Children's Home run by Lorac Lodge Ltd in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2729647 1 Registered provider: Lorac Lodge Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private company and provides care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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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

Date of last inspection: 1 September 2025

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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: 2729647 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/09/2025 Full Good 09/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2729647 3

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Summary of findings

Children live in a warm and homely environment where relationships with staff are strong. Staff know the children well, and this has supported one child to be reunified with their family. Trust between children and adults is evident within the home.

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Summary of findings

Two of the children’s bedrooms were noted to not be clean. Children’s individual care plans do not consistently show children’s progress towards their goals. When children vape, this is not addressed through purposeful key work. Staff have not received substance misuse training, despite this being an area of need for one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. Two children have moved on in the last year. One child returned home to live with their family. Another moved to a home better suited to their needs following a period of assessment. Staff and managers planned these moves carefully and gave children time to prepare. Parents and partner professionals describe transitions into and out of the home as positive. This thoughtful planning in partnership reassures children that the adults around them are working together and helps them to feel settled before and after a move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children speak warmly about staff, each other and the home. They say they feel happy and cared for. Staff build strong and trusting relationships with the children. Consequently, interactions between the children and staff are relaxed and affectionate. These relationships have helped the children make real progress with their emotional wellbeing. For one child, this progress supported their successful reunification with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s success and engagement in education have been a mixed picture since the last inspection. The manager worked with one child’s wider network to introduce a bespoke timetable. This has resulted in positive engagement from the child in their learning. The other children have experienced several changes in their lives. Despite help and support from staff, the disruption has made it difficult for them to settle into education. The manager has worked with wider professional networks to arrange suitable alternative provision for each child. The children have helped shape these plans, which are due to start in September.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to build independence, helping them shop, cook, do laundry, bake and manage money.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most of the children, for particular reasons, prefer to stay indoors. Staff recognise the reasons for this and have gently encouraged the children to try activities outside of the Inspection report for children’s home: 2729647 4 home, with significant success. The children have taken part in cadets, beach walks, the home’s sports days, holidays, bike rides, horse riding, swimming, shopping trips and cinema visits. These shared experiences help the children build memories together. These are recorded in the home’s memory book. Children are also supported to keep pets. This brings them comfort and helps them develop their skills in caring for others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to stay connected to people who matter to them. This has helped children feel secure, and for one child it played a part in their reunification with their family. One child said, ‘I felt more than safe, it was the best placement ever while l was in care. I found myself again.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is bright and personalised. Photos of the children with their friends and family decorate the walls. The children have personalised their bedrooms to reflect their own tastes, as well as interests. However, 2 of the children’s bedrooms and their ensuite bathrooms are not kept to an acceptable standard of cleanliness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual care plans do not clearly show children’s progress towards agreed goals. This potentially undermines the manager’s ability to evaluate whether the children are making progress and whether changes to the care plan are needed.

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

Staff understand each child’s needs and work well to keep the children safe. Suitably trained staff use physical intervention as a last resort to keep the children safe. The manager reviews every incident, speaking to both staff and children about what happened. This is to ensure that the use of restraint has been appropriate and that children’s physical health and emotional wellbeing have been assured. Any learning identified from these reviews is used to update risk assessments.

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

Children said that staff know them well and recognise when they are struggling with their emotions. Staff respond well when children experience difficulties with their emotional wellbeing. They recognise changes in children’s presentation and act before risks escalate. They use strategies that help the children regulate their emotions. This has contributed to a reduction in incidents of children feeling overwhelmed and harming themselves.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff manage these incidents well. They consult external agencies and seek advice from specialist advisers to shape safety plans. This joined-up approach helps keep children safe.

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

Safer recruitment checks are carried out for all new staff, including agency workers. This helps to ensure that children are safeguarded from unsuitable people gaining employment in the home. The manager manages allegations well and informs the local authority designated officer promptly of any concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729647 5 Staff ensure that children’s individual risk assessments are accurate and detailed and set out clear strategies for keeping each child safe. Staff review these risk assessments regularly and keep them updated with any emerging risks. This helps to ensure that the whole team understands how to keep the children safe.

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

When children vape, staff have not consistently addressed the risks or promoted healthy lifestyle choices through purposeful discussions. Managers have arranged for specialist support for children who misuse substances. However, staff have not received training in substance misuse. Consequently, staff are not fully equipped to understand the children’s experiences or to support them effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides stable and visible leadership, supported by a deputy manager and the responsible individual. Parents and professionals describe the management team as approachable and effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager keeps close oversight of staff practice. They provide the staff with regular, good-quality supervision. The manager uses supervision to identify gaps in staff knowledge and to address these. Monthly team meetings give staff space to reflect on their practice and on safeguarding. Staff benefit from psychologist-led workshops, which help them apply therapeutic approaches in their day-to-day work. Staff say this support improves both their confidence and the quality of care they provide.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager builds strong relationships with parents and professionals. Staff provide regular updates and respond quickly to any concerns that are raised. As a result, parents and professionals describe communication with the manager and staff as open and respectful. One child’s parents particularly valued the support they received during reunification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the home’s strengths and areas for development. Staff seconded from another home have brought different approaches to managing day-to- day issues. This has caused some friction. The manager has recognised the impact on morale and the culture in the home. He has responded appropriately to address the emerging tensions and sought further support from the organisation’s human resources team to help with team-building and improving on consistency to ensure that children’s needs stay at the centre of everyone’s practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not ensured that the quality of care review report is sufficiently thorough. The report lacks evaluation, clear goals or ambitions for the home’s future development as well as detailed feedback from professionals, children and staff. Shortfalls in the quality of care review were highlighted at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729647 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 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.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 November 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s care and support plans include clear, measurable goals with regular and effective evaluation of progress against any targets set. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.11)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of children. They should ensure that all bedrooms and bathrooms are well cleaned and provide a welcoming environment for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2729647 7  The registered person should ensure that children receive appropriate advice, support and guidance on maintaining healthy lifestyles, including information about the health risks associated with vaping and nicotine use. (‘Guide to the Children’s

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Recommendations

Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have the relevant skills, training and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and where necessary work to change, negative behaviours in substance, alcohol and tobacco misuse. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)

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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: 2729647 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Trust Care Management Ltd, 319b Walton Road, West Molesey KT8 2QG

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Inspector

Thembie Mzila, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2729647 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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