Children's Home run by Zen Care and Education Limited in Wigan

Inspection report for children's home: 2775403 1 Registered provider: Zen Care and Education 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 managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to 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, there was one child living in the home, who spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children's home

The home and manager were registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

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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/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 24 February 2026

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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: 2775403 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/02/2026 Full Good 28/01/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2775403 3

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding practice by staff is not effective, and the child is at risk of harm. The home environment is not safe. Strategies identified to keep the child safe have not been implemented.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers do not have effective oversight of the home. Concerns regarding medication practice, restrictive practice and inappropriate reporting and recording have not been identified and, therefore, have continued.

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Summary of findings

The child's care planning is ineffective. Staff do not know or understand all the child's daily care needs. There is a lack of guidance from leaders and managers. This means that the child experiences inconsistent and unsafe care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff use restrictive practice that is not detailed in the child's deprivation of liberty order. The child is frustrated and confused by what are agreed restrictions and temporary safeguarding measures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff practice is inconsistent. The child experiences different boundaries and expectations. Communication between staff is ineffective and has resulted in the child becoming upset with the care they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home environment is unsafe for the child. There is broken glass at the home that the child can access. Children who have lived at the home and the current child have positive relationships with staff. The child enjoys spending time together with staff and laughter can be heard, enhancing the family feel. The child living in the home has said that they want to live at the home until they become an adult.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child is listened to, and staff work to provide the child with things they want, such as getting their hair and nails done. All children who have lived at the home have also had opportunities to access activities that are meaningful to them, such as horse riding and seeing their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff work to provide education for the child. One child's education provision was identified and implemented quickly, significantly reducing their time out of education. Staff work closely with the child and professionals to enhance the child's education opportunities and experiences.

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

Risk assessments for the child do not reflect all their known risks. Actions needed to keep the child safe and de-escalation strategies are identified. However, important Inspection report for children's home: 2775403 4 safeguarding strategies are not clear. Some risks are not outlined in the child's risk assessments, and they do not fully provide guidance to staff on how to keep children safe, including a risk of criminality and vaping.

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

Immediate safeguarding strategies are identified. However, these are not fully implemented or effective. The lack of consistency in responses from staff has placed the child at risk of harm.

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

Medication practice is poor and puts the child at risk of harm. Managers and staff do not know how to record medication administration accurately. Medication use for the child does not reflect what is recorded. When medication discrepancies have been identified, no action has been taken by leaders and managers to prevent a reoccurrence.

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

Staff do not adequately explore the child's concerns regarding practices that place them at risk. When the child makes an allegation, staff do not demonstrate that they implement immediate safeguards to protect the child while managers commence their investigation. Managers do not use the outcomes of allegations to inform learning, and senior managers do not have access to this information. Staff appropriately inform Ofsted, the local authority designated officer and other relevant professionals of any allegations made.

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

Physical intervention is only used as a last resort to keep the child safe. When incidents occur, staff use a range of de-escalation strategies and support the child with their wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have full oversight of the home. They do not follow up on their decision-making regarding the child's safety and are not aware of the child's daily care experiences. Leaders and managers are not assured that the child is safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings with staff are held regularly. The child's progress and their day-to-day care are discussed. Although incidents are discussed, reflection does not occur in these meetings. These are missed opportunities to develop staff practice and the care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive consistent or effective supervision. Managers have not provided one staff member with supervision in line with the provider's policy, and another staff member received supervision from a manager at a different setting. These shortcomings reduce opportunities for staff to reflect on incidents, develop their understanding of the child's needs and deliver consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Documents used for reporting and recording are lacking in detail, including any actions taken to keep the child safe. The language in some documentation is inappropriate and child blaming. The shortfalls in the reporting and recording of information affects leaders and managers' oversight of the home and the child's safety. Inspection report for children's home: 2775403 5 Leaders and managers care about the child and have high aspirations for them. They have been responsive to the shortfalls identified and have implemented immediate safeguards. Inspection report for children's home: 2775403 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 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

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; and

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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 designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(d)) 13 September 2026

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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

promotes their welfare. 13 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2775403 7 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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children's 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 each child's relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c)(f)) 13 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children's home: 2775403 8

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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: 2775403 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Zen Care and Education Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Trafford House, Chester Road, Manchester M32 0RS

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Inspector

Sarah McGow, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2775403 10 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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