Children's home run by My Stride Residential Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2820776 1 Registered provider: My Stride Residential 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 owned and managed by a 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

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in July 2025. This is the first inspection since registration.

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Information about this children's home

During this inspection period, 2 children moved into the home. The inspector spoke with both children during 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 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: 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: 2820776 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive and stable relationships with the staff, who know them well. Interactions between staff and children are observed to be warm and playful. During the inspection, staff were seen playing football in the garden with children and having fun. One external professional said, '[Name of child] has made tremendous progress due to the positive relationships staff have formed with him.' Another said, 'Staff are patient and supportive.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager carefully considers each child's needs, alongside the skills and experience of the staff team. However, specific training needs are not always identified. The manager ensures that they speak with each child's network, shares the home's information and how staff will support the child, and meets with children when possible before they move into the home. This helps children to build familiarity with the home and staff before moving in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are not attending school, the manager works closely with social workers and virtual school headteachers to support education in the home until suitable education provisions can be found. Plans include promoting children's engagement and tutoring to build their confidence. This helps to prepare children for structured education in school and routines and reduce gaps in their learning. However, children's education, health and care plan reviews and personal education plan meetings do not always take place within the required time frames. As a result, children's educational needs and the support in place are not consistently reviewed or kept up to date.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to express their wishes and feelings in weekly meetings and regular discussions with staff. Children are supported to complete their own agenda and prepare questions in preparation for meetings about their care. This empowers children to contribute to decisions about their daily lives and helps them to feel listened to and valued. Staff also ensure that children are kept informed of any changes to their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff recognise the importance of family connections. They support children to build and maintain these relationships, including facilitating family time even when this requires long-distance travel.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and well decorated. The children's bedrooms are well furnished and personalised. One child required new pillows, which were replaced during the inspection. Another child has not yet fully unpacked and continues to store some of their belongings in laundry bags in their bedroom. Inspection report for children's home: 2820776 3

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

Children identify staff as trusted adults who they can speak to if worried or concerned. They feel listened to and understood. Children do not raise concerns about their care, but they know how to make a complaint.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children's individual risks and the strategies needed to support them. Staff effectively use de-escalation strategies to calm children and re-engage them back into their daily routines. Incidents are well documented. However, not all incident reports have management oversight. This limits leaders' and managers' ability to track patterns, identify emerging trends and ensure that staff responses align with children's risk assessments.

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

The children's risks are documented in risk assessments that guide staff in preventing and reducing harm. However, risk assessments do not always provide clear guidance for staff to follow during crisis situations. This shortfall creates the potential for inconsistent practice.

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

Staff are trained in physical intervention. There has been one low-level physical intervention that was used to prevent a child from harming themselves and others. When physical intervention is used, staff offer children a debrief and explore the reasons for the behaviour, to prevent reoccurrence. The manager also provides debriefs for staff after difficult incidents.

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

Incidents of self-harm are managed well. Staff offer children emotional support, monitor them and administer first aid when needed. Room searches are completed to remove dangerous items. Staff work closely with the home's clinical psychologist to ensure that there are clear safety plans and methods of support in place.

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

There have been 12 missing ‑ from ‑ home episodes for one child. Although some episodes were prolonged, this represents a significant reduction since the child moved to the home. When children go missing, staff carry out searches and follow the agreed missing ‑ from ‑ home plans to support their safe return. The manager and staff work closely with children's networks to ensure that robust plans and safety measures are in place to reduce the risk of children going missing. When children return to the home, they are welcomed back, and staff ensure that they are safe, well and supported.

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

Staff hold regular discussions with children to help them develop healthier lifestyles, build confidence in their education, recognise their own capabilities and better understand their personal circumstances. These conversations are carried out sensitively and demonstrate care and empathy. As a result, one child has been supported to stop smoking and vaping. Another child told the inspector, 'Staff support me with my mental and physical health.' Inspection report for children's home: 2820776 4

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

There is a stable and consistent staff team in place that is committed to supporting the children in the home. The staff are led by an experienced manager, who is motivated in achieving positive outcomes for children.

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

Not all staff have completed their mandatory training, such as first aid and attachment theory. They have also not completed training specific to the individual needs of the children, such as self-harm, sexualised behaviours, exploitation, substance misuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This does not ensure that staff have the necessary training to understand and meet the children's needs.

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

Staff and the manager do not always receive regular supervision. This limits opportunities for them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children in their care. When supervisions do take place, they are supportive and focus on reflective practice, planning for children and staff development. Staff report that they feel well supported and enjoy working in the home.

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

Leaders and managers have monitoring processes in place, including monthly audits, to assure themselves that staff are delivering good care and that the home is operating in line with regulations. However, these procedures are not fully effective as shortfalls have been identified in supervisions and training.

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

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. They are used to reflect on practice, review the children's risk assessments and reinforce the home's rules and boundaries. This supports consistent and collaborative working. Additional consultations are held with the clinical psychologist to support strategies of support for children, particularly around self-harm behaviours.

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

The staff and manager are building positive working relationships with all professionals involved in the children's care. Professionals state that the manager and staff communicate well and keep them fully updated. Inspection report for children's home: 2820776 5

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff complete mandatory training, as well as any additional training required to meet the individual needs of the children. In addition, leaders and managers must implement effective monitoring systems to ensure that key documents, such as incident reports, are consistently reviewed and overseen by management. These systems must support the home to operate in full compliance with relevant regulations. 15 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that all staff, including the manager, are receiving regular supervision. 15 April 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2820776 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, the child's placement plan and risk management plans agreed between the home and the placing authority must include clear details of the steps the staff will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff seek to meet the child's basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have a clear escalation process in place and evidence any actions taken to escalate concerns to achieve engagement from relevant professionals. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 11, paragraph 2.3) Inspection report for children's home: 2820776 7

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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: 2820776 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: My Stride Residential Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 196 Bramhall Lane, Stockport SK3 8TX

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Inspector

Renée Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2820776 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 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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