Children's home run by helping care LTD

Inspection report for children's home: 2839726 1 Registered provider: helping care 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 provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and/or 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 August 2025. She is also the registered manager of another children's home within the organisation.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: none Inspection report for children's home: 2839726 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have lived at the home since the home was registered. Children are welcomed sensitively. The planning for children moving into the home is child centred. Staff help children to prepare for their move by providing them with photographs and recordings of the home, and personalise their bedroom to help children have some familiarity on their arrival.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with opportunities to learn new skills and develop their confidence. One child was encouraged to sing at a festival. Another child has been taken on trips to explore local history, which they are keen to develop their knowledge of. Staff are proactive at ensuring that children feel included in decisions. They encourage children to explore their identity in a safe way to help them feel good about themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children maintain links with the people who matter the most to them. Staff have quickly developed relationships with children's family members and plan activities in advance so that children have a clear understanding of their family time arrangements. One child's family member said that they feel reassured, as staff have got to know the child quickly and understand their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children's mental health is fragile, staff take appropriate action to access medical advice and treatment for them without delay. When children require treatment in hospital, staff consistently support them to enable them to feel reassured in unfamiliar circumstances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and have quickly coordinated tutor sessions in the home. The child was observed engaging with their tutor. Staff maintain regular communication with the child's placing authority, and education meetings remain focused on securing an appropriate school place that can meet the child's needs.

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

Staff understand the risks to children and how to keep them safe. The manager reviews and updates risk assessments to ensure that they are current and relevant to the children's presenting needs and behaviours.

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

On one occasion, a child went missing from the home during the night for a period of two hours. A full investigation by the responsible individual identified that a management decision regarding staffing had not been in line with the child's plan.

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

There has been one incident of fire setting at the home and staff acted quickly to ensure the child's safety. Subsequently, there has been effective multi-agency working with the fire service to share information and formulate risk assessments to reduce future risks. Inspection report for children's home: 2839726 3 Staff spoken to during the inspection demonstrated an understanding of whistleblowing procedures and maintaining professional boundaries. They were able to confidently outline the actions that they would take if a safeguarding concern occurred at the home.

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

The manager is aware of the risks in the local community and surrounding areas and has recently updated risk assessments to include this information. The manager ensures that staff are aware of local risks and puts measures in place to help minimise risks for children.

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

Physical intervention has not been necessary. When children become upset or frustrated, staff respond appropriately by speaking to the child, spending time alongside them and offering appropriate solutions. However, the de-escalation techniques recorded in children's records are often summarised and do not always demonstrate how effective the measures have been.

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

Staff actively seek and act on children's views through regular conversations and discussions on a variety of topics, such as education and staying safe online. However, staff do not always fully explore children's views and wishes about room searches taking place, especially when children are not in agreement with the search taking place.

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

Staff have experienced a turbulent period since the home opened due to several serious incidents occurring within a short time. Despite this, the staff team has remained consistent and demonstrates a shared commitment to improving children's outcomes.

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

Managers' monitoring and oversight have not always been consistent, and less- experienced staff have, at times, overseen direct work with children. As a result, the manager does not always have a clear understanding of what is required to drive improvement.

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

The responsible individual has taken clear, decisive action in relation to escalating concerns, when necessary, to appropriate external agencies, including Ofsted and the local authority designated officer.

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

Staff report that the manager is available to them and supportive, and they feel heard and listened to. One member of staff said, 'I cannot fault management; they are continually supportive and encourage open discussions.' Supervision takes place regularly for permanent staff and the records are well documented, demonstrating an effective balance of professional development and reflective practice. However, supervision for non-permanent staff does not take place regularly, including for those who work at the home frequently and have been on duty when serious incidents have occurred. The responsible individual and deputy manager acknowledge this and were receptive to discussing it. Inspection report for children's home: 2839726 4 Team meetings are well attended, and staff benefit from the reflective discussions about practice-related matters and promoting their emotional wellbeing. These discussions have positively impacted staff morale.

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

Inspection report for children's home: 2839726 5

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that they take clear, decisive action around the sufficiency of staffing and use professional judgement based on children's presenting risks, needs and behaviour to ensure that children's welfare and safety are always of paramount consideration. 16 January 2026

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff undertake tasks in the home in accordance with their specific role and responsibilities. 16 January 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2839726 6 Additionally, the registered manager must ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child in line with their presenting risks, needs and behaviours and what is outlined in their specific plans.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children's home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual's duties. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, agency staff employed to work at the home on a regular basis must receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience and which allows them to reflect on incidents that have occurred in the home and on their practice. 16 January 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand, and can meet, each child's needs, in line with their responsibilities. In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff record the steps taken to de-escalate and diffuse behaviour, including how they have used the PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) principles to help children co-regulate. ('Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards', page 52, paragraph 10.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have a responsibility to observe, notice and respond to children who are expressing their views, acknowledging that it is not the sole responsibility of the child to 'tell'. Instead, the staff should be proactive in seeking these views, especially when children have not agreed with decisions around a room search taking place despite this being necessary to protect the child from Inspection report for children's home: 2839726 7 harm. ('Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards', page 22, paragraph 4.10)

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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: 2839726 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: V & R Accountancy Services, Cropton House Three Tuns Lane, Liverpool L37 4AQ

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Inspector

Michelle Greenhalgh, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2839726 9 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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