Children's Home run by Outbound Care in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2523036 1 Registered provider: Outbound Care

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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 operated by a private provider. It offers care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

One child has moved into the home since the last full inspection. The inspector was able to speak to the child about their experiences of living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 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/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and/or the care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 11 November 2025

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2523036 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/11/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/02/2025 Full Good 12/09/2023 Full Good 15/06/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2523036 3

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Summary of findings

Poor and ineffective leadership and management and safeguarding practices have limited the positive impact on the experiences and progress of the child living at the home.

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Summary of findings

Staff responses to substance misuse are inconsistent. When the child is suspected of being under the influence of substances, staff do not consistently seek appropriate medical attention. Risk assessments lack clear and practical guidance for staff to follow.

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Summary of findings

Staff do not consistently receive reflective supervision, and monitoring and review systems are not used effectively. This lack of oversight does not ensure that staff consistently deliver good care or that the home operates in line with regulatory requirements.

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Summary of findings

The child is happy living at the home. Staff have built positive, supportive relationships with the child and enjoy caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Poor and ineffective leadership and management and safeguarding practices have limited the positive impact on the experiences and progress of the child living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The condition and maintenance of the home environment are inconsistent. The child’s bedroom is very messy, and staff do not support the child to keep it clean and tidy. The back garden is poorly maintained, with bags of garden waste and a broken shed, and is currently not suitable for children to play in or relax. Although new garden furniture has been ordered, this has not yet improved the outdoor space. The communal areas of the home are, however, well maintained and homely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite the manager and staff promoting education, this has had little impact on the child’s consistent engagement and progress. Attendance at online lessons is irregular, limiting meaningful learning. Although the child has plans to sit their functional skills exams and has attended college open days and an initial assessment, these isolated activities do not amount to sustained engagement in education and therefore do not demonstrate improved educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The manager and staff recognise and celebrate the child’s achievements and progress with thoughtful gestures, including marking the child’s one week and one month of sobriety with cake, cards and thoughtful gifts. Staff use daily positive affirmations to support the child to make the right choices and build their self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There is a stable and consistent staff team. Staff show commitment and enjoy working in the home and caring for the child. The child said, ‘I love living here and want to stay.’ Professionals also say that the child has good relationships with the staff and manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2523036 4

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

Serious weaknesses in safeguarding practice mean that risks are not appropriately identified, understood or managed by leaders, managers and staff. Staff do not have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. Risk assessments are ineffective and lack clear strategies to manage and reduce known risks, including those linked to substance misuse, leaving the child exposed to potential harm.

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

There are serious weaknesses in management oversight. Leaders and managers do not have oversight of all significant incidents in the home, including room searches and self- harm. This limits leaders’ and managers’ ability to identify patterns, respond to emerging risks and ensure that staff actions align with the child’s risk assessments.

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

Inconsistent and ineffective staff responses to substance misuse place the child at risk of harm. Staff do not monitor the child adequately when they are under the influence of alcohol and fail to seek medical advice, even when there are clear indications that the child may be heavily affected by unknown substances. This weak practice increases the risk of harm, including overdose, injury and unrecognised or untreated medical complications.

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

Staff failed to take appropriate and timely action when the child left the home and obtained a substantial amount of money. They did not attempt to locate the child or seek guidance from managers, despite the increased risk this presented. This poor response resulted in the child being able to access drugs and alcohol and subsequently being found intoxicated in the community by a concerned member of the public, who alerted the police.

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

Staff carry out room searches when concerns are identified and as part of missing-from- home protocols. However, they do not speak to the child about their concerns and the items found. This lack of professional curiosity weakens safeguarding practice and limits opportunities to explore and address risk.

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

Follow-up work after incidents is inconsistent and does not clearly identify staff concerns or explore associated risks and potential harm. This limits the child’s ability to reflect on their experiences, understand consequences and develop strategies to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff respond effectively to missing-from-home incidents. They make every effort to locate the child and encourage their safe return. The child is warmly welcomed when they return home. Staff adapt their approach to missing-from-home incidents depending on whether the child is missing locally or in their hometown.

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

The manager and staff work with specialist agencies and professionals such as the complex safeguarding team and child and adolescent mental health services. Staff also encourage the child’s engagement with substance misuse support agencies. As a result, the child has access to the support they need. Inspection report for children’s home: 2523036 5 The child’s complaints are taken seriously and investigated fully. The manager addresses the concerns with those involved and ensures that staff understand the expected standards of practice. The child is kept informed of outcomes, which has contributed to improved relationships between the child and a staff member.

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

The manager monitors and evaluates the impact of consequences and adapts practice when these are not effective. This includes introducing restorative approaches in place of monetary consequences where appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders, managers and staff do not demonstrate professional curiosity and learning from safeguarding incidents. Oversight of incident records is ineffective, resulting in missed opportunities to identify themes, improve staff practice and strengthen the safety and welfare of children. The management oversight of incident records lacks effective evaluation, resulting in limited learning from incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not use monitoring and review systems effectively. The lack of attention to detail and poor scrutiny of practice do not ensure that staff consistently deliver good-quality care or operate in line with regulatory requirements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is a clear induction programme in place to support new staff to develop the skills relevant to their role. However, supervision is not sufficiently effective. While sessions take place regularly, they are often brief and lack meaningful reflective discussion. This does not ensure that poor practice is challenged or that staff receive clear guidance and opportunities for professional development, which may negatively impact staff practice and performance and the overall quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. They are used effectively to prepare staff for new admissions and to review the child’s risks, routines and support strategies. However, actions identified during meetings are not consistently monitored by the manager, and there is insufficient oversight to ensure tasks are completed to an appropriate standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager and staff have developed good relationships with the child’s wider professional network. Professionals say that they are responsive and keep them fully updated on the child’s challenges and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Although staff say that the management team is approachable and they feel fully supported, significant shortfalls have been identified in the leadership and management of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Requirements raised at the previous inspection and subsequent assurance visit have not all been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2523036 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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

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)(iii)(v)(vi)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff act on any sign that a child may be at risk of significant harm. In addition, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s risk assessments provide staff with clear strategies to respond in crisis situations. Staff must understand what they need to do to keep children safe. Additionally, leaders and managers must ensure that follow-up work is completed with the child following incidents and room searches. 26 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2523036 7 In addition, the registered person must ensure that the child’s bedroom is kept to a good standard. Daily routines should support the child to maintain a clean and tidy space, and where the child is unable to do so, staff must ensure the bedroom is kept clean and tidy.

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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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; 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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they lead and manage the home consistently so that children receive care 26 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2523036 8 in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Leaders and managers must continually and actively assess the risks to the child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Additionally, leaders and managers must ensure that staff use research to inform targeted work with children, particularly regarding risk-taking behaviours.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, leaders and managers must implement effective monitoring systems to ensure that key documents, such as room searches and direct work, are consistently reviewed and overseen by management. These systems must also support the home to operate in full compliance with relevant regulations.

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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))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the responsible individual must demonstrate that they have the essential skills needed to develop the leadership and management of the home. 26 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff receive supervision that allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children in their care. 26 July 2026

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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: 2523036 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Outbound Care Ltd, Unit 2, Metropolitan Business Park, Preston New Road, Blackpool FY3 9LT

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Inspector

Renée Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2523036 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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