Children's Home run by Alcedo Gold in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2778311 1 Registered provider: Alcedo Gold Full inspection Inspected under the Social Care Common Inspection Framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in April 2024 and is run by a private provider. It offers 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 in the home. They both spent time speaking with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 21 August 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 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2778311 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2025 Full Good 11/06/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2778311 3

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Summary of findings

Children live in a home that is decorated with photos, creating a homely environment. They make good progress because staff build positive relationships with them and deliver effective key-work sessions. Staff prioritise children’s health and education.

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Summary of findings

Staff keep risk assessments and care plans up to date and use them to guide how they support children. They respond to children’s complaints quickly and achieve positive outcomes. Staff follow missing-from-home protocols to ensure that children return safely. However, managers do not review the effectiveness of consequences, and they do not speak to staff or children independently after a physical intervention.

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Summary of findings

The manager develops staff practice through supervision, team meetings and observations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled, and staff provide them with stability. Family members and professionals speak highly of staff and the care they provide. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘I can see progress from one review to the next.’ This shows that the manager and staff provide children with a consistent level of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home feels welcoming and homely. At the time of this inspection, staff had decorated the home with birthday and World Cup decorations. Photos of the children are displayed throughout the home, helping to create a sense of identity. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their preferences and are decorated with their own belongings, giving them a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families and the people who are important to them. They maintain regular communication with family members and keep them updated about each child’s progress. This helps children maintain their identity and continue their relationships with those who matter to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in education. One child attends college, and another, who was not attending education when they moved into the home, is now attending school. This shows that staff support children’s ongoing learning and development effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff respond to children’s health needs and help them attend health appointments. One child is now taking medication for their condition after a long period of not doing so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to develop their understanding of risks through ongoing direct work sessions. These sessions cover topics such as vaping, sexual health and drugs misuse, giving children age-appropriate guidance to help them make safer choices. Inspection report for children’s home: 2778311 4

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

The children’s risk assessments and safety plans are effective, and the manager and staff update them regularly. The risk assessments include all relevant information, giving staff up-to-date knowledge about each child’s risks and vulnerabilities. This ensures that strategies to keep children safe remain effective.

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

There has been one missing-from-home incident since the last inspection. Staff followed the agreed procedures, and the child returned home safely. Each child has an individualised missing-from-home protocol in their risk assessment, which guides staff practice.

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

Children report feeling safe and say they have someone they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns. When one child raised a complaint about the impact of another child’s behaviour, staff responded promptly.

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

Staff use de-escalation techniques before using physical intervention. There has been one incident where staff held a child. Recording of this incident is not consistently in line with regulation, such as staff being spoken to within 48 hours of the restraint and the child being spoken to by an independent person. This limits opportunities for staff to learn from incidents and prevent further occurrences.

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

Staff work to understand children’s behaviours. They reflect on incidents and work together to review strategies to support children when they are in crisis. Staff focus on rewarding positive behaviour, helping children understand the boundaries in place to support them.

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

On some occasions, consequences are not appropriate. The registered manager identified this and took action to address it with staff. However, the effectiveness of consequences is not consistently recorded, which limits the manager’s ability to evaluate what works well for each child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is tenacious and knows the children well. Staff speak highly of her and the support they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides reflective supervision to all staff and reviews their practice effectively through monthly observations. She ensures that staff practice is carefully monitored, helping staff to continue providing good-quality care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has effective review and monitoring systems that help her continually improve the quality of care staff provide. She undertakes monthly dip sampling and shares the findings with staff during team meetings so they can continue to develop their practice to meet children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2778311 5 Children are supported by a well ‑ trained staff team. Staff receive training that reflects children’s needs, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, self ‑ harm, drugs and alcohol misuse, and bereavement. Medical professionals have also trained staff to administer injections to one of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has effective relationships with relevant professionals. This contributes to providing good all-round care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2778311 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 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

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Requirement Due date

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

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.

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that consequences are reviewed for their effectiveness. 30 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2778311 7 Additionally, the registered person must ensure that when children are physically restrained, they are spoken with by someone who was not involved in the incident.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, the registered person must ensure that staff involved in a measure of restraint are spoken to within 48 hours of the incident.

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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: 2778311 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Alcedo House, Unit 14, Slaidburn Industrial Estate, Slaidburn Crescent, Southport PR9 9YF

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Andrea Shepherd-Speirs

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Inspector

Karen Andrews, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2778311 9 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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