Children's Home run by Orchard Adolescent Care Group in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 1 Registered provider: Orchard Adolescent Care Group

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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 one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2025.

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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 are not protected and their welfare is not promoted.

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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: 2794973 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2025 Full Good 11/02/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 3

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Summary of findings

Significant shortfalls in safeguarding practice and the leadership and management of the home have been identified. This has impacted on the safety and progress of the child living at the home. Despite the significant safeguarding concerns identified, the child has developed positive relationships with the staff team, and the staff speak about the child with warmth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Shortfalls in help and protection, alongside weaknesses in leadership and management, mean that the child has not been consistently safeguarded. Their experiences and progress have been adversely affected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child is not consistently supported to engage in activities outside of the home or to participate in hobbies and interests. When not in education, there is a lack of structure, boundaries and routine and the child spends extended periods gaming. This does not support the child's social or emotional wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child's emotional health needs are not being met. Although the provider has commissioned a clinical service to support the child, poor information-sharing by leaders and managers has limited the effectiveness of this support. This has significantly hindered the child's progress and has placed both the child and the therapist at increased risk.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child's education is not consistently supported due to poor communication between staff and the education provider. Incidents are not always shared with relevant professionals in a timely manner, which means that appropriate strategies to support the child are not always implemented. Despite these shortfalls, the child attends school regularly. Staff attend parents' evenings and take steps to celebrate the child's achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not have access to the most up-to-date information about the child. Key statutory documentation is missing, which limits the staff team's ability to meet the child's individual needs and ensure their safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that the home environment is maintained to a suitable standard. Walls, furnishings and carpets are visibly dirty, the front door is without a letter box and the gardens are overgrown and contain rubbish. This does not provide the child with a safe, comfortable or nurturing environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child is supported to see people who are important to them. The team regularly facilitates family time with the child's parents. Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 4

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

The child is not receiving good-quality care and is not adequately protected from harm. Staff's failure to raise concerns, alongside poor decision-making by leaders and managers, has increased the risk of harm to the child.

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

Leaders, managers and staff do not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities and have failed to take prompt action when concerns arise. Staff have not followed whistleblowing procedures when the child has disclosed incidents of harm. Additionally, when leaders and managers have been made aware of safeguarding concerns, they have not taken appropriate or timely action to ensure the child's safety.

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

The child's risk plans do not detail all known risks and vulnerabilities. Consequently, staff, including agency staff, do not have the information needed to keep the child safe and meet their individual care needs.

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

Safeguards are not in place to ensure that the child is protected when using the internet. Not all staff were aware that the child had recently attempted to download content that was not age-appropriate and access a chat site. Although staff say that they complete device checks, there is no recorded evidence to demonstrate that these are carried out consistently.

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

Direct work with the child is inconsistent. Staff have not engaged the child in discussions to support their understanding of important topics, such as appropriate language, personal care and staying safe online. This represents a missed opportunity to develop the child's awareness in areas that are directly relevant to their needs.

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

Staff rotas are not consistently maintained and do not always clearly record which staff are on shift or the hours worked. This results in an incomplete record of who has cared for the child and does not demonstrate that agreed safeguarding plans are consistently followed.

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

Safer recruitment practices are poor. Leaders and managers have not ensured that all adults working with children are safe to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager is currently absent from the home. The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2025. An interim manager has been employed to support the home in the registered manager's absence. However, they have not had the opportunity to implement essential changes to make improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager and responsible individual have failed to effectively monitor the home. They do not have sufficient oversight of the quality of care or staff practice. There have been significant delays in reviewing incidents, and some records have been Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 5 retrospectively rewritten. As a result, the accuracy, frequency and extent of incidents cannot be reliably determined.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not worked collaboratively. There has been a significant delay in sharing information with the child's parents, placing authority and clinical team. Leaders and managers have not ensured that relevant information has been shared with Ofsted or that independent audits have been completed within regulatory timescales. This means that there has been a delay in independent oversight of matters that relate to the child's progress, safety and welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are not adequately supported to improve their practice or the care they provide to the child. Appraisals, regular supervision and team meetings are not taking place. As a result, staff do not have opportunities for professional development or to reflect on their practice and incidents that have occurred.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Consequences given in response to the child's behaviour are not recorded in line with regulatory requirements. Records lack evidence of management oversight and there has been no evaluation of their effectiveness.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home's statement of purpose is inaccurate and misleading. It does not include the current registered manager's details, contains incorrect information about the staff team and provides factually inaccurate information regarding staff experience and clinical support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Senior leaders and managers were aware of some of the concerns identified prior to the inspection. However, limited action had been taken to address these issues. While there are plans in place to increase support in the home, these have not resulted in meaningful improvements. Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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;

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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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12(1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that all known risks for the child are appropriately assessed, with clear strategies in place for staff to manage and reduce the risks effectively. 14 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 7 Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that all staff are aware of the whistleblowing procedure, and that all relevant agencies are informed of incidents, allegations and concerns as appropriate so that they have the necessary information to assess risk, safeguard the child and make informed decisions about their welfare in a timely way.

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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;

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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

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)(g)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that there are effective monitoring and review systems in place to identify address shortfalls in staff practice, so that the child is safe and the quality of their care is continually improved. 14 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

*The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children's home; or 14 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 8 if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that all staff recruitment files confirm compliance with safer recruitment practices and regulation 32, and any identified shortfalls are addressed promptly to ensure that only suitable and safe adults are working with the child.

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Requirement Due date

satisfy the requirements in paragraph (5)(a) to (c); and

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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)(a)(b)) 4 July 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

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; 4 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 9 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) (2)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard. Specifically, they must ensure that rubbish is removed, damaged items are replaced and furnishings are of a good quality and clean.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children's home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 4 July 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.

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that all staff receive yearly appraisals and effective, regular supervision. 4 July 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

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 4 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 10 The registered provider must ensure that all up-to-date statutory documents are received for the child.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that any consequences implemented to keep the child safe or in response to their behaviour are clearly evaluated for effectiveness. 4 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 4 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 11 an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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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)(b)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that significant incidents are shared with Ofsted.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home's records (except for a child's case records, unless the child and the child's placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person's report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person's opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children's well-being.

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Requirement Due date

the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and

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Requirement Due date

the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(b) (4)(a)(b)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that the independent person scrutinises the quality of care and records a clear and factual account of their findings and that reports are consistently shared with Ofsted. 4 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 4 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 12 maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that rotas include the full names of all staff who work in the home and the actual hours they have worked.

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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: 2794973 13

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Orchard Adolescent Care Group

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Unit 16 Holroyd Business Centre, Carr Bottom Road, Bradford BD5 9BP

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Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2794973 14 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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