Children's Home run by THR SERVICES LIMITED in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 1 Registered provider: THR Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a small private provider and is registered to provide care for up to 2 children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has had no registered manager since June 2025. Since then, there have been 2 managers, neither of whom have registered with Ofsted. The current manager has resigned.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and 2 children have moved in. At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home and one was spoken with.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/05/2025 Full Good 15/07/2024 Full Good 23/04/2024 Full Inadequate 06/02/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 3

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, there has been no consistent leadership team at the home. There are a significant number of shortfalls in the care that staff provide for children. Leaders and staff do not understand the specific needs of children, and one child has moved in whose needs are not in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Staff have not followed plans for children, leaving them at risk. There are several issues in the staff team related to professionalism and accuracy of recording. The manager has not had good oversight of the home and staff practice. As a result, the care and protection of children are inadequate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders did not ensure staff had the necessary skills to care for a child with complex health needs before they moved into the home. The child’s health needs are significant and the home’s statement of purpose does not align with the child’s care needs. Staff do not prepare children already living in the home when other children are moving in or out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The manager and staff do not understand the specific needs of children and are unable to recall key details related to children. The manager does not have a good understanding of the legal status of children or the specific implications of different legal orders.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There was a significant incident when a child required medical attention for their physical and mental health, however, this was not sought at the time. The next day the child remained unwell, and staff contacted health professionals. However, they then cancelled this appointment when the child was unhappy about it. This shows a lack of care for a child with complex needs. The child did not receive medical attention in response to what could have been a significant health concern.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not support children to consistently engage in meaningful daily routines and activities that promote structure for them. Staff offer inconsistent responses to children, which are not in line with their plans, which impacts on the ability to staff to implement boundaries for children to support their wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff have not built positive relationships with children. Leaders and staff refer to children by their initials, which depersonalises them. This shows a lack of care by staff for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not support or encourage children to have healthy lifestyles. Children do not have positive sleep routines and are regularly awake all night on their mobile phones or cooking food in the early hours of the morning. Staff do not support children with their self-care, which places children at risk of harm to their health and wellbeing. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 4 regularly order takeaway food to be delivered late at night for the children rather than supporting more healthy choices and routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not support children to meaningfully engage in education. For one child who has been out of education for some time, no formal education was arranged until they had been living in the home for some time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support family time for children, both in and outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not consistently complete accurate records about the day-to-day lived experiences of children. This prevents professionals having clear oversight of progress and concerns, as information is lacking factual accuracy and detail.

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

When children go missing from home, staff do not consistently follow policies and procedures. Leaders have not ensured children receive independent return home interviews. An incident occurred when a child asked to go outside late at night. Although a member of staff initially accompanied the child, they went back inside due to feeling cold, leaving the child unsupervised outside. The child was subsequently returned home by police. Staff action placed the child at risk of harm.

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

Staff do not always report or act when a child is absent from the home or their education provision. This means staff do not always know the where children are when they are not in the home or whether they are at risk of exploitation. During the inspection, the manager informed the inspector that a child had attended school, when they had not done so and had been taken elsewhere by staff. The manager and staff were unable to explain where the child had been or what they had been doing during this time. Leaders and managers minimise risk and do not show professional curiosity in response to these absences. This places children at risk of significant harm.

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

There was a significant incident involving threatening behaviour between 2 members of staff which required intervention from another staff member to prevent the incident escalating to physical violence. The manager did not notify external safeguarding agencies or Ofsted of this incident. The manager and staff gave different accounts of the incident. It was unclear how the manager was assured that staff were safe to work with children following this incident. Furthermore, the manager did not adequately consider the potential impact of this incident on children, given their previous life experiences.

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

Leaders have not had adequate oversight of the risk of fire in the home, despite numerous concerns raised by independent oversight. Staff would need to support children to evacuate the home, however, there have been no fire drills. A member of staff raised concerns about how they would safely evacuate a child with significant health needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 5 Leaders and staff do not regularly review medication for children. Staff stopped offering one child their medication, without gaining a full understanding from health professionals of the potential implications for the child.

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

Care plans and behaviour management plans for children do not contain full information about the needs of children and are not updated regularly. Staff do not consistently follow plans for children, impacting on the quality of care they receive.

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

A concern in relation to safe recruitment was identified during the inspection. The responsible individual stated a staff member who was working in another children’s home belonging to a different organisation as well as working in this home was working illegally because of the terms of their sponsorship licence. In addition, there were no measures in place to share safeguarding information with the other home. Despite this information being known for several months, the directors have failed to act in response. Children could be at risk of harm because of this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been no registered manager at the home since June 2025, and the leadership arrangements remain unstable as the current manager has resigned. The responsible individual does not have adequate oversight of the home. He acknowledges the significance of the shortfalls in the home; however, his oversight has not been robust enough to ensure these shortfalls were identified and addressed. Similarly, the director, who has extensive experience, has not taken action to address the shortfalls and improve the care and safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not supported staff to work effectively together as a team. Staff have raised concerns about professionalism in the team, that other staff do not always record information as required and that information recorded is not always accurate. Staff give different accounts of the experiences of children living in the home, which raises significant concerns and means there is a lack of understanding of the experience of children in the home. Leaders have not ensured safe storage of children’s information, which could impact on children should they want to read their records in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not had oversight of staff practice. Supervisions for all staff have not taken place regularly, in line with the statement of purpose. Supervisions and team meetings do not consistently focus on the needs of both children. There are closed cultures in the home which further impact the care and safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not received training to understand the specific care needs of children with complex health needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been 3 different independent visitors for the home since October 2025. This impacts on the consistency of oversight. On occasions, the visitor has spent only a short time in the home, which does not allow for a full analysis of information. They have not obtained feedback from professionals, parents and children. Leaders do not respond promptly to the recommendations made by the independent visitor. Leaders and Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 6 managers also said the independent visitor had provided advice which could place children at risk of harm by having their data shared inappropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s statement of purpose contains identifying information related to children and the manager has not identified the potential risk to children and related breaches of privacy for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not demonstrate a clear understanding of required improvements or how to achieve them. In the absence of effective monitoring, staff development and a culture of poor staff practice, children are at risk of harm. Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 7

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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 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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h) 12 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

Staff have supervision regularly, in line with the statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders support staff to work together as a team.

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Requirement Due date

Staff have specific training related to needs of children.

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Requirement Due date

Staff’s recording is accurate and reflects the experiences of children.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders have effective oversight of all areas of staff practice and the experiences of children.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders have systems in place to drive improvements in the home.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; 12 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 9 that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

Leaders refer safeguarding issues to external agencies as necessary.

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Requirement Due date

Staff understand safeguarding policies in the home.

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Requirement Due date

Staff follow missing-from-care protocols consistently.

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Independent return home interviews are carried out when children have been missing from home.

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Requirement Due date

Risk assessments clearly set out how children’s needs will be managed by staff.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and 12 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 10 plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders should only agree to placements for a child when staff can consistently meet the child’s needs and when children living in the home are prepared for others moving in. Leaders should ensure that children’s plans are robust and that care plans are followed by staff.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders must ensure that the home has a suitably experienced and consistent manager in place, who must register without delay. 12 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans; 12 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 11 understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure leaders and staff understand the health needs of children and ensure children receive prompt medical attention.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was set at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that regular fire drills take place and that staff have a good understanding of how to safely evacuate children. All actions from independent review of fire safety should be promptly completed. 12 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

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

ensure that staff— 12 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 12 provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(vi)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff should support each child to engage in meaningful daily routines and activities that promote structure, build life skills and prepare them for greater independence.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was set at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(viii)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and staff should ensure children are referred to by their names. Staff should understand the impact of past experiences on children and should seek to develop positive and trusting relationships with children. 12 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. 12 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 13 When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the responsible individual should have good oversight of children’s care and safety needs. 12 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a) (2)(d)) 12 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2735355 14

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: THR Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Room 2 First Floor, Main Road, Middleton Cheney, Banbury OX17 2PW

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Inspector

Lorna Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2735355 15 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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