Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Wolverhampton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC390576 1 SC390576

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Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A large private provider operates this home. Staff can provide care for up to 4 children who have experienced childhood adversities that has resulted in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2022. They hold a Level 5 Diploma in leadership and management for children’s residential care. The manager has not worked in the home since November 2025. A lead area manager is supporting this home and was present during this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. Both children were present and spoke about their experiences of living in the home.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC390576 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/08/2025 Full Good 24/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/06/2023 Full Good 01/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC390576 3

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Summary of findings

Children are settled and well supported by a consistent and nurturing team of staff who promote strong relationships, education, health and independence. Family connections are encouraged, contributing to children’s identity and resilience. Safeguarding is effective overall, with reduced risks and strong relationships, though improvements are needed in online safety and understanding emotional triggers. Leadership requires strengthening due to limited oversight, which has impacted monitoring and maintenance. Nevertheless, staff feel supported, receive appropriate training and work together to meet children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home are settled, happy and benefit from stable and nurturing care from a consistent staff team. Relationships important to children are prioritised, and children are supported by staff to maintain meaningful connections with family. Staff support children to purchase gifts for their family members to celebrate special occasions, such as Mother’s Day, birthdays and Christmas. This practice strengthens children’s identity and emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively promote education, ensuring consistent attendance and progress through effective communication with education providers. As a result, children do well in education, supporting their long-term opportunities. Both children have achieved qualifications, and staff are supporting them to access college and employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well understood. They have appropriate access to both routine and specialist services, ensuring that emerging concerns are addressed promptly. This contributes positively to their overall wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide individualised care. They encourage consistent routines that reflect children’s wishes while also promoting independence and essential life skills. Enabling children to build confidence and prepare well for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Partnership working with professionals is positive and contributes to children receiving consistent care that considers their long-term care plans.

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

Children are generally well protected. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities, which have reduced since living in the home. In most instances, they respond appropriately when concerns arise. This reduces the likelihood of harm and ensures that children experience consistent and effective safeguarding, supporting their overall safety and wellbeing. Inspection report for children’s home: SC390576 4 Positive relationships between staff and children help to prevent and de-escalate behaviours. As a result, there have been no incidents requiring physical intervention and no episodes of children going missing. This contributes to children feeling safe, secure and settled in the home.

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

Since the last inspection, three new staff have joined the team. Safer recruitment processes are appropriately in place. This reduces the risk of children been cared for by unsuitable individuals.

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

Safeguarding responses are appropriate, with staff sharing information promptly and acting when concerns arise. This supports effective multi-agency risk management and helps to protect children from harm.

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

There are gaps in online safety practice, including an insufficient understanding of one child’s internet use and a lack of clear, coordinated plans for monitoring and managing online risks. As a result, potential vulnerabilities are not fully assessed or mitigated, which may leave children at increased risk of harm or exploitation online.

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

Staff provide nurturing and compassionate support to children experiencing challenges with their emotional wellbeing. This helps children feel reassured and emotionally contained during periods of distress. However, there are inconsistencies in staff demonstrating professional curiosity to fully understand the underlying triggers for low mood episodes. This has resulted in at least one missed opportunity for early intervention, limiting the potential to provide timely, preventative support. Consequently, there have been delays in children receiving the help they need to manage their emotions more effectively.

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

Leadership and management arrangements currently lack sufficient capacity and oversight due to the absence of a registered manager over a prolonged period. This has contributed to the shortfalls identified. An area lead manager has been supporting the staff team alongside their wider organisational responsibilities; however, given the experience level within the team, these arrangements are not sufficient.

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

Monitoring systems are not always effective in identifying and evaluating the quality of care. As a result, opportunities for learning and service development are not always recognised or acted on in a timely way. This creates a risk that children’s experiences are not fully understood by leaders and managers.

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

There are delays in responding to maintenance issues in the home. Some outstanding improvements are required to ensure that the environment is fully maintained. In particular, the garden is not well kept, which limits children’s ability to use the grassed area for play.

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

Staff report that they value the support provided by the area lead manager, who visits the home weekly and offers on-call advice and guidance. Regular team meetings provide Inspection report for children’s home: SC390576 5 a reflective forum for staff to review children’s experiences and plan future care arrangements.

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

Supervision and team meetings offer structured support for staff. Annual performance reviews are in place for all staff, with new employees undergoing performance assessment during their probationary period. These arrangements provide opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice, identify learning needs and receive appropriate support.

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

New staff complete a structured induction. All staff have undertaken training that equips them to carry out their roles effectively and meet the individual needs of the children living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC390576 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— that staff—

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

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

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff consistently demonstrate professional curiosity to understand reasons why children hurt themselves. They must also ensure that there are clear procedures to prevent children from accessing harmful online content. 16 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 16 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC390576 7 promotes their welfare.

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that there is a suitable person appointed to manage the day-to-day running of the home in the absence of the registered manager. This person should apply to Ofsted to become registered. 16 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home provides a nurturing environment that meet the needs of their children. In particular, the home and garden should be consistently maintained to a good standard. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9).

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home: SC390576 8 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: SC390576 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor, Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6LR

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Inspector

Helen Dunn, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC390576 10 regulates 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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