Children's Home run by Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 1 Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) 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 owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there was one 1 child living at the home. The child spoke with the inspector during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2023.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 29 October 2025, an assurance visit was undertaken. During the visit serious and widespread concerns in connection to the care or protection of children were identified Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 2 and compliance notices were issued under Regulation 12, ‘The protection of children standard’, and Regulation 13, ‘The leadership and management standard’.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 16 December 2025, a visit to monitor the compliance notices was undertaken. During the visit, it was felt that the provider had not taken sufficient steps to meet the compliance notices. Further notices under Regulation 12 and 13 were issued.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 10 February 2026, a second visit to monitor the compliance notices was undertaken. It was deemed that sufficient action had not been taken. However, some progress had been made by the provider. Therefore, requirements were made under Regulations 12, 13 and 36 and Regulation 36, ‘Children’s case records’. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/05/2025 Full Good 25/06/2024 Full Good 02/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 4

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Summary of findings

Care is delivered by a committed staff team, whose members feel supported in their role. Feedback about the care and support that the child receives has been positive. However, improvements are required in safeguarding practice and leadership and management of the home to ensure that children living there receive a good standard of care.

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improvement to be good

Two children have left the home since the last inspection, and one child has moved in. Leaders and managers have notified the placing authority that they can no longer safely meet the needs of the child. Currently, alternative accommodation is being sought. Leaders, managers and the child’s social worker confirm that all are working in partnership to ensure that the child moves to a home that can meet their support needs.

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improvement to be good

The home was clean and tidy. However, the environment lacked personalisation and did not feel homely. There was no television in the lounge and limited artwork and personal touches on the walls.

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improvement to be good

The child is registered with primary health services to ensure that they have access to medical treatment when required. However, a recommendation from the child’s local authority health assessment has not been actioned by the staff team. Consequently, staff are unclear of the implications of the child’s refusal to wear their prescription glasses.

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improvement to be good

The child is encouraged to engage in school and alternative educational activities when they refuse to attend. Staff adopt a multi-agency approach to understanding barriers to the child attending school and how their attendance can be improved.

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improvement to be good

The child values time with their family. Staff are aware of this, and they partner with the placing authority to ensure that family time is a positive and rewarding experience. For example, during the inspection, staff arranged for the child to spend time with their parent to watch the eclipse. Although this was outside of agreed family time arrangements, staff understood the significance of this event and the valuable memories this would create.

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improvement to be good

The child’s social worker is complimentary of the staff team and the support that they provide to the child. She praised the home for their effective communication between herself and the staff team and the effective partnership working. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 5

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improvement to be good

The child’s risk assessments do not identify all known risks and vulnerabilities. As a result, appropriate strategies to reduce harm and protect the child and others are not always in place. For example, although the risks associated with the child’s use of knives are known, there is no monitoring of the child’s access to knives and no record of the number of knives in the home. This means that known risks are not being effectively assessed or managed.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are used as a last resort, generally following prolonged periods of violent and aggressive behaviour. However, debriefs with children do not consistently take place following the use of a physical intervention, despite regulatory requirements. This means that children are not always given the opportunity to discuss and reflect on incidents and understand why the physical intervention was necessary. In addition, is not clear that staff debriefs are consistently completed in the required timescales.

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improvement to be good

Medication has been administered but cannot be accounted for. This error was not identified or addressed by leaders and staff and was only identified during the inspector’s review of the medication. This means leaders do not have effective oversight of medication administration to ensure that this is managed safely.

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improvement to be good

On at least two occasions, the child has refused to take their medication after it has been administered, meaning that staff have been unable to determine whether the medication was taken. Despite this, leaders and staff have not considered or implemented alternative methods of safely administering the medication that would reduce the risk of potential overdose and ensure that the medication is received as prescribed.

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improvement to be good

Allegations are taken seriously. Wider discussions about any allegation take place with external partners to ensure that independent oversight and scrutiny is part of the investigation process. However, the child said, and records confirm, that investigation outcomes are not always communicated to the child in order to provide them with reassurance that action on their behalf has been taken.

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improvement to be good

When the child has gone missing, staff take all necessary steps to locate the child and use resources, such as the police, to widen the search. Once the child returns to the home safely, leaders and staff ensure that the child can meet with an independent person to establish why they went missing and address any concerns the child may have.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage the child to consider risks associated with their behaviour and help them understand the potential implications for their safety and wellbeing. This helps the child to develop a greater awareness of risks and make informed decisions about their safety. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 6

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

Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the management structure. The current manager is new to the role and has not registered with Ofsted. She has been promoted from the deputy manager position and has a good understanding of the child and their support needs.

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

Training available to staff is not being used effectively. One staff member, who has worked in the home for several months, has not completed training on deprivation of liberty orders, despite this being relevant to the child living at the home. For other staff, core training had not been refreshed as part of their personal development or to assure leaders and managers that the child’s need can continue to be effectively met.

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

The child’s file does not include all necessary information. Some placing authority documents have not been received even though the child has lived at the home for several months. The care and placement plan that were received during the inspection were not signed and dated.

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

Staff praise leaders and managers for the support that they provide, acknowledging their contribution to the staff’s continued resilience during challenges in the home. Staff have frequent opportunities in supervision to discuss their performance and emotional wellbeing. However, some supervision records are inaccurate. For example, actions that a staff member has met are recorded as outstanding in a subsequent supervision record. Consequently, the records do not clearly reflect the staff member’s progress and development needs.

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

There are monitoring systems in place. However, the identified shortfalls in practice demonstrate that these are ineffective. In addition to the above practice issues, leaders and managers have not taken steps to make the necessary and recommended improvements highlighted at the previous inspection. The review of the quality of care does not include independent feedback from professionals, staff and children, and the workforce plan does not detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training.

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

Team meetings frequently take place and are a useful resource where staff have focused discussions about the child. Leaders have used the forum to support group learning and development. However, opportunities for group reflection on significant incidents that have taken place are missed. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 7

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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;

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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

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments include children’s known risks and clear strategies on how to manage these. 12 November 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; 12 November 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 8 and promotes their welfare.

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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; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff have the experience, training and skills to meet the needs of each child in their care.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that systems are embedded to monitor the care provided to children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that— 12 November 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 9 medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that medication audits are routinely completed to ensure that medication is being administered safely.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 12 November 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 12 November 2026

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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; 12 November 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 10 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it.

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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) (5))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which should detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that the home is decorated and furnished in a manner that creates a warm and homely environment for children who live there. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 1263425 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 31 Shaw Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK4 4AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Annabella Foulkes

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Inspector

Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 12 regulates 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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