Children's home run by Yourcare (Northwest) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2709686 1 Registered provider: Yourcare (Northwest) Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider and provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. They spoke to the inspector about their experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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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: 18 February 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2709686 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2025 Full Good 26/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2709686 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child remains settled in the home. One child has moved on since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live in the home make meaningful progress from their starting points. Staff build strong, positive relationships with children. They create an environment which helps children to express their views and wishes. This is achieved through informal and open conversations. Staff consistently advocate for children’s needs and best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves for children are planned thoroughly. One child was provided with high levels of care and support when they moved out. The manager worked closely with external professionals to ensure that the right support was in place for the child moving forward.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between children and staff are mostly positive. Staff understand the impact children’s experiences can have on their relationships. When difficulties arise in relationships between staff and children, staff work hard to understand the underlying reasons and take action to repair them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in the home has experienced ongoing challenges with education. Although attendance in formal education has not always been consistent, children are encouraged to develop confidence and explore their interests through tutoring and alternative learning options. Staff are dedicated to supporting positive outcomes and use creative approaches to help children achieve their goals. Social workers commented on the difficulty and challenges the staff have faced in meeting the child’s educational needs and how the child is now making good progress with their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain relationships with those people who are important to them. Staff understand the value of these relationships, and they make practical arrangements to ensure that children can spend time with family and friends. When challenges arise in children’s relationships, staff work sensitively with external professionals and families to promote positive and safe interactions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can identify staff that they trust who they can talk to about any concerns. They know how to make a complaint or voice their opinions and are confident and comfortable in expressing their views about the staff and their home. However, when children raise complaints or concerns, they do not consistently receive feedback from staff regarding the outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans are written in the child’s voice. They are detailed and provide clear and relevant information for staff, to inform practice and give guidance on how best to support children. However, not all plans were dated correctly, and this had not been challenged with social workers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709686 4

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

Staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. They are suitably trained in safeguarding and in topics relevant to the child’s specific needs. Risk assessments and behaviour support plans include clear strategies for staff to follow. These are regularly updated when emerging needs are identified. Staff understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities and how to support them.

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

The child living at the home has experienced some difficulty adjusting to recent changes in the leadership and management team, as well as the introduction of new boundaries that have been implemented by staff. However, they are being supported to express and understand their feelings. External professionals highlighted the dedication of the home’s leaders and managers and praised the advocacy and support given to the child in the home, and to the child who recently moved on.

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

Staff responses to risks around substance use by children are not consistent. Room searches are undertaken when concerns arise about children being under the influence of substances, and children are supported to understand the risks associated with this. However, action is not always taken following incidents of illegal substances being found in the home.

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

Children are not held. Effective strategies are in place to de-escalate any incidents of aggressive behaviour. Staff understand triggers for children that may impact on their behaviours, which helps them to intervene early. Consequences are rarely used, however, when they are, they are proportionate and recorded appropriately.

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

Staff are recruited safely, and processes are in place to ensure that the right staff are employed to keep children safe. Leaders and managers are confident that staff are suitable to work with children. Agency staff are not used in this home.

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

Investigations into allegations or suspicion of harm are shared with the appropriate agencies. However, not all safeguarding incidents are reported to Ofsted in a timely manner.

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

There is a new manager in post who is in the process of registering with Ofsted. The responsible individual and manager are evaluating the current quality of the home, identifying strengths and areas for development, and have plans in place to address any shortfalls. They have a clear vision for improvement; however, there has been insufficient time for this vision to be fully embedded.

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

Managers and staff work proactively and positively with other agencies and professionals. They seek to build effective working relationships with family members and social workers from both the placing and host local authorities, to support positive outcomes for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709686 5 The workforce development plan addresses staff training and development needs. All staff are up to date with training or have training planned, in line with the home’s statement of purpose to meet the specific needs of the children.

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

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have not consistently monitored the home and as a result, safeguarding incidents have not been reported in a timely manner and monitoring has been sporadic. However, this has not impacted on the care provided to the child.

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

The interim manager now consistently monitors the quality of care provided to the child. New systems are in place to maintain oversight of the home, allowing her to identify strengths and weaknesses. The manager and her team have a good understanding of the children’s needs. Monthly audits, regular supervision and daily guidance now support accountability and learning.

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

Leaders and managers use handovers, staff meetings and their daily presence to ensure children’s routines and staff responses are consistent. This reduces risk and promotes safety and stability for children. Staff spoken to were positive about the changes being implemented and described the management team as approachable and available for support and guidance.

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

The review of the quality of care provided to children is detailed; however, it does not include feedback from children, staff or family members, despite this being a previous requirement. This limits the effectiveness of the review in evaluating and improving practice.

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

Team meetings have generally taken place on a monthly basis and are usually well attended by staff. However, the quality of recording has, over time, become less detailed and more descriptive. Meetings lack reflective discussion and are not sufficiently focused on practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709686 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

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

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(g)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, team meetings should be reflective and practice related.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 27 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—

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Requirement Due date

that staff— 27 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2709686 7 help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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 are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, action should be taken to ensure the home environment, including children’s bedrooms, is safe when children are suspected of using illegal substances and/or illegal substances are found in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)) 27 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2709686 8 Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that when children raise complaints, they receive an appropriate explanation or outcome to their complaint in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, notifications should be sent to the regulator as soon as possible and in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 27 February 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality-of-care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 27 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2709686 9

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Recommendation

 All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 2709686 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Yourcare (Northwest) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 64 St Georges Park, Kirkham PR4 2DZ

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Inspector

Nicola Jeffery, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2709686 11 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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