Children's home run by Therapeutic Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2826857 1 Registered provider: Therapeutic Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in May 2025 and is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers 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 at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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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: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2826857 2

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improvement to be good

The child spoke to the inspectors during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Although children have made some progress, there have been some staff shortfalls in how incidents are managed, which has meant that children are not fully safeguarded.

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improvement to be good

Two children have lived at the home since it registered. Moves into the home are well planned. Children are provided the opportunity to visit and meet staff before they move in. One child has moved out of the home due to concerns that their emerging needs were not manageable there. Staff and the manager attempted to support the child until a more appropriate home was identified.

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improvement to be good

Education is valued in the home. Children are encouraged to attend an appropriate education provision. When children are reluctant to attend, they are helped to regain their confidence. There is close collaboration with school and other agencies to overcome any barriers to learning.

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improvement to be good

Children’s routine health needs are met. They are encouraged to take medication that is beneficial to their overall health, and staff persevere when this is refused. Staff encourage children to attend appointments, and referrals are made to specialist services when required. Children and staff have access to the provider’s therapeutic team, which allows for a deeper understanding of children’s emotional health. However, on one occasion, staff did not seek medical advice in a timely manner following concerns of a child’s low mood.

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improvement to be good

Family time is promoted and supported in accordance with children’s placing authority plans. One child has had a pet they were able to bring to live at the home, giving them a sense of normalcy.

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improvement to be good

The home is clean and well maintained, and it is a safe environment for children. Children have influence over their bedrooms and shared spaces and can choose decor and furnishings. This gives children a sense of ownership over their home and belonging. However, door alarms are in use, and these have not been rigorously assessed as appropriate or necessary.

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improvement to be good

Staff have an understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities. However, the manager has not always ensured that clear direction is given to staff regarding how they can best support the child. Risk assessment documents are not fully personalised to children, and this means that effective strategies are not always used to manage difficult Inspection report for children’s home: 2826857 3 situations. When physical intervention has been used, it has been proportionate and necessary. However, not all required information has been recorded.

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improvement to be good

There has been a high level of incidents for one child. On most occasions, staff have managed these effectively in line with their training and company procedures. However, there have been times when staff have not acted appropriately to fully safeguard children. On two occasions, staff have failed to look in children’s bedrooms thoroughly to remove any harmful items.

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improvement to be good

Missing-from-home episodes are rare. When children go missing, staff follow protocols and work with other agencies to locate them. Staff search for children diligently and collect them when they are ready to return home.

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improvement to be good

Staff have an understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. They know how to escalate concerns, including to external safeguarding partners. Staff recruitment is conducted safely to ensure that only suitable individuals work with the child.

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

The manager is experienced in residential childcare and is working towards the relevant qualification. The manager is supported by an experienced responsible individual. There is a stable team of staff who have shown commitment and perseverance through a challenging time at the home.

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

While the manager has oversight of the events in the home, this is not to the standard required. The recording of some incidents has compromised the manager’s ability to fully evaluate and reflect on events. Consequently, the manager has not always identified shortfalls in staff practice. Tools and reports used to monitor the care provided to children are not always robust, and there is a lack of feedback from children and others that provides insight into the quality of care.

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

The team of staff are highly experienced, and most are qualified in residential childcare. New staff members receive a thorough induction before being enrolled to achieve a relevant qualification. The manager ensures that staff have the skills to meet the children’s needs, including those with complex needs.

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

Staff say that they feel supported by the management team and wider company. They receive regular supervision sessions that are of good quality and allow them to reflect on their practice. Team meetings are held regularly and are used to embed learning. Inspection report for children’s home: 2826857 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

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; 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; and

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff follow the provider’s protocols and procedures. This relates specifically to staff seeking medical advice when there are concerns around children’s mental health and additionally looking in children’s rooms when there are suspicions they may have harmful items.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s risk assessments provide staff with clear directions on how to support them. 9 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2826857 5 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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(a)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that incidents in the home are evaluated fully and any learning is considered when making improvements to the care afforded to children.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that monitoring systems used are robust and include feedback from children and others where appropriate. 9 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vi)) 9 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2826857 6 In particular, the registered person must ensure that it is clear which members of staff have restrained a child in any records made.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that alarms on any doors are only used to safeguard the child in the home. Furthermore, door alarms should only be used after a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, with all considerations properly recorded and kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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: 2826857 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Therapeutic Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Errigal House, Avroe Crescent, Blackpool FY4 2DP

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Inspectors

Eve Ostridge, Social Care Inspector Sonja Vega, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2826857 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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