Children's Home run by Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support Limited in St Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: 2785316 1 Registered provider: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support 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

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. Its offers care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home. All 3 children spoke to the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 13 January 2026

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: A monitoring visit was carried out on 12 March 2026 to monitor two compliance notices under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard). Following this visit, Ofsted concluded that the actions outlined in the notices had not been met and both compliance notices were reissued. Inspection report for children’s home: 2785316 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/01/2026 Full Inadequate 12/11/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2785316 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress. Leaders and managers are embedding new monitoring systems and have a good understanding of the strengths of the homes and areas to develop.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the same 3 children remain living at the home. Plans are in place for one child to move into supported accommodation.

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improvement to be good

Children have education plans in place and are making good progress. One teacher said, ‘There is lots of support for [child’s name] and staff attend all meetings.’ This helps children develop their social skills and to achieve their education goals.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are understood. Staff work closely with professionals to ensure that children receive additional health advice when required. Direct work is carried out with the children around substance misuse, emotional wellbeing and the risk associated with the use of electronic cigarettes.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy taking part in activities with staff. These include hikes, going bowling and shopping trips. These activities help children to remain fit and active and create memorable times.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the importance of children having relationships with their family and friends. However, the manager has not completed an incident report when a child’s location was compromised. Therefore, learning and reflection have not taken place and this was addressed during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is welcoming. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and there are photographs of the children in the communal area of the home. This provides children with a strong sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Children say they are happy and that they like the staff. They say that they can speak to staff and the manager if they have any worries.

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improvement to be good

Staff are aware of children’s risks and vulnerabilities. However, children’s risk assessments do not include clear strategies for staff to follow in practice to reduce risk. This means that children’s risks are not clearly understood. Inspection report for children’s home: 2785316 4 There has been one occasion when staff did not follow a child’s risk assessment, and they left the child in an empty bath for a considerable amount of time. The manager has taken appropriate action and shared concerns with professionals including the local authority designated officer. This has had an impact on the child’s emotional wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the manager has reviewed concerns and identified learning for himself and the staff. Additional direct work with the child mentioned above has been undertaken and the child’s important documents updated.

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improvement to be good

Staff have completed training to meet the needs of the children. The leaders and managers recognise that training needs to be embedded into practice and have plans in place to ensure that staff have ongoing development opportunities to strengthen their confidence, professional curiosity, skills and knowledge.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment processes are in place. This means that the adults caring for the children are safe to do so.

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

The registered manager continues to receive support from the responsible individual and the area manager. Staff are positive about the manager and state that he provides support, advice and guidance.

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

The shortfalls in leadership and management have impacted on children’s overall progress and experiences. The manager recognises this, and he is working to address these shortfalls. The manager has identified some areas for improvement, although they are not embedded into practice.

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

The home has experienced a period of instability in staffing. Staff have been dismissed or have been subject to disciplinary procedures. This has affected the consistency of care provided to children. Leaders and managers are taking action to address this issue.

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

Staff have inductions, but they are not working documents and therefore unhelpful for both the staff and the manager. This does not ensure the manager has full oversight of the staff’s knowledge and areas that may need to be supported to develop.

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

Staff receive regular reflective supervsions and team meetings take place on a regular basis. This provides staff with an opportunity to reflect on the children and their practice.

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

Leaders and managers have implemented new monitoring systems alongside additional layers of oversight. This helps the manager to have better oversight of shortfalls in staff practice and allows for these to be addressed in a timely manner. The manager has ensured that all serious incidents have been notified to Ofsted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2785316 5 The quality of care review does not evaluate or analyse children’s achievements and themes of concern. The report does not include or evaluate the opinions of children, family and staff. This is a missed opportunity to help the leaders and managers to evaluate the quality of care effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2785316 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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff take action to safeguard all children at all times, and ensure that all incidents and safeguarding concerns are reported and recorded.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments and behaviour support plans include up-to-date guidance for staff. 4 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2785316 7 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; 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)(h)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all incidents are recorded and reviewed.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that systems in place to monitor the care provided for children are embedded.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the manager must ensure that staff have a thorough induction. 4 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months. 4 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2785316 8 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (5))

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2785316 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support Limited, Suite 3, 125-129 Witton Street, Northwich CW9 5DY

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Inspector

Michelle Snape, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2785316 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 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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