Children's Home run by Connect Care Solutions Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 1 Registered provider: Connect Care Solutions Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by a private company. It is registered to provide care to up to 2 children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. Inspectors spoke with both children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in October 2022 and the manager registered in January 2025.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/05/2025 Full Outstanding 20/08/2024 Full Good 18/04/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 3

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Summary of findings

Children live in a comfortable, clean and welcoming home. They are provided with a stable home environment where they are able to make progress. Staff are committed to meeting the needs of children.

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Summary of findings

Staff understand children’s known risks and follow the safety plans in place to promote their welfare. They are proactive in identifying emerging patterns and potential risks, taking action to reduce harm and helping children to make safe choices. On one occasion, the actions taken were not sufficiently robust to prevent further risk. However, lessons were learned and these were used to strengthen the child’s safety plan.

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Summary of findings

The home is led by a qualified and experienced manager. They have developed a staff team that is committed and capable of meeting children’s needs. There are some gaps in staff training, and the manager has identified these and has plans in place to address them to further strengthen staff knowledge and practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is safely maintained and decorated to a high standard. Family members and friends are invited to spend time with children in the home, and staff members bring their pets for visits at the children’s request. One child has asked for a pet of their own, and this is being considered by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff communicate with children with warmth and patience. As a result, they have developed trusting and meaningful relationships that help children to feel safe, valued and accepted. One child described the staff as ‘family’, saying, ‘Somewhere I am never treated differently,’ reflecting the strength and positive impact of these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from stability, consistency and nurturing support from staff, which helps them to build confidence and self-esteem and to access support and guidance when needed. Some children continue to visit and spend time at the home despite having moved into semi-independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging in education that is tailored to their individual needs. Staff use their knowledge of children to identify the most appropriate education provision to best meet their needs. As a result, children are provided with personalised education plans that support their success. One child has enrolled for a college course, and another has achieved level 2 English and maths certificates. Staff place a strong emphasis on celebrating children’s achievements, which helps to motivate children, build their confidence and reinforce the value of education. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 4 Children receive effective support to prepare them for adulthood and independence. Staff help children to develop practical skills, such as cooking and budgeting, from an early stage. This contributes to successful transitions. One child spoke of feeling scared about moving to semi-independent living but, with the support of staff, was able to do so

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

successfully. They said that the support offered by staff was the reason they were able to settle into a new stage of their life, and they reported that they now feel confident when there are big changes ahead of them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in new and existing hobbies and interests. One child spoke of enjoying horse riding. Staff help children capture and reflect on these experiences through memory books that include photos, tickets and crafts. Memory books become an important reminder for children of significant events, happy moments and relationships that can be looked back on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child spends a lot of time in their bedroom. They spend their time on the computer or listening to music. Although there are some boundaries in place for safe internet use, including a curfew, there is no oversight of how much screen time is taking place. Staff are aware of the concerns regarding excessive internet use and regularly discuss these concerns. However, there is no clear plan to reduce the risk of children developing excessive and unhealthy patterns of internet use.

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

Risk assessments are detailed and regularly reviewed. They provide staff with clear guidance on how to respond to known risks. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and follow agreed strategies to promote their safety and wellbeing.

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

Staff respond appropriately when children go missing from home. They act with urgency to follow children and locate them when they have lost sight of them. Staff report children who are missing to relevant services, such as the police, without delay. Staff are persistent with their own searches and hold other agencies to account to ensure that they offer children the same level of protection. Staff continue their endeavours by speaking with family members and doing searches of common areas such as train and bus stations. Children are welcomed home when they return, and staff ensure that they are afforded care and time to discuss what happened during the time they were away.

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

Staff are able to identify emerging risks and respond appropriately with measures to protect children. For example, when staff found a child using harmful substances in their bedroom, the substances were removed immediately, and action was taken to reduce the immediate risk. However, the absence of a room search meant that additional substances remained accessible, enabling the child to repeat the behaviour later the same day. The risk assessment has since been updated to ensure that children are safe from risks related to substances. In addition, staff referred the child to a specialist service and support sessions were offered. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 5 Staff complete a variety of training to improve their knowledge of how to keep children safe. Training completed includes trauma-informed care, child protection and first aid. However, there are significant gaps in training, including in areas such as substance

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

misuse and allegations management. Therefore, children experience increased vulnerability as staff are not fully trained in relation to all of their associated care needs and risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced, enthusiastic and committed to meeting the needs of children. She creates a stable and caring environment in which children and staff are able to thrive. Children are nurtured and responded to with kind words and care. The manager has developed a diverse staff team that provides children with a range of positive role models and experiences. Staff work cohesively and share a consistent approach to care. The manager promotes high expectations and a strong safeguarding culture, creating an environment where children feel safe, valued and encouraged to achieve positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records are carefully completed and the impact of the words used is considered. Some documents are written to children, and those that are not still use kind language that is without judgement. This enables children to look back on their experiences and see a complete child-centred picture of their life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides supervision that offers reflective discussion, support and guidance to staff. Supervision takes place regularly and is an opportunity to reflect on the progress of the member of staff, children and the home. It offers further opportunities to identify vulnerabilities and develop plans to reduce these. Staff report that they find supervision positive. One staff member said, ‘Regular supervision, team meetings and discussions provide opportunities to raise any concerns, share information and receive feedback.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Multi-agency working is valued by the manager. They engage effectively with family members, social workers and other professionals to ensure that children have a comprehensive and rounded support system available to them. Social workers and parents report that communication is good.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes research-led practice. Some staff are beginning to embed this into practice to improve outcomes for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff take effective action to prevent children from accessing harmful substances and to remove any substances brought into the home that place children at risk of harm. 4 September 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities, both inside and outside of the home, and are encouraged to participate in those activities. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff are afforded sufficient training to meet the needs of children. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 7

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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: 2694539 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Connect Care Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 15 C/O Goss & Co, Olympic Court, Whitehills Business park, Blackpool, Lancashire FY4 5GU

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Inspectors

Emma Gauden, Social Care Inspector Jamie Richardson, Social Care Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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