staff’s commitment to safeguarding the child. This external validation evidences the strength of partnership working and that professionals are complimentary of the home’s practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high aspirations for the child and sets clear expectations for the staff’s practice. This ambition is evident in the strong relationships observed between the staff and the child, which creates a supportive and nurturing culture within the home. Staff are encouraged to maintain high standards, and the child benefits from consistent care that promotes safety and emotional well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a clear induction programme and ongoing training that ensures practice is informed and continually improving. Reflective supervision is in place and contributes to staff development. However, supervision timescales are not consistently adhered to, which reduces the effectiveness of this system in evidencing accountability and timely oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well structured and provide staff with regular opportunities to share learning, reflect on practice and review the progress being made with the child. These meetings are used to embed agreed approaches and ensure that strategies are consistent across the team and that staff remain confident in their responses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring systems are effective and provide clear oversight of the home. Regular audits and reviews ensure that records are accurate, risks are identified promptly and actions are followed through. Monitoring is purposeful and focuses on impact for the child. Findings are shared with the team, which also promotes accountability and supports continuous improvement for individual team members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has not appointed or notified the regulator of a new responsible individual after the previous one left in October 2025. This shortfall weakens accountability and means statutory requirements are not being met. Day-to-day management remains stable through the oversight of an external consultant. Inspection report for children’s home: 2847164 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

An individual may only carry on a children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (5).

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Requirement Due date

An individual may only carry on a home with another individual or other individuals, otherwise than in a partnership, if that individual and each other individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (5).

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Requirement Due date

A partnership may only carry on a home if each partner satisfies the requirements in paragraph (5).

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Requirement Due date

An organisation may only carry on a home if—

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Requirement Due date

each director of the organisation, except for a director who is the responsible individual, who is involved in the carrying on of a home by that organisation satisfies the requirements in paragraph (6); and

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Requirement Due date

the organisation has notified HMCI of the name, address and position in the organisation of the responsible individual.

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit to carry on the home; and

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Requirement Due date

the individual is financially fit to carry on the home.

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character; and 26 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2847164 5 full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of the matters in paragraphs 1 and 3 to 6 of Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

satisfy the requirements in paragraph (5)(a) to (c); and

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated.

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Requirement Due date

An individual is not financially fit to carry on a home— if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

has been adjudged bankrupt, sequestration of the individual’s estate has been awarded or a moratorium period under a debt relief order (within the meaning of section 251A of the Insolvency Act 1986(a)) applies in relation to the individual; and

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Requirement Due date

has not been discharged from the bankruptcy or the sequestration and the bankruptcy order has not been annulled or rescinded; or

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Requirement Due date

if the individual has made a composition or arrangement with the individual’s creditors and the individual has not been discharged in respect of the composition or arrangement.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of this regulation, “director” includes any individual who performs the functions of, or functions equivalent or similar to the functions of, a director, by whatever name. called. (Regulation 26 (1) (2) (3) (4)(i)(ii) (5)(a)(b)(c)(d) (6)(a)(b) (7)(a)(b)(8)(a)(i)(ii)(b) (9))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they appoint and inform the regulator of a new responsible individual.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce- related requirements of regulation 16. This plan should detail the processes and Inspection report for children’s home: 2847164 6 agreed timescales for supervision of staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: 2847164 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hart Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: J M L Accountancy, 64 Drake Street, Rochdale OL16 1PA

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Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2847164 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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