Children's home run by SBL Care Services

Inspection report for children's home: 2836322 1 Registered provider: SBL Care Services

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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 privately owned and registered to provide care for one child who may experience social and emotional and/or learning difficulties. 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 July 2025.

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Information about this children's home

This is the first inspection after registration 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

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: 2836322 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child says that they are happy living at the home. They value the time that staff spend with them and feel that their views are listened to. The child has built strong and trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the lengthy distance between the child and their placing authority, staff ensure that the child maintains a relationship with their family. Staff provide regular updates to family members and support the child to spend time with them. One family member said, 'Everybody has noticed a change in [name of child] in a positive way.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's moves into the home are well planned at a pace that is suitable for them. The child visited the home with their family before moving in, which provided them with an opportunity to meet staff and ask questions. Discussions took place with relevant others prior to the move to ensure that staff had a good understanding of the child's needs. When the child moved into the home, staff spent time getting to know them, which helped them to settle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to attend and achieve in education. The child is attending full time and making positive progress. Staff work closely with education professionals to ensure that any incidents that may impact the child's attitude to learning are shared and that barriers to learning can be addressed and overcome. The child achieves educational certificates and qualifications that align with their interests and hobbies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to understand how to lead an active and healthy lifestyle. The child is provided with opportunities to enjoy both new and existing hobbies, including boxing, park scootering, and football.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage in additional training if children have complex support needs. This provides staff with the knowledge and skills to meet the child's individual needs effectively. Staff advocate for children to receive therapeutic support when required. However, the child is currently not receiving all the support outlined in their plans. Despite the manager's efforts, this has not been effective. This means that the child is not receiving all the support they need to reach their full potential.

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

The child says that they feel safe and well cared for by staff. Staff have a good understanding of the strengths and vulnerabilities of the child. The manager ensures that there are regular multi-agency meetings where information is shared about the child's progress. This joint working helps to identify and reduce risks to the child.

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

Risks to the child have reduced since they moved into the home and incidents have decreased. Risk assessments and plans are updated regularly; however, they do not Inspection report for children's home: 2836322 3 include all known risks and behaviours. Furthermore, the plans do not consistently reflect the child's progress.

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

Following incidents, staff carry out key-work sessions with the child to support their understanding of their behaviour. Staff also carry out key-work sessions about current risks and potential risks they may face in the future.

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

Staff are trained in physical intervention techniques; however, these have not been used with the child since they moved into the home. The positive relationships that staff have built with the child help to de-escalate situations effectively without the use of physical intervention.

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

The registered manager addresses concerns about staff practice in an effective and timely way. All relevant professionals are informed, including the child's social worker and local authority designated officer. This ensures transparency and independent oversight of the concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leadership and management of the home are strong. The child and staff benefit from the registered manager's support and commitment. The registered manager has a clear vision for the home and is working hard to ensure that this is embedded throughout staff practice. He is well supported by the responsible individual, who has good oversight of the quality of care provided to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager speaks highly of the staff and values their work. He is committed to providing a caring and nurturing environment for both the child and staff. Staff say that they are happy working at the home and feel supported in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are consistent adults in the child's life. When there are gaps in the staff rota, bank staff are used who are familiar to the child. Staff known to the child are used to cover any vacancies to ensure continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, good-quality supervision. This provides staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and how they impact the child's experiences and progress. Leaders and managers provide support to staff if they are experiencing challenges in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are effective systems and monitoring tools in place to evaluate and improve the quality of care provided to the child. Inspection report for children's home: 2836322 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

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

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child's placing authority effectively in the child's care, in accordance with the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child's needs; and

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority's or a relevant person's performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child's needs are met in accordance with the child's relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children benefit from up-to-date and relevant plans. In addition, when children's needs are not being met in accordance with their plans, the registered person must escalate this effectively. 20 February 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually assess the child's risks and the strategies in place to protect them. When there are safeguarding concerns or specific risks and behaviours for a child, their plan should include the actions that staff must take to reduce and manage the risks on a day-to-day basis. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report for children's home: 2836322 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: 2836322 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Jones Harris Ltd, 17 St. Peters Place, Fleetwood FY7 6EB

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Inspector

Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2836322 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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