Children's home run by Ar Curam Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2731332 1 Registered provider: Ar Curam Limited

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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 operated. It offers short- and long-term care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. This includes children with learning disabilities and sensory impairments.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in post since 8 December 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. Both children were spoken with.

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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: 12 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: 2731332 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2025 Full Good 20/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2731332 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they like living in the home and are able to talk to those staff caring for them. Staff understand how to communicate effectively with each child. For example, one child likes to go out for drives, while another child likes to draw and write down their feelings. This helps children to discuss how they are feeling and share their worries and experiences with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional wellbeing are a priority for staff. Staff understand children’s health needs. When children need emotional support staff make referrals to external health services. One professional said, ‘Staff are always creative, they made [Name of child] a soothe box which helps them when they are feeling down’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have positive relationships with people who are important to them. Staff advocate for children to spend time with their family, which includes family spending time in the children’s home. Families said that they are always kept up to date. One parent said,’ [Name of child] has come on leaps and bounds, they can be themselves and this is due to staff being amazing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to get involved with a variety of activities. Children enjoy spending time with staff, experiencing days out and holidays. Children get to choose experiences that are specific to their interests such as driving experiences and pamper days. Additionally, children are encouraged to spend time enjoying activities together. This helps children to develop their social skills and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education and learning. Although not all children are attending education staff are proactively working with education professionals to provide children with their options and support them to understand the importance of learning. For one child this has led to an improvement in their attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with multi-agency professionals when children are preparing to leave their home. Staff support the children with basic independence skills such as, doing their laundry, budgeting and cooking meals. However, there is limited support to help children prepare emotionally or understand how they may manage health risks independently. This leaves children feeling anxious about their move into adulthood.

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

Risk assessments help staff to understand and respond to each child’s individual risks. Risk assessments are up to date and have clear guidance for staff to follow. Children are involved with reviewing their plan to help them reflect on what supports them when they are struggling. This allows staff to intervene effectively when a child is at risk of harm, helping children to stay safer. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731332 4 Staff are proactive when children go missing from home. Staff understand children’s emotions and react promptly when there are concerns about their safety. Staff actively search for children and work well with professionals and known people to help them return home safely. When children return home after being missing, they are offered emotional support and an understanding approach from staff. This has led to a reduction in children going missing from home.

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

Staff understand children’s emotional and mental health needs. Staff have positive relationships with children’s friends and family and use these to keep children safe. Staff act promptly when there are concerns about children’s welfare and follow this up through supportive discussions with and referrals to external agencies. This means children receive timely support around their emotional wellbeing.

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and are proactive in working with them around a range of subjects relevant to their individual risks. When there are concerns about children the staff escalate this to the necessary services in a timely manner. Staff then have discussions with children to help educate them about risks. This helps children to understand risks and how to keep themselves safer.

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

When children are physically held to keep themselves and others safe. After being held children have an opportunity to speak to an independent person and share their views on the incident. However, staff sometimes miss opportunities to help children to manage their behaviour safely or distract them in a way that is helpful to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a change of management in the home. A new, experienced manager who is known to the staff and children has been recruited to manage the home. Leaders and managers have worked well together to minimise the effect of the changes on children and staff. This has promoted consistency of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a clear process for reviewing the quality-of-care children receive. The manager reviews all incidents in the home and considers how the staff respond to children. The manager has been able to use this to identify and progress areas of development for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular reflective supervision sessions. The manager provides support to staff for their own personal wellbeing, alongside challenging staff practice. This learning culture means that staff continue to develop and gain the skills that they need to meet children’s changing needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly and provide staff with a clear and consistent message of expectations for staff practice and how the children’s needs should be met. Findings from audits are cascaded to staff and children’s progress is regularly reviewed to inform the support they receive. Furthermore, staff are provided with additional training and strategies to meet children’s needs. This helps to ensure that staff share accountability for their practice and improves outcomes for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731332 5 Staff build positive relationships with professionals and family members. Staff communicate regularly with multi-agency professionals and children’s families. Feedback from all family and professionals has been positive, saying that staff keep them up to date and communicate effectively. This helps children get the right support in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731332 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children-

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are prepared emotionally and helped to develop the skills they need to move into adulthood and live independently. 25 March 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered manager should ensure staff have the skills to respond to each child’s individual behaviour. Where necessary they should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues and de-escalate situations appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. (‘The Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 39, paragraph 8.14)

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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: 2731332 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor, Richard House, Sorbonne Close, Thornaby, Stockton-On-Tees TS17 6DA

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Inspectors

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector (lead) Shaun Martin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2731332 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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