Children's Home run by Accord Care Homes Limited in Bury

Inspection report for children’s home: 2759542 1 Registered provider: Accord Care Homes 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 provider. It is registered to care for 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, one child was living in the home and was spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspection started on 15 July 2026. An inspector returned on 20 August 2026 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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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: Requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A full inspection was completed on 31 July and 1 August 2024 and the home was judged requires improvement to be good. An assurance visit was carried out on 7 November 2024, which identified serious concerns about the care of children. At a case review on 8 Inspection report for children’s home: 2759542 2 November 2024, an urgent notice imposing a restriction of accommodation was served and a compliance notice was issued under Regulation 12. A monitoring visit was carried out on 13 November 2024 and Ofsted found that the steps in the compliance notice had been met. A further monitoring visit took place on 7 January 2025 to consider the restriction of accommodation. A case review took place on 14 January 2025, and the restriction of accommodation was lifted.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 30 January 2025, a monitoring visit took place. This visit again identified serious concerns about the care of children. On 31 January 2025, an urgent notice of suspension was issued. Ofsted undertook a further monitoring visit on 1 April 2025, and it was identified that sufficient actions had been taken by the provider and the suspension notice was lifted. An urgent condition was issued reducing the number of children to one due to Ofsted’s concerns about the provider’s ability to sustain the recent improvements.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 16 July 2025, and it was identified that some positive changes had been made in addressing previous shortfalls. A further urgent condition was issued, however, due to several staff vacancies and no registered manager in post. At a case review on 18 September 2025, an urgent restriction of accommodation was issued. The condition was that the home can only provide care and accommodation for one child until 11 December 2025.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A case review took place on 5 March 2026, at which it was agreed that the urgent condition of restriction would be lifted. A Notice of Decision was subsequently issued to reduce the number of children the home is registered to care for to one. Inspection report for children’s home: 2759542 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2759542 4

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Summary of findings

The provider has made significant progress to address previous shortfalls in practice, and a committed, dedicated manager is now in place.

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Summary of findings

Parents and external professionals provided positive feedback about the staff and current manager, who have built positive relationships with the child. Staff demonstrate commitment and dedication in meeting the child’s complex needs, ensuring safety while always maintaining a therapeutic approach.

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Summary of findings

Some concerns about the maintenance of the home directly impacts on the child and limits their experience of a comfortable, safe environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a child moves into the home, they receive a positive experience. Their needs are well understood by staff, who provide a nurturing and welcoming environment. When it is necessary for a child to move out of the home urgently, the manager and staff team help the child to understand the reasons for this and help to ensure the move is managed in line with the child’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is beginning to develop positive relationships with staff. Staff have quickly gained an understanding of the child’s personality and interests and use appropriate humour to demonstrate this. They spend meaningful time with the child engaging in activities they enjoy, helping them to build positive attachments within a short period.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When the child experiences difficult emotions, staff help them to understand and manage their feelings. They support the child to identify alternative coping strategies and place a strong emphasis on restorative practice. This helps the child to understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others in a sensitive way that promotes learning and reflection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to maintain important family relationships. Their parent said they feel welcomed, listened to and regularly consulted to help ensure their child’s needs are met. Staff and managers are mindful of complex family dynamics and work closely with the child’s social worker to manage these safely and sensitively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is not maintained to a good standard. Staff do not always accurately report external damage to the property, which increases potential hazards for children. In addition, delays in carrying out repairs and maintenance within the home detract from the child’s enjoyment of their living environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2759542 5 There are unnecessary restrictions on the child’s access to toiletry products. Staff routinely remove aerosol products despite this not being identified as a risk in the child’s plans. One significant incident, which was partly influenced by the child’s frustration at having to hand over these personal items, could potentially have been avoided.

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

Staff know the child well and are alert to changes in their presentation. This enables staff to de-escalate situations effectively and reduce the likelihood of more serious incidents. Staff provide nurturing care while building trusting relationships. Incidents are managed appropriately and in line with the child’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans. As a result, staff only use physical interventions when necessary and to keep the child and others safe. This promotes a sense of safety and trust.

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

The child’s records and plans are detailed, informative and clearly reflect their needs and behaviours. Professionals involved in the child’s care praise the quality of reports produced by staff and managers, highlighting that these provide assurance about the level of support in place to meet the child’s complex needs.

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

Comprehensive risk assessments provide staff with clear guidance and practical strategies for managing risk. A therapeutic approach is evident throughout both the assessments and day-to-day practice, which is a particular strength of the home. The manager ensures that important information is shared promptly through handovers, team meetings and internal communication systems, helping staff to provide consistent and informed care.

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

When the child makes an allegation, their concerns are taken seriously. Staff listen to the child, respond promptly and take appropriate action to safeguard them while ensuring concerns are thoroughly investigated. As a result, the child feels safe and is protected from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a dedicated registered manager, who has a visible and active presence. She promotes a family-focused environment and positive relationships between herself, staff and the child. Staff speak highly of the manager and the support she provides, describing her as someone who goes ’above and beyond’ for the child. This demonstrates strong leadership, with the manager leading by example and motivating staff to provide high-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has recruited a new staff team, comprising both experienced practitioners and those new to residential childcare. Training is tailored to the needs of the child and supports staff to provide effective care. Staff who are new to the role bring relevant skills and life experience that help them to care for vulnerable children. As a result, a resilient staff team has developed that works effectively together to keep the child safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2759542 6 Leaders and managers have robust safer recruitment processes in place. Relevant checks are completed before staff begin working in the home, employment histories are scrutinised and references are verified. In addition, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks are undertaken every 3 months for all staff. This helps to ensure that only suitable adults are employed to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Agency staff have been used to meet the demands of the child’s care package, which includes a high level of support and supervision to meet their assessed needs. Recruitment remains ongoing, and the manager ensures that agency staff work alongside permanent staff to promote consistency and stability for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff demonstrate good communication skills. Feedback from professionals and family members is complimentary. Verbal and written communication is thorough and timely, ensuring that the responsible local authority and the child’s parent are kept informed of significant developments. The child’s social worker said they were ‘blown away’ by the transparency, communication and level of commitment shown by the manager and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When staffing changes occur, the home’s statement of purpose is not always updated to reflect the staff currently working in the home. This limits the ability of placing authorities to assess whether the skills, experience and composition of the staff team are suitable to meet an individual child’s assessed needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2759542 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

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)(d)) 28 August 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the Statement of Purpose is kept under review and updated as necessary, particularly to include an accurate account of the staff currently working in the home. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.23)  The registered person should ensure that any measure of control and restriction used in the home are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and proportionate to known risk. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46 paragraph 9.36)

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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: 2759542 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Accord Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 24 Greek Street, Stockport SK3 8AB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Abdullah Zulfiqar

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Inspector

Sarah Adotey, social care inspector Julia Hagan, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2759542 9 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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