Children's Home run by Kids Inc Residential Services Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: 2858142 1 Registered provider: Kids Inc Residential Services 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 provides care for up to 6 children with learning disabilities for a maximum of sixteen weeks for the purpose of assessing their needs.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 2 children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The inspectors only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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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: 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: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2858142 2

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Summary of findings

The children are aware of the reasons for their stay in the home and they have settled in well. Overall children’s time here is positive. However, some shortfalls in practice have limited their experience and outcomes.

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Summary of findings

Children’s safety and wellbeing are important to the staff and incidents are rare. However, children’s plans are not a clear guide for staff during periods of increased risk for children.

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Summary of findings

The manager has effective oversight of the home and has recruited a staff team that is diverse and child focussed.

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Summary of findings

The inspectors spoke with both children during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live at the home for up to 16 weeks, where a robust assessment process is carried out to identify their individual needs. This includes input from clinical and educational services which helps shape recommendations for their future care and support. One professional said, ‘they provide a safe and nurturing environment for [name of child].’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children attend the school on site and as a result their attendance and engagement has increased significantly. Staff are available to support the children at school when needed, providing the children with consistency. Children are encouraged to develop their independence skills and have made notable progress with personal care skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in individual lodges and are encouraged and supported by the staff to personalise these to their taste. The lodges are kept clean. However, all lodges have some aspects of damage and wear that have not been addressed. There is lots of outdoor space and there are amenities such as go karting on site that the children can use. However, there are limited opportunities for children to spend time together which impacts on children developing friendships and social skills. This also prevents a full assessment of children’s needs in relation to living alongside other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and the manager ensures that children attend all routine appointments. One child has a complex health condition that is very well managed by both the child and the staff. One professional said, ‘staff have been proactive in accessing training and seeking advice when required, which has helped to ensure safe and consistent management .’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to take part in a wide range of activities that are readily available to them. Staff actively seek and respond to children’s ideas and suggestions. This means Inspection report for children's home: 2858142 3 children feel listened to and valued. Staff also support and encourage children to have regular time with their families. Staff actively promote time with family members for the benefit of the children, helping them to maintain, and build on, important relationships despite being away from home.

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

Children have developed positive relationships with the staff. One parent said. ‘I think staff are doing a great job, they support [name of child] with their emotional wellbeing and speak with him fondly, absolutely everyone loves them’.

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

Incidents are rare and staff have not used physical intervention. There has been one incident of substance misuse for one child. The staff involved showed professional curiosity and followed their instincts to establish the facts. Appropriate follow up action was taken by the staff and the manager.

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

Children benefit from open and honest conversations with the staff relating to any concerns that arise. Any issues are addressed swiftly with the aim of reducing risk and educating children to make different choices. Children’s behaviour is supported through positive reinforcement and natural consequences

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

There has been an increase in one child being missing from the home. Staff demonstrate appropriate responses, including efforts to locate the child and working with relevant professionals, however, practice is inconsistent when children are missing overnight. There are gaps in proactive welfare checks and attempts to contact the child during night hours. There is a lack of clear guidance for night time checks in the child’s plans, resulting in reduced safeguarding oversight during high-risk periods. Although the manager has since strengthened written guidance, oversight and practice were not sufficiently robust to ensure continuous efforts to safeguard the child whilst away from the home.

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

The manager follows safer recruitment processes. This reduces the risk of unsuitable adults working with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified. They are keen to develop the home and have confidence in the model of care they are providing. The manager knows their staff and is aware of their strengths and development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s moves into the home are well planned by the manager. However, they have not escalated concerns for one child who is nearing the end of their stay and does not yet have an agreed plan in place. Additionally, the manager attends all relevant meetings for the children but has not ensured that agreed external assessments are completed. This leaves children uncertain of their future and impacts the ability to fully evaluate and respond to children’s needs. Inspection report for children's home: 2858142 4 The staff say they receive regular, reflective supervision sessions. Records show that staff are provided with strong and supportive leadership that helps them to develop. Additionally, team meetings provide staff with an opportunity to discuss care planning arrangements and updates on children’s assessments. The manager has reflective discussions with staff to support ongoing learning and development. Clear actions are

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

identified during meetings, with timescales set for completion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some of the language used in records and conversations is institutional and impersonal, which does not support children’s understanding or emotional needs should they read or hear it. Inspection report for children's home: 2858142 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 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person 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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that when a child is missing from the home overnight, there are clear, agreed procedures in place that set out exactly what actions staff are expected to take. These plans should provide staff with clear guidance on their responsibilities to ensure a consistent and effective response that prioritises the child’s safety. 26 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. 26 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2858142 6 (Regulation 5(C))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are clear plans in place for each child’s next steps following their time at the home. This includes ensuring that any agreed assessments, which would support the understanding of the child’s needs and future planning, are progressed and actively followed up.

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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.

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are provided with time, space, and opportunities to interact with one another, helping them to form friendships and develop positive social skills. 26 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— 26 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2858142 7 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

The registered person must ensure that all individual lodges are maintained to a high standard and that any wear or damage is addressed in a timely manner.

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Recommendation

 The responsible person should ensure that the home maintains a nurturing environment and that language used when describing routines and activities reflects that used in a family home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2858142 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Kids Inc Residential Services Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 11 Gatley Road, Cheadle SK8 1LY

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Inspectors

Kerri Lynch, Social Care Inspector Kimberley Feeley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2858142 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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