Children's home run by Panacea Children Services Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2710459 1 Registered provider: Panacea Children Services 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 company. They provide care for up to 2 children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The home was registered in January 2023. The manager registered in August 2025.

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Information about this children's home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 11 February 2025

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Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2710459 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/02/2025 Full Outstanding 14/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2710459 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children move into the home in a planned and gradual way. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. Leaders and managers give careful thought to any potential impact of new children moving in on the child who already lives here. Assessments are completed to ensure that moves into the home are positive for all children and that staff have the appropriate skills and training to meet their needs safely and effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and are committed to listening to them, investing time in them and promoting their welfare. As a result, children benefit from warm, trusting and secure relationships with the adults who care for them. They engage in positive experiences that contribute to sustained progress in their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage children in meaningful conversations. These provide opportunities for children to express their feelings and discuss issues that are important to them. These sessions are well linked to children's risk assessments and care plans, ensuring that support is purposeful and responsive to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive timely and well-planned support to help them prepare for future independence. Staff promote the development of key life skills in line with each child's abilities, while ensuring that they remain safeguarded. This helps children to build their confidence and develop the skills they need for their next steps.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to overcome difficulties in attending education. Children are encouraged to push themselves out of their comfort zones and engage in activities that are of interest to them through tutoring and alternative provisions. Staff are ambitious for children and support them to attend, and do well in, their education. There is effective liaison with schools, colleges and virtual school heads.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to appropriate health services. Staff support children to attend appointments and help them to recognise the importance of engaging with health professionals. Most known health needs are promoted effectively, and children receive support with their physical, mental, sexual and oral health. However, staff were unaware that one child was vaping, despite this being recorded in their care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of each child's preferred methods of communication and consistently promote these to ensure that children can express themselves and participate fully in daily life. This contributes to children feeling understood, listened to and supported. However, staff do not always challenge children when they use discriminatory or disrespectful language. Inspection report for children's home: 2710459 4

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

Staff have a good understanding of children's risks and vulnerabilities. They recognise the ways in which children may be exploited, taking appropriate steps to safeguard them. Individual risk assessments are updated regularly and identify vulnerabilities that are specific to each child. However, some risks have not been captured in risk assessments despite being detailed in care plans, which has meant that staff were not fully aware of these ongoing concerns or able to provide targeted support in response.

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

When risks escalate for children, the manager and staff work with relevant professionals, including the police, placing authorities and children's social workers, to share information and provide a coordinated, multi-agency approach to safeguarding children.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff take appropriate action to locate them and encourage their safe return, maintaining contact with the child wherever possible during the incident. Records are written chronologically and contain clear detail of the actions taken and which professionals and family members were informed.

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

Accidents in the home are recorded clearly. Actions taken are documented, body maps are completed and children's refusal of medical attention is appropriately evidenced. However, leaders and managers have not always reviewed these records in a timely manner. On one occasion, a potentially serious accident was not reported to the regulator.

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

Leaders and managers act promptly when allegations are made. Action is taken to establish the facts and follow statutory procedures, informing relevant professionals. However, not all allegations have been reported to the regulator, which limits external oversight.

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

Staff ensure that the home environment remains safe by completing room searches when concerns have been identified. These searches are conducted in a manner that is respectful and promotes children's privacy and dignity, while also ensuring that there is a proactive approach to safeguarding children's physical and emotional wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has clear oversight of the home and is proactive in his approach to developing and strengthening the staff team. He engages effectively with the home's therapist and uses professional advice to inform practice and improve outcomes for children. Staff describe him as having a 'hands on' approach and say he 'leads by example'. He has a strong working relationship with all members of his team, and staff say how much they enjoy working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring tools, including trackers for key-work sessions and escalating concerns relating to child criminal exploitation, support his understanding of emerging risks and ensure that appropriate action is taken. He works constructively with the home's Inspection report for children's home: 2710459 5 independent visitor and views their recommendations as opportunities for learning and improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has monitoring systems in place to evaluate and improve the quality of care provided. These systems give him meaningful oversight of the care being provided and help him to identify strengths, address weaknesses and take action to maintain high standards. However, there have been occasions when oversight has not been completed in a timely manner, resulting in risks for a child not being reflected in the child's plans. Despite this, the manager's overall practice demonstrates a clear commitment to continuous improvement and accountable leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have undertaken a range of courses designed to meet the needs of the children living in the home. However, not all staff have completed training specific to substance misuse, despite this being relevant to the needs of the children. This limits staff's ability to fully understand and respond to associated risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular, reflective supervision. New staff receive more frequent sessions, which support their induction, development and progression. These sessions provide staff with opportunities to reflect on children's needs and how they respond.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly, are well attended and provide a constructive environment where staff can share their views and reflect on practice. Clinical therapeutic input from an independent therapist further enhances these meetings, ensuring that therapeutic strategies are consistently reviewed, shared and applied across the team. This supports a consistent and clear approach to the care provided for children. Inspection report for children's home: 2710459 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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that risks to children relating to vaping are clearly documented in the relevant plans, and that staff demonstrate a clear understanding of these risks. 10 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home.

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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 each child's relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all statutory documents that inform children's care plans are followed. 10 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 10 April 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2710459 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

and any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter. (Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the regulator must be notified following any serious incidents or allegations in the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, such as substance misuse. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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Recommendations

 Regulation 11(2) sets out the expectations on staff in building a positive relationship with each child and helping the child develop skills to have positive relationships with others. 'Others' includes individuals both inside and outside the home, such as other children in the home, staff, family members, siblings, previous carers and friends. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 38, paragraph 8.6)

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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: 2710459 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Panacea Children Services Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Unity House, Westwood Park Drive, Wigan, Greater Manchester WN3 4HE

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Inspector

Nicola Jeffery, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2710459 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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