Children's Home run by Mirador Care Limited in Trafford

Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 1 Registered provider: Mirador 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

The home is operated by a private organisation and provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in July 2025. There is a manager in post who is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. The inspectors spoke with the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 4 November 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

An assurance visit took place on 17 and 24 March 2026. Serious and widespread concerns were identified. As a result, an urgent suspension notice was issued. A monitoring visit took place on 8 May 2026 to monitor the provider’s compliance with the notice. A case review was held following this visit, where it was agreed that the provider Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 2 had taken sufficient action to address the concerns outlined in the suspension notice. As a result, the suspension notice was lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/11/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 4

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Summary of findings

The child living in the home says that they are happy and supported by staff. The child is making progress in developing stable daily routines. However, the child’s risks are not always clearly understood or planned for by staff.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding practice is not consistent. Although staff respond to incidents, actions taken by staff do not always safeguard the child, particularly around self-injurious behaviour.

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Summary of findings

Leadership oversight is not effective. Significant incidents have not always been reported, and learning from events is not consistently embedded.

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improvement to be good

Following a move out of the home after the last inspection, the child has moved back in. A professional said that the child ‘wants to be here and is enjoying making progress’. Staff speak warmly about the child and have aspirations for them.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to attend education at a local provider as well as engaging with online tuition. Staff have supported the child to improve their attendance and engagement in their learning.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not have up-to-date plans for the child, which means that the information they hold about the child is not accurate or complete. For example, consent for procedures such as piercing are not obtained by the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to be healthy in terms of their diet, and the child is registered with a local GP and dentist. However, staff have not taken the child for a vaccination, which is now out of date.

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improvement to be good

Staff have regular conversations with the child. These interactions are a mixture of informal conversations and structured key-work sessions. However, meaningful conversations do not always happen in a timely manner following incidents. As a result, staff are not consistently supporting the child to understand their behaviours, to reflect on their feelings or to build insight that supports their development.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide the child with a range of activities. These vary from trips to theme parks, caravan holidays and walks in the local area. Staff support the child to spend time with family members and people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

The home is clean, comfortable and suitable for the child. The child has contributed to the decor of the home and has personalised their bedroom to their taste. Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 5

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improvement to be good

Staff recognise that the child needs to feel safe and secure. Staff create a nurturing environment, which helps the child to manage their feelings in different ways. Staff consistently promote positive behaviour. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques and creative alternative strategies to manage behaviour. There have been no incidents where physical intervention has been used and no incidents of the child being missing from the home.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding practice in the home is not consistent. Staff respond to new and emerging concerns for the child when incidents occur. However, they are not proactive in implementing strategies and interventions to prevent further incidents occurring. For example, a room search was not carried out effectively after an incident of self-harm. As a result, measures are not in place to safeguard the child from further harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not work together to manage the child’s risks and behaviours. Information recorded in the child’s risk assessments and plans is not always accurate or up to date. Furthermore, plans are not in place to manage all of the child’s known risks. This means that staff do not have clear guidance on how to keep the child safe.

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improvement to be good

When an allegation was made by the child, managers and staff have not followed the correct procedure to safeguard the child. The concerns raised by the child were not fully explored and information was not shared with all relevant safeguarding professionals.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment processes are not always followed. Not all recruitment checks have taken place. In addition, gaps in employment are not explored and DBS checks are not returned before the employee starts their employment. This means that the provider cannot be confident that the staff are suitable to work with children. While the current responsible individual has recently identified some of the shortfalls in safer recruitment, they have not identified them all.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, a new manager has been recruited and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Management oversight of the home is not effective. Managers do not have sufficient oversight in the home and have not always identified shortfalls in staff practice. Furthermore, serious incidents are not always reported to Ofsted. This limits the regulatory oversight of the care being provided in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Feedback from professionals and family members is positive about the leadership team and of the child-focused approach of staff in the home. Managers challenge other professionals appropriately when they feel the child’s needs are not being considered or met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 6 Staff training is thorough and covers a variety of topics related to the individual needs of the child. Staff feel supported by leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings take place regularly. They are used as opportunities to support staff and discuss the child’s progress as well as team issues. However, opportunities for reflection with the team on improvements needed to safeguarding practice and undertaking direct work with the child are sometimes missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are not receiving regular personal and practice-related supervision. This includes following incidents and when allegations are made against staff. This means there is limited opportunity for staff to reflect on their performance or to gain individualised support from senior staff to improve their development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 7

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare and

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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)(vi)(e)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children do not have access to hazardous items, that risk assessments for children are always followed by staff, and any searches of children’s bedrooms are carried out when there is a suspicion of harm or actual harm. 11 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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 11 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 8 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

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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, to ensure that there is management oversight of all incidents and care being provided in the home, that all shortfalls in staff practice are identified and action is taken to address these. Furthermore, the registered person must ensure that staff have regular supervision in line with their statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and 11 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 9 the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(8))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that safer recruitment processes are in place and are followed prior to staff commencing in their roles.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have up-to-date and accurate plans for the child including consent forms from the local authority. 11 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular— 11 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 10 provide for liaison and co-operation with any local authority which are, or may be, making a child protection enquiry in relation to a child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about current or ongoing abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the home is located;

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Requirement Due date

provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about past abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the alleged abuse or neglect occurred;

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Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response;

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Requirement Due date

describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

describe how and to whom staff are to report, without delay, any concern about abuse or neglect of a child. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the allegations process is always followed.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all serious incidents are notified. This includes allegations against staff. 11 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 11 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 11 that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the child receives the vaccinations specified in their plans.

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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: 2837555 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Mirador Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bartle House, 9 Oxford Court, Manchester M2 3WQ

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Inspectors

Hannah Longdon, Social Care Inspector Michelle McGrath, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2837555 13 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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