Children's Home run by Zen Care and Education Limited in Wigan

Inspection report for children’s home: 2775403 1 Registered provider: Zen Care and Education Limited 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 small private provider. It 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 this inspection, the home was providing care for one child, who spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

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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: 28 January 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: 2775403 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2775403 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives consistent care from a staff team that has worked hard to build positive relationships with them. Staff know the child well and have adapted their practice to respond effectively to the child’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and on to semi- independence. This move was in direct response to the child’s wishes and feelings of wanting to live closer to their family. Although the child’s move was brought forward after they refused to return from a planned family visit, staff continued to provide positive support. Staff attended the child’s new home with them and spent time settling them in. This was a child-focused approach and has encouraged the child to maintain contact with staff since their move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has faced challenges in education that resulted in a period of non-attendance. Staff have worked closely with the child’s placing authority to develop a bespoke learning package to meet their needs. As a result, the child is working effectively with a tutor in the home. Staff are actively promoting the child’s interests and are supporting them to visit colleges and alternative education provisions in preparation for their future learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the child’s health needs. On occasions when the child is reluctant to attend health appointments, staff take time to educate them about the importance of these. Staff have worked hard to model good hygiene skills and provide the child with regular encouragement to meet their personal care needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of the child maintaining positive communication with family and friends. When the child has faced challenges in their relationships, staff provide emotional and practical support. This has ensured that the child is able to maintain their relationships in a safe and positive manner.

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

Staff respond effectively to incidents of concern and ensure that the child’s safety and wellbeing is promoted. On some occasions, staff have contacted emergency services for support. The manager has good oversight and has evaluated staff practice in response to these incidents. The manager has reflected on the actions taken by staff and, where appropriate, has identified alternative approaches to better meet the child’s needs.

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

Staff are skilled in the de-escalation of incidents when the child has faced challenges that impact on their behaviour. As a result, the use of restraint to safeguard the child is rare. The manager has a strong focus on learning from these incidents to identify if staff can change their approach and further reduce the need for the child to be held.

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

There have been incidents where children have been missing from the home. Staff have responded effectively and have followed children’s individual missing-from-home Inspection report for children’s home: 2775403 4 procedures. Staff have worked closely with external professionals and family members to identify the child’s location and encourage them to return to the home. Staff have engaged children in reflective discussions to identify triggers for these incidents. Staff have shared the child’s wishes and feelings with other professionals to ensure that their views are heard and understood.

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

The child understands how to make a complaint and is confident that staff will take appropriate action. When allegations against staff members have been made, leaders and managers have responded appropriately. Detailed investigations have been completed where necessary, and information has been shared with relevant professionals as required. The manager has taken effective action to promote the child’s safety.

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

Staff have developed individual risk management plans that identify relevant risks for the child. However, updates do not always reflect recent changes, and some information is outdated. Strategies for staff to follow should incidents occur are not consistently clear or individual to the child. This means that staff may not have access to the most current guidance to manage risks effectively.

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

When staff identify areas of learning for the child, they engage in key-work sessions to develop the child’s understanding of risks. These sessions have focused on knife crime, unhealthy relationships and managing conflict in the community. Following incidents, the manager identified the need for specific direct work in fire safety. However, this has not yet been completed with the child and is a missed opportunity to support their understanding of the potential risks in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a dedicated manager who models good practice and knows the child and their needs well. She is also registered manager at another home with the organisation. Staff say that she is very present and approachable, and they are overwhelmingly positive about the support she provides to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular reflective supervision sessions that support their practice and identify any areas for further development. Regular collaborative team meetings also support team reflection and promote consistency in staff approaches and responses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses input from an internal clinician in supporting staff’s understanding of the child’s behaviours effectively. This approach has ensured that staff are using therapeutic reflections when reviewing incidents and considering alternative strategies as a team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are positive regarding their joint working with staff. One social worker said, ‘Communication is a strength of the home.’ The manager has worked hard to develop relationships with professionals involved in the care of the child to support consistent and predictable responses. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775403 5 Although the manager has oversight on how staff are supporting the child’s behaviours, on one occasion there was a delay in a member of staff being spoken to following the use of restraint. This was outside of regulatory timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive annual appraisals that evaluate their practice effectively and support their professional development. However, these reviews do not include the views of the child and other professionals. This is a missed opportunity to enable staff to reflect on the impact of their practice on the child’s outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775403 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 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;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

The provider must ensure that the children’s individual risk management plans provide staff with clear strategies to manage and reduce risk. 8 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults. 8 April 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2775403 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(v)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when the need for targeted direct work regarding fire safety is identified, this is completed to an effective standard.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff members involved in the use of restraint are spoken to directly about the measure within 48 hours. 8 April 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should include the views of the children and other professionals when completing appraisals with staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2775403 8

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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: 2775403 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Zen Care and Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Trafford House, Chester Road, Manchester M32 0RS

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Inspector

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2775403 10 regulates and inspects to 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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Inspector

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