Children's Home run by Warrington Borough Council in Warrington

Inspection report for children’s home: 2626053 1 Registered provider: Warrington Borough Council

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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 is a local authority home that is registered to provide care for up to 6 children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 6 children living in the home at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Children are provided with short-term care while their needs are assessed, and plans are made for their future permanence.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since June 2021.

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Inspection dates: 5 and 6 August 2026

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

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Inspection dates: 5 and 6 August 2026

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Inspection dates: 5 and 6 August 2026

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Inspection dates: 5 and 6 August 2026

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

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Inspection dates: 5 and 6 August 2026

Date of last inspection: 9 September 2025

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Inspection dates: 5 and 6 August 2026

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Inspection dates: 5 and 6 August 2026

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2626053 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/09/2025 Full Good 23/07/2024 Full Good 24/01/2024 Full Good 27/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2626053 3

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Summary of findings

Children move into the home on a planned or emergency basis. Their stays are short- term while longer-term plans are made.

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Summary of findings

Staff work closely with partner agencies to understand children’s needs and how to keep them safe.

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Summary of findings

Staff are committed to providing nurturing and consistent care for children. As a result, children make good progress from the point of moving into the home.

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Summary of findings

Staff support children well to explore education and employment and prepare them for the next stage in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children like the staff and have trusted and secure relationships with them. One child said, ‘Staff treat me like their child, I love all of them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves in and out of the home are well planned. Staff work in partnership with social workers to understand each child’s needs before they move into the home. Children can move into the home in emergency situations, and they are warmly welcomed by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff talk with children about their longer-term plans. One child said, ‘They help me see what I can achieve in my life. I didn’t have that before.’ Staff arrange celebratory endings and provide support after children move out of the home. This ensures that children’s moves are positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain good physical and emotional health. There is an on- site support service that provides specialist therapeutic input for children. A psychological formulation underpins the care plans and risk assessments for every child. This provides staff with additional support and deepens their understanding of each child’s emotional health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children having access to education provision. Staff will travel at length to ensure that children can remain in their preferred school. They work with education professionals to find the right provisions and work experience opportunities for children. Staff also provide creative learning experiences in the home and local community such as baking, budgeting and shopping and visiting local museums.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive effective and timely help to prepare them for their futures. They are supported to develop their independence skills ready for life in the future. Staff have Inspection report for children’s home: 2626053 4 developed independence plans that are reviewed monthly with children. However, one child’s plan has not been updated to evidence all the progress they have made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have individualised arrangements to spend time with the people important to them. Staff work proactively and positively with social workers and families to ensure that visits are meaningful and safe. Staff advocate for increasing the amount of time the children spend with the people they love.

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

Children feel safe and happy in their home. One child said, ‘I love it here so much, I don’t want to leave.’

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

Staff have a clear understanding of their responsibility to keep children safe. Staff develop detailed and regularly updated risk assessments for children. Staff record children’s known risks and outline appropriate strategies for them to follow in line with the psychological formulation that is created. Staff also have access to regular clinical support for additional support and guidance

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

Positive strategies to support children’s behaviour are embedded into practice. When incidents occur, staff use a relationship-based approach to talk with children. This helps them to manage their feelings and emotions in a safe way.

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

When consequences are used, these are fair and clearly recorded. Staff balance the use of consequences by promoting and rewarding positive behaviour with praise and treats such as favourite fast-food meals, extra pocket money and taking children on activities.

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

Staff manage children’s missing-from-home incidents well. They are persistent when locating children, tracing previous routes and visiting likely locations. They work with partner agencies to provide a coordinated response to locating children. Their determination leads to children returning home quickly. Children are spoken within 24 hours of returning home. This helps to build their knowledge and understanding of risks and develop their life skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The stable staff team is led by an experienced registered manager. Staff have developed positive working relationships with the children, partner agencies and families. Staff are praised for their child-focused approach. One social worker said, ‘Anything the children need, it’s done’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel supported in their work. Staff who are new to the home receive an induction, training and shadowing opportunities to prepare them for their role. Specialist training is arranged in response to emerging themes for children. There are regular team meetings and supervision sessions which are reflective and child focused. The manager recognises the emotional impact the work may have on staff. All staff have access to Inspection report for children’s home: 2626053 5 regular reflective sessions led by clinical staff for additional emotional and practical support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reviews incidents and talks with children following them. However, the manager’s evaluations do not consistently reflect the roles of staff and how their practice contributed to incidents. The manager has not asked children what staff could have done differently to help them. Furthermore, the manager does not facilitate conversations between staff and children following incidents. The absence of critical reflection prevents a culture of staff learning being embedded into practice. This is also a missed opportunity to develop the child’s experience of resolving conflict in relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The use of sessional and agency staff has been high. This is necessary to enable children to move into the home in emergency situations. All non-permanent staff complete an induction and receive regular supervision. However, it was not clearly recorded that all staff were suitably qualified to work with children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2626053 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

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

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. 25 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2626053 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that a critical evaluation of staff practice for each incident is completed. This evaluation should include feedback from children regarding what staff could have done differently during the incident. This can inform further learning and development and improve the quality of care provided to the children.

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iv) (b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are supported to resolve issues with staff and other children in a positive way. 25 September 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have robust systems in place to ensure that all non-permanent staff who work with children in the home have the skills and qualifications to meet children’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.16)  The registered person should ensure that staff evidence all the progress children make in developing their independence skills in their individual independence records Inspection report for children’s home: 2626053 8 (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ Page 26, paragraph 5.2)

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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: 2626053 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Warrington Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Time Square, Warrington WA1 2NT

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Inspector

Caroline Bates, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2626053 10 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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Inspector

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