Children's Home run by Gradan Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 1 Registered provider: Gradan Care 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 owned and operated by a private provider. It is registered to care for 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, one child was living at the home. They spoke to the inspectors 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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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 widespread failures that mean children are not protected, their welfare is not promoted and the care and experiences of children are poor.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 15 October 2025

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/10/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 3

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers do not consistently ensure that staff have the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to effectively meet the children’s individual needs. As a result, staff often rely on police intervention to help manage challenging incidents, which has led to children being unnecessarily criminalised. Staff do not follow children’s plans consistently to keep them safe. Leadership and management oversight is not consistently effective. Shortfalls in staff practice are not always identified and addressed, and staff do not receive regular supervision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s moves in and out of the home are not always well planned. Leaders and managers do not always ensure that the staff have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to meet the children’s individual needs. As a result, one child experienced an abrupt ending to their time living at the home due to staff being unable to meet their needs and ensure their safety. This did not provide the child with a considered and supportive transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are not consistently supported to achieve positive educational outcomes. Where children do not have access to an educational provision, staff are not proactive in providing opportunities for educational activities throughout the day. Although educational resources are available, they are not used consistently by staff to support children’s learning and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not regularly engage children in discussions about topics relevant to their individual needs and risks. When children require support to understand their behaviours, reduce risks and stay safe, staff do not always provide meaningful guidance or make effective use of available resources to help them develop the knowledge and understanding needed to keep themselves safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite the safeguarding concerns, the child currently living at the home has positive relationships with most staff. They enjoy spending time with staff and taking part in activities together, both in the home and in the community. The child has started to engage with the in-house therapist and is beginning to develop a positive rapport with them.

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

Staff do not fully understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children. Although children’s risk management plans are personalised and provide clear strategies for staff to follow to help keep children safe, staff do not consistently follow Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 4 these plans. For example, on one occasion, staff left knives unattended and failed to complete a room search following a self-harm incident.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff do not always take effective action. There have been occasions where limited or no searches have taken place, placing children at increased risk of harm. These shortfalls in staff practice are not always identified or addressed by leaders and managers.

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

Staff de-escalation skills are not consistently effective, and the police are regularly called to help manage children’s behaviour. This has led to children being arrested and spending time in police custody, sometimes overnight. Such experiences are not positive for children and do not support their welfare or wellbeing.

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

The use of restraint practice to keep children safe is inconsistent. On one occasion, staff restrained a child when this was not necessary or proportionate. This was not identified or addressed by leaders and managers. However, on other occasions, there were missed opportunities for staff to physically intervene to keep children safe. Following incidents when children are held, discussions do not always take place with the child or staff involved. This makes learning from incidents difficult and shortfalls in staff practice are left unidentified and unaddressed.

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

Incident records are not consistently clear or sufficiently detailed. As a result, it is often difficult to determine whether the required processes have been followed and appropriate action taken.

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

Despite phone use being a known risk for one child, there were no plans in place to monitor or manage this. This has contributed to incidents when the child has called the police independently after receiving threats from others via their phone.

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

Staff facilitated a child to smoke while living at the home. This does not demonstrate a proactive approach to safeguarding or promoting the child’s health and wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been significant changes to the staffing and management team since the last inspection. There is currently no registered manager in post, and the proposed responsible individual is awaiting completion of their suitability interview with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The high turnover of staff has contributed to instability in the home and inconsistencies in staff practice. As a result, incidents have escalated and occurred more frequently, with the police being called to support staff in managing children’s behaviour. Leaders and managers acknowledge this as an area for improvement. They are taking steps to ensure that less experienced staff work alongside more experienced staff to promote consistency and develop staff skills. Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 5 Monitoring and review systems are ineffective. Leaders and managers do not consistently identify or address shortfalls in staff practice. As a result, poor and inconsistent practice continues with limited opportunities for feedback, reflection and learning. Furthermore, there is no effective review of the quality of care provided to the child to identify areas for improvement or address shortfalls in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders, managers and the staff team do not receive regular and meaningful supervision. There is no record of the previous manager receiving supervision while working at the home. Due to the staff team being new and some staff having limited experience, the lack of regular supervision means that staff do not have sufficient opportunities to reflect on their practice, receive advice and identify areas for their development. Despite this, staff speak positively about working at the home and say they feel supported by their colleagues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. More recently, the in-house therapist has attended team meetings, which has provided staff with opportunities to discuss the child and reflect on their practice as a group. Despite this positive change, the minutes from the team meetings suggest that there is limited learning and improvements as some actions are consistently repeated every month. Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 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;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(c)(e)) 6 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 7 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff have the skills, knowledge and experience to keep children safe and manage incidents in line with children’s plans, particularly when children are missing or there are incidents of self-harm.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that there are clear strategies and guidance in place for staff to follow to keep children safe, particularly in relation to safe mobile phone use.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that staff talk to children about their risks to provide them with the skills and knowledge to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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 6 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 8 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is clear, consistent leadership and a suitably skilled and sufficient staff team at the home.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that there is regular, effective oversight of practice at the home. Where there have been shortfalls in staff practice, these are identified and addressed.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff are supported in their roles with regular, meaningful supervision.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

that staff— 18 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 9 meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(viii)(ix)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff have the skills and experience to de-escalate incidents to ensure that police are not unnecessarily used as a behaviour management strategy.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that a thorough evaluation is completed by managers to understand the risks present for children and that staff have the skills to manage the risks before they move into the home.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that children are afforded positive endings when they move on from the home. 18 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 10 This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(x)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children are provided with consistent approaches from staff relating to education. The registered person must ensure that children are able to access regular formal and informal learning opportunities when they do not attend school. 18 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 11 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

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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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the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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a description of the measure and its duration;

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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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 18 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 12 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that when children are restrained, this is necessary and proportionate and used as a last resort.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that, when children are restrained, staff involved are spoken to about the measure within the timeframe set out in regulation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and

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Requirement Due date

in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s records are retained and accessible. 18 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. 18 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 13 After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a))

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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: 2817029 14

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Gradan Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hanover Buildings, 11-13 Hanover street, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 3DN

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Inspectors

Danielle Allen, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Hayley Smith, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2817029 15 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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