Children's Home run by Choices Home for Children Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 1 Registered provider: Choices Home for Children 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 organisation. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home. The inspector spoke to both children about their experiences of living there.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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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good

Date of last inspection: 29 September 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged to have serious and widespread concerns at an assurance inspection on 16 December 2025. Compliance notices were issued under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. These related to regulation 12 (the protection of children standard), regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) and regulation 14 (the care planning standard). A monitoring visit took place on 17 Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 2 February 2026. The provider had taken sufficient action to meet the compliance notices. Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/09/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/11/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/08/2023 Full Good 29/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 4

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Summary of findings

The experiences of children living at the home are mixed. One child has been well supported by staff to make progress, while risks for the other child are increasing. There are shortfalls in safeguarding practice, and staff are not always proactive in their approach to caring for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff have supported one child to make positive progress when considering their starting point. They have returned to education, their risks have reduced and there is a plan for them to return to live with their family. However, staff have not provided the same level of support to the other child living at the home. Risks are increasing for the child, and their emotional wellbeing and relationships are suffering.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care plans are personalised to them; however, they are not always regularly updated by staff. For one child, this meant new behaviours were not included in their plans and there was no guidance for staff on how best to support them.

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improvement to be good

Staff support for children’s education is inconsistent. They support one child to make positive progress in their education and have ensured that there is tuition in place to help them pursue their chosen career. However, staff do not consistently provide children with meaningful learning opportunities when they are not in full-time education. This does not provide the structure and routine necessary to support children’s education.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children’s engagement with support services to help their emotional wellbeing. The in-house therapeutic practitioner provides individual support to children and advice and guidance to staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff build positive relationships with children, which enables them to have important conversations about meaningful topics. For example, staff helped a child develop their understanding of healthy relationships, which had positive outcomes for them. They are professionally curious in their approach and consistent in reinforcing boundaries during conversations.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always provide activities and experiences for children. Although staff support children to take part in fun activities, such as fishing and paintballing, they do not provide enough opportunities to meet children’s individual needs or interests. This limits the opportunities to provide structure and routine and reduce the risk of children placing themselves at risk in the community. Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 5

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improvement to be good

Risks have significantly decreased for one child, and they are making good progress. A social care professional spoke positively about staff’s commitment to the child and their communication about risk. However, the risks for the other child living at the home have significantly increased.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments lack detail and include generic strategies that are not specific to the child’s individual needs. This does not help staff safeguard children effectively. Staff do not follow all the actions outlined in the children’s plans to help keep them safe. For example, staff do not always complete phone checks, despite this being a strategy in the child’s plan to reduce risk. This is a missed opportunity to safeguard the child effectively when they are in the community.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing, staff search for them and report them as missing to the police in a timely manner. However, staff are not always persistent in their efforts to locate children and return them safely to the home. For example, staff allowed significant time to pass between searches despite known risks to the child in the community. Furthermore, the plans for children spending time in the community are not effective or sustainable, which led to an increase in missing episodes for one child. Leaders and managers acknowledge this and are working with professionals to address this.

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improvement to be good

When children self-harm, medical attention is usually offered, and room searches take place. However, on one occasion, when a child left the home following a self- harm incident, staff did not offer them any medical attention when they returned. This was a missed opportunity to provide the child with additional support should they want it.

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improvement to be good

There are gaps in the reporting and recording of incidents. For example, staff do not always report when welfare checks are completed following incidents of self-harm or all actions taken to de-escalate incidents. This limits the effectiveness of management oversight of staff practice.

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good

There has been a consistent leadership team in place since the last inspection. Staff speak positively about the support they receive and say leaders and managers care about them and the children. There is a positive working dynamic within the team, including waking night staff.

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good

Team meetings take place regularly and are used as an opportunity for reflection and learning. The manager uses quizzes and workshops to develop staff practice, and the therapeutic support team also provides additional advice and guidance to staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 6 Management oversight is evidenced across children’s records. However, leaders and managers have not identified and addressed shortfalls in staff practice, for example when staff do not follow the plans to safeguard children, increasing the risk of harm.

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good

Leaders and managers do not ensure that there are effective monitoring and review systems in place to improve the quality of care provided to children. For example, there are no effective systems in place to monitor and review the progress children are making in developing their independence skills. This means it is difficult for staff to identify how best to support them.

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good

Staff have engaged in training specific to the children’s individual needs. However, staff have not attended any formal training or received guidance in relation to a child’s new behaviour. Furthermore, managers had not ensured that all expired training was rescheduled for staff in a timely way. Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 7

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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;

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff follow all strategies identified in children’s plans to keep them safe.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the plans in place to safeguard children are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are effective and sustainable. 24 July 2026

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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

promotes their welfare. 24 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is effective management oversight to ensure that safeguarding shortfalls in staff practice are identified and addressed.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are effective systems and processes in place to monitor and review children’s care and progress, particularly in regard to independence.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff have the appropriate skills and experience to meet children’s individual needs by ensuring that training and guidance are implemented around new behaviours for children, and any expired training is scheduled and refreshed in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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 achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study; 24 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 9 understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s daily routines encourage and promote their engagement in education.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date; and 24 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 10 are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s records are kept up to date and sufficiently detailed. This includes ensuring that children’s care plans are regularly updated.

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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: 2674455 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Choices Home for Children Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 31 Wellington Road, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 7ED

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Inspector

Hayley Smith, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 12 and inspects 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 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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