Children's Home run by Breaking Barriers Together Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report for children’s home: 2793778 1 Registered provider: Breaking Barriers Together 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

This home is privately owned. It is registered to provide 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 the inspection, 2 children were living at the home. Neither child spoke to the inspector, but both provided their written views.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in post since October 2025. The current manager is awaiting registration.

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Inspection dates: 2 and 3 June 2026

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people, taking into account good

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Inspection dates: 2 and 3 June 2026

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Inspection dates: 2 and 3 June 2026

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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Inspection dates: 2 and 3 June 2026

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

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Inspection dates: 2 and 3 June 2026

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Inspection dates: 2 and 3 June 2026

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2793778 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2793778 3

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Summary of findings

There are 2 children living in the home, and they are making good progress in their lives. Both children are accessing education and enjoying positive relationships with people who are important to them.

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Summary of findings

There is a stable team of staff who are committed to providing consistent care to the children.

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Summary of findings

There has been no registered manager since October 2025. As a result, there has been inconsistent management oversight in the home.

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Summary of findings

The current manager has been in post since March and is awaiting registration.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The 2 children living in the home are making good progress in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child recently moved into the home. The move was well planned, and careful consideration was given to the feelings of the other child already living in the home. The staff were sensitive to the child’s previous experience and developed a creative and fun video to help them to get to know the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child was subject to a Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) order. The child has positively responded to the nurturing and consistent care they have received. As a result, there have been no safeguarding incidents, and the DoL order has now ended. The child independently accesses the local community and has developed positive friendships with their peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access education. Staff travel a considerable distance so one child can continue to attend the school where they are settled and happy. One child did not attend school for a long period of time and was supported to return to education. They are now thriving at college and learning a trade that will help support their future employment prospects.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to prepare for their futures. One child said, ‘I was never ready for the world outside, but now I am thanks to the family that works here.’ Staff support them to plan for leaving the home. Children’s independence skills, such as preparing and cooking meals, are well established and are focused on budgeting and engaging in more tasks around the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. Staff support children to access community services and work proactively with health professionals to ensure that children receive the treatment they need. One child struggled with their sleep patterns. Staff sought specialist advice Inspection report for children’s home: 2793778 4 and introduced good routines alongside daily physical activity. As a result, the child spends less time online and sleeps better.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy busy lives. They engage in activities that they enjoy, such as football, swimming and paintballing. Staff also help children to enjoy activities together, including supporting their local football team and visiting theme parks. They also have a weekly Sunday Roast dinner. This enables the children to develop positive relationships with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend regular, quality time with the people important to them. Staff recognise the importance of maintaining positive relationships and support one child to spend time with their family and to enjoy daily football matches with their school friends.

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

Children are kept safe by staff, who know them well.

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

All staff are trained to use a recognised therapeutic model of care to support children. Staff know children’s vulnerabilities and embed positive behaviour strategies into daily practice. There had been daily incidents occurring in one child’s previous home. However, the child has positively responded to the nurturing responses of staff. As a result, there has been a significant decrease in the number of incidents.

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

Staff support children to understand their feelings. Staff use relationship-based approaches with children to discuss emerging issues. However, these key-work sessions are not recorded consistently. This is a missed opportunity to provide evidence of the progress children are being supported to make.

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

Rewards and consequences support behaviour management strategies in the home. Staff show a good awareness of consequences and have created an easy-to-understand chart for children. However, on one occasion, a consequence was used, but the reason for doing so was not clear. This can result in confusion for children.

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

Staff recognise the increased risk of criminality for children in care. Staff proactively work with the local community policing team to enable children to understand the potential consequences of behaviour, such as using offensive or racist language. As a result, children have an increased sense of personal responsibility for the words they use.

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

The registered manager post has been vacant since October 2025.

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

Two managers worked in the home for short periods. The current manager has been in post since March 2026 and is awaiting registration.

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

Staff enjoy working in the home. One staff member said, ‘It feels like home.’ They feel prepared for their role through a detailed induction that includes self-directed learning, Inspection report for children’s home: 2793778 5 online training and shadowing shifts. Staff say they have the right training for their role, they attend monthly team meetings, receive regular supervision and are all undertaking recognised qualifications.

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

The manager and staff have built positive working relationships with partner agencies and advocate when required, to achieve the best outcomes for children. They attend statutory meetings with children or represent their views if children do not wish to attend.

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

Staff are aware of the whistleblowing policy and escalate concerns. However, the manager did not address a recent issue about a staff member’s practice when they were notified of a concern.

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

On the occasions when staff used physical intervention, it was minimal and proportionate. However, some records lack detail and management review and oversight of incidents are inconsistent. The manager has been unable to engage one child in discussion after incidents and their evaluation lacks critical analysis. This prevents managers from identifying any shortfalls in practice that they can then address with staff.

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

The home is not currently maintained to a high standard. One child struggles to sleep, and door sensors are installed to alert staff. However, the child removed the sensors and staff have not promptly replaced them. Issues such as areas of damp and damage to walls and furniture have not been repaired or replaced.

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

Staff are recruited safely so only suitable people work with children. The manager has occasionally used agency staff due to staff absence. The staff rotas are not clear about who has been working in the home because full names are not used.

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

The manager is supported by an experienced responsible individual. They have introduced an auditing process and identified areas that they anticipate will lead to improvements in the quality of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2793778 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 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 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

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

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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 31 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2793778 7 In particular, the manager must ensure that records are complete and factual.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the manager must ensure that meaningful key-work sessions with children are completed and consistently recorded. Furthermore, the manager must respond promptly when concerns relating to staff practice are raised.

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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

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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; and

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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

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that the home is clean and well maintained throughout and damaged furniture removed.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the manager must ensure that the home is equipped to mitigate the assessed risks for children. 31 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and 31 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2793778 8 the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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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

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

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(ii)(v)(vii) (b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that records relating to incidents are accurate and include a reflective analysis of the antecedents and decision-making that led to the incident.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the manager must ensure that each child is helped to share their views following incidents.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, the manager must ensure that the use of consequences is consistent and the reason for the measure is clearly recorded and critically evaluated by the manager.

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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— 31 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2793778 9 maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that the full names of all staff working in the home, including agency staff, are recorded on the staff roster.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the manager must ensure that it is clearly indicated on the rota whether staff are employed via an agency.

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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: 2793778 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Breaking Barriers Together Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 207B Nantwich Road, Crewe CW2 6DA

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Inspector

Caroline Bates, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2793778 11 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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