Children's Home run by Sankofa Specialist Care Ltd in Oldham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2764124 1 Registered provider: Sankofa Specialist Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home, and the inspector spoke with them.

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Information about this children’s home

The suitably qualified manager was promoted from the position of deputy manager to the home’s manager in February 2026. She has applied to be registered with Ofsted.

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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 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2764124 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/07/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/04/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2764124 3

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Summary of findings

The child is making good progress and is settled. They have positive relationships with staff. Staff support the child to spend frequent time with their family, which helps to develop their sense of place and identity. Since the last full inspection, the change in manager has been central to making improvements in the home. However, further improvements are required to ensure that staff have the necessary skills to meet the child’s complex needs and vulnerabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made good progress. The growth of positive, trusting relationships with staff has helped the child to feel safer and has led to a reduction of behavioural incidents. Staff have also built a positive relationship with the child’s family, who visit regularly. This helps to sustain connections that are important for the child and helps them to develop their sense of identity and place in the world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The communal areas in the home are welcoming and personalised. The child is relaxed and comfortable there. Measures to make the premises safer are effective. The child can be overstimulated by the home environment, so unnecessary items have been removed from parts of the property. Staff are working to reintroduce items on a gradual basis at the child’s pace.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have regular and focused conversations with the child to help them to understand social situations, learn new skills and gain knowledge. The child is making some progress in managing their responses, enabling them to go out and about more and mix with other people. The child is encouraged to try new activities tailored to their interests. Staff consistently expand the boundaries of the child’s leisure time, carefully trialling new places. Consequently, the child has enjoyable experiences which keep them connected to the wider community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is achieving at school. Staff have supported the child to stay in the same school despite now living further away than previously. This provides a familiar learning environment and stability for the child. Managers are working collaboratively with school staff. In partnership, they are improving mechanisms for the exchange of general and safeguarding information, as well as seeking solutions to emerging issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A child’s move into this home is carefully considered and well planned by leaders and managers. The focus is on the child’s wellbeing and ensuring that this is the right home for the child. This helps to promote the likelihood of a child settling. Inspection report for children’s home: 2764124 4

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improvement to be good

Risks are well understood and set out clearly in the child’s risk assessment. Staff demonstrate a consistent understanding of related safety plans and restrictions on the child. However, not all staff understand the legal basis of their practice and the implications and context of the court orders in place, and would benefit from further training.

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improvement to be good

There has been a reduction in the use of physical restraint. This is because staff are familiar with cues from the child and implement de-escalation strategies successfully. Incident records are clear. At the last inspection, a requirement was raised about the lack of debriefs after some incidents. Although practice has improved in this regard, there are still omissions in sampled incidents.

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improvement to be good

Plans that are created to help staff to manage the child’s escalated behaviours lack detail around the use of appropriate restraint. The child’s views have not informed this plan, and as a result, it does not reflect what they feel would help them when they are unable to manage their emotions and behaviours.

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improvement to be good

There has been disruption to the provision of psychological or therapeutic input, both directly for the child or as advice to the staff team. This has very recently been addressed, with the introduction of a new counselling psychologist. However, this left staff for a period without bespoke guidance and training to improve their understanding of and response to the child.

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improvement to be good

Newly appointed staff are not involved in, or gain experience in, a fire drill at the earliest opportunity. Additionally, the firefighting equipment is not well organised or clearly labelled for ease of use. This does not support the most effective practice in the event of a fire. A newly appointed employee started working in the home without all the required recruitment checks being in place. Action was taken in this specific instance, and lessons learned revealed that recruitment practice could be strengthened. There was no impact on the child.

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improvement to be good

Medications are safely stored and administered. There is effective co-working with health professionals to minimise the amount of medication prescribed to the child.

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improvement to be good

Allegations about staff are shared appropriately and investigated by the necessary agency. The local authority designated officer has stated they have no concerns about the handling of allegations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last full inspection, there has been a change of manager. The newly appointed manager is focused on creating a nurturing and therapeutic home, and she ensures that staff are trained in this way of working. The improvements that have been made have Inspection report for children’s home: 2764124 5 been promoted through teamwork between the manager and the deputy manager. They speak with commitment about driving up quality.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers maintain and form relationships with professionals. When key records are not provided by education or social care professionals, leaders and managers challenge this. Any unsuccessful requests are escalated to a discussion. This helps to ensure that staff are provided with all the information they need to better understand the child and their plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers model positive and effective care practices. This promotes children’s safety and wellbeing, as staff are helped to understand and manage the child’s emotions and behaviours more effectively. This has had a positive impact on the child as their thoughts and feelings are understood by staff, and necessary changes are made at a pace that supports the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly, which helps to promote consistency. The completion of staff supervision is sometimes delegated by the manager to other team members. The frequency of these sessions does not always align with company policy. This reduces the opportunity for practice reflection and to check the competence and understanding of staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2764124 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

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff are given appropriate training to develop the skills they need to meet the specific needs of the child in their care. 19 July 2026

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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. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff debriefs are completed with all relevant staff when they have participated in the use of restraint. The debrief should be delivered by a suitable person.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated from the last inspection. 19 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2764124 7 If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that suitable fire equipment, procedures and practices enable staff to respond effectively during an emergency. 19 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 19 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff consider whether restraint is warranted and understand the appropriate method of restraint that is used on a child. The guidance provided to staff should include strategies that are informed by the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.55)  The registered person should ensure that good employment practice is maintained, as set out in regulations 31-33. Recruitment practices and the supervision and performance management of staff should safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2764124 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sankofa Specialist Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 449 Brook Lane, Birmingham B13 0BT

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Inspector

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2764124 9 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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