Children's Home run by Cornerstone Children’s Homes Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC394478 1 SC394478

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Registered provider: Cornerstone Children’s Homes 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 managed and run by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to 3 children who may have social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living at the home. All 3 children spoke to the inspectors.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2024.

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Inspection dates: 8 and 9 April 2026

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people, taking into account good

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Inspection dates: 8 and 9 April 2026

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Inspection dates: 8 and 9 April 2026

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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Inspection dates: 8 and 9 April 2026

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Inspection dates: 8 and 9 April 2026

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection dates: 8 and 9 April 2026

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC394478 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/04/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/08/2024 Full Good 29/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC394478 3

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Summary of findings

Children are encouraged to learn, engage in activities and have positive experiences that help them feel safe and settled.

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Summary of findings

The home environment is generally well maintained. However, there are some areas that require attention.

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Summary of findings

There is a stable staff team that knows the children well. Risks are well managed and incidents significantly reduced. When incidents occur, staff respond quickly and the manager completes a detailed evaluation. However, notifications to the regulator have been delayed.

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Summary of findings

The manager is child centred. She takes decisive action in response to allegations, but some managerial tasks have not been completed promptly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy in their home. They like the staff and have trusted and secure relationships with them. One child said, ‘This is the best home I’ve ever lived in.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child recently moved into the home. The move was well planned and at the child’s pace. Careful consideration was given to the impact on the children already living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in education. One child was not attending school prior to moving in the home. Staff worked closely with education professionals to find the right provision for the child. The child now attends school regularly with staff providing additional creative learning experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are prepared for their futures. They are supported to develop their independence skills ready for later life. Staff have supported one child to secure an apprenticeship, which contributes to the child’s future plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage children in a wide range of positive activities such as golf, fishing and bowling based on children’s wishes. Staff consistently encourage children to try new activities and visit new places.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. They have access to private healthcare and staff support them to access community services to support their health, such as dentist and smoking cessation services. Inspection report for children’s home: SC394478 4 Children are able to spend time with the people who are important to them. Staff work proactively and positively with professionals and families to ensure that their visits are meaningful and safe. Staff advocate for increasing the amount of time the children spend with the people who are important to them

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When one child experienced a bereavement, staff supported them to remember their loved one in ways that are personal to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most areas of the home are well decorated, and the home is personalised throughout with photos of the children. Some children’s bedrooms are not maintained to a high standard and require some cleaning and maintenance tasks to be completed. Additionally, the manager has not ensured that the children do not have access to the roof spaces and that locks on communal bathrooms are easily accessible in an emergency.

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

Children benefit from a nurturing and structured environment where positive behaviour is promoted. Staff consistently promote and reward positive behaviour with treats such as visiting local restaurants and chosen activities.

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

All staff are aware of how best to support the children to manage their feelings and emotions in a safe way. This has helped to reduce incidents in the home.

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

Episodes of children going missing from home have significantly reduced. Staff follow clear processes and provide a well-coordinated response to locate children. Staff conduct nationwide searches and travel across the country to return children home. When children return, staff welcome them back warmly.

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

Children are kept safe by staff who know them well. The manager gives clear direction to staff to ensure that they understand the risks for each child. Children have individualised risk assessments, which are reviewed regularly to reflect any changes or progress.

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

Staff are supported by the clinical team to better understand the children’s experiences. This enables staff to implement agreed strategies to help to keep the children safe.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks that using the internet may pose for children and have introduced processes to address this. They work closely with family members and professionals to resolve any issues.

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

Staff are recruited safely so only suitable people work with children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC394478 5

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

The manager is child centred and has high ambitions for each of the children. However, she has not delegated caring tasks to staff effectively. This has impacted on her ability to complete some managerial tasks and notifications to the regulator are not always submitted in a timely manner.

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

The manager has built positive working relationships with professionals and families. The manager advocates and challenges other professionals when required, to achieve the best outcomes for children.

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

A stable and suitably qualified staff team is in place and is able to meet the needs of the children effectively. Staff feel supported by the manager and are supported to develop their professional practice through regular supervision, training and learning opportunities. The manager appropriately challenges staff practice through supervision sessions. However, supervision recording does not fully capture these conversations and lacks sufficient detail to evidence the level of challenge provided.

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

Allegations are rare and are managed in line with clear processes. The manager takes decisive action to ensure the immediate safety of the children. However, follow-up disciplinary action is not always completed in a timely manner. The manager is not consistently clear about the processes for seeking external advice.

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

The manager has completed a quality of care review. However, this does not include a clear plan for the home’s development. This is a missed opportunity to make improvements and to understand the impact that the care being provided is having on children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC394478 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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; and

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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)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that records are detailed and updated in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered manager must ensure that when staff do not follow processes and procedures they act in accordance with the provider’s disciplinary policies.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, the registered manager must ensure that they complete quality of care reviews in line with regulation. 7 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC394478 7 The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that the home is clean and well maintained throughout.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered manager must ensure that children cannot access roof spaces and that locks on all bathrooms for children’s use are accessible in an emergency. 7 May 2026

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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 an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there.

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that notifications to the regulator are made in a timely manner. 7 May 2026

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home: SC394478 8 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: SC394478 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cornerstone Children’s Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Centenary House, Centenary Way, Salford M50 1RF

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Inspectors

Caroline Bates, Social Care Inspector Eve Ostridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC394478 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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