Children's Home run by Partners in Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC441717 1 SC441717 Registered provider: Partners in Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private provider. It offers care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were 2 children living in the home. Both children spoke with the inspectors.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement

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requires improvement

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement

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requires improvement

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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC441717 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/06/2025 Full Good 20/01/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/11/2023 Full Good 23/08/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC441717 3

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Summary of findings

Children’s experiences are affected by an unsettled staff culture in the home. Staff do not consistently demonstrate the nurturing and therapeutic approach needed to build trusting relationships and support children effectively. Staff do not always balance children’s wishes and feelings with their safeguarding responsibilities. This means that children have not always received the level of care, support and protection that they need.

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Summary of findings

Oversight by leaders and managers is not effective and weaknesses in staff practice are not consistently addressed or learned from.

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Summary of findings

Children make some progress, including with regard to school attendance and developing independence. Children report feeling safe and the manager knows the children well.

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Summary of findings

Children are supported to celebrate important cultural and religious events, and to access food and activities that are meaningful to them. Children maintain links with people and communities who are important to their identity.

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improvement

Children are exposed to staff conflict and unprofessional behaviour. This has a negative impact on children’s daily lives, including with regard to their willingness to access communal areas of the home and develop relationships with some staff.

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improvement

Staff do not consistently encourage children’s sense of belonging. On occasion, one child has remained in their bedroom for long periods without staff checking on their welfare. Children routinely eat meals in their bedrooms. Staff do not encourage shared mealtime routines or positive social experiences within the home.

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improvement

Children are making progress in some areas of their lives. One child has good attendance at school, and staff support and encourage regular educational attendance despite barriers being in place. Feedback from the school is positive. Staff are supporting another child to develop their independence skills, due to the stability of them living in the home for a longer period than in any previous home.

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improvement

The front and rear garden areas are poorly maintained and do not provide children with inviting spaces in which to relax, play or spend time together. This limits children’s opportunities to enjoy being outside and reduces the overall feel of the environment. Inspection report for children’s home: SC441717 4 Staff support children to celebrate important cultural and religious events, to access food and activities that are meaningful to them and to maintain links with people and communities who are important to their identity.

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improvement

Children’s health needs are well supported. Staff understand children’s individual health needs. Children receive their medication as required and are supported to attend routine and specialist health appointments. This helps children to stay healthy and promotes their physical and emotional wellbeing.

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improvement

Leaders and managers do not always provide children with clear and consistent messages about when information about them needs to be shared with staff and involved professionals to help keep them safe. At times, managers take an overly cautious approach to confidentiality. As a result, staff do not always have the insight they need to understand how children are feeling or to respond effectively to their needs.

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improvement

Staff are caring and want to maintain positive relationships with children. However, they rely on external professionals to oversee some aspects of children’s safety. As a result, opportunities to take decisive action to reduce risk are sometimes missed.

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improvement

Children say that they feel safe living in their home. Leaders and managers recognise the need to strengthen safeguarding practice and have demonstrated some awareness of the need for greater oversight and support.

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improvement

Staff have carried out work with children around risk and safety. However, this is not yet consistent or sufficiently reflective following incidents. Opportunities to help children understand risk, reflect on incidents and develop safer choices are sometimes missed, limiting children’s ability to build their understanding and independence over time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Leaders and managers do not provide consistently effective oversight of the home. Monitoring and review systems are not effective in identifying shortfalls in practice or ensuring that concerns are addressed promptly. Incidents are not consistently evaluated in sufficient depth and opportunities to reflect on practice and learn from events are overlooked.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The manager is committed to improving the quality of care provided to children and demonstrates genuine care for them. Children speak positively about the manager and describe her as someone they trust and can talk to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Supervision is not used effectively to support staff development. A new format has been introduced since the last inspection; however, this is not fully embedded in practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC441717 5 Supervision sessions do not always provide sufficient challenge or address weaknesses in practice effectively. This means that staff are not consistently supported to reflect on and improve their work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Staff have access to relevant training to support them in their roles. However, leaders and managers do not always ensure that this learning is embedded into practice and have not ensured that staff complete their childcare qualification in the set timescale. This means that staff do not consistently demonstrate the skills and confidence needed to respond effectively to children’s needs, particularly when risks arise. Inspection report for children’s home: SC441717 6

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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(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must have effective oversight and monitoring systems to ensure that shortfalls in practice are identified promptly, addressed effectively and used as opportunities for learning and reflection.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff consistently model professional, respectful behaviour and that conflict between staff is addressed promptly and effectively and does not impact on children. 25 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC441717 7 In addition, the registered manager must also ensure that supervision sessions are used effectively to provide staff with challenge, support and guidance to improve the quality of care provided to children.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i)(viii)(ix)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff consistently monitor children’s welfare, including when children spend extended periods in their bedrooms, and take prompt action to support their emotional wellbeing.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered manager must ensure that staff build positive relationships with children that are based on mutual respect and understanding and that staff help each child to develop the emotional resilience and skills they need to manage their relationships successfully. 25 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC441717 8 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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff understand and fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities. Staff must be supported to confidently monitor, be professionally curious and respond to identified risks.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that children receive clear and consistent explanations about when information about them may need to be shared to help keep them safe and well cared for.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff complete consistent, reflective work with children following incidents, so that children are helped to understand risk and develop safer choices. 25 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

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child; and 30 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC441717 9 enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that external areas of the home are well maintained, safe and secure.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff are supported to achieve the relevant qualification within the time frame specified in regulation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.6)

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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: SC441717 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partners in Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspectors

Sally Mitchell, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC441717 11 to 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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