Children's Home run by Fortitude Residential Childcare Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2812917 1 Registered provider: Fortitude Residential Childcare Ltd 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. The home is registered to care for 2 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home.

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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: 21 October 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: 2812917 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/10/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2812917 3

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Summary of findings

The children are happy and settled in their home and appear to have good relationships with staff. While incidents are minimal, there was an incident of self-harm that should have been acted upon immediately when it became evident. In respect of possession of a knife, more action could have been taken to provide in-depth understanding of knife crime. The manager is fully committed to the children and is regularly present within the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and decorated to a high standard. Children living in the home have chosen the décor in their bedrooms. There are photos of the children on display, which gives children a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with staff, who promote their interests and provide opportunities for them to take part in activities of their choice. This includes paddleboarding, swimming and shopping trips. The children have recently been on holiday to destinations of their choice. For one child, this was a holiday abroad.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in learning and are making progress with their education. The manager has advocated for one child who found education challenging to ensure that they had the right support in place. Both children are now actively engaging in learning and making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are understood and promoted. Staff encourage children to attend health appointments as required. When children are reluctant to access health services, staff work creatively and tenaciously to encourage attendance. Direct work takes place to support the children to understand pre-planned medical procedures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with family and friends who are important to them, even when this involves travelling long distances. This supports children’s identity and maintains links to their home local authority in line with their long-term care plans.

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

Children’s risks and vulnerabilities are understood by staff, who know what action to take to mitigate risks. Staff are alert to any changes in children’s presentation, and they know what to do in response to any concerns about children’s safety.

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

Staff are supported to manage the children’s risks through detailed risk assessments and positive support plans. Risk assessments are updated regularly to reflect any increase or reduction in risk. However, following one incident of self-harm, there was a delay in Inspection report for children’s home: 2812917 4 implementing safety measures to prevent any possible recurrence. While there was no impact on the child, there was a potential risk of harm.

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

Children spend time with staff learning strategies to keep themselves safe. This includes information about online safety and healthy relationships. There was a missed opportunity in respect of educating one child about the implications of carrying a knife.

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

The manager communicates regularly with external professionals, parents and extended families. This ensures that all relevant people are kept updated on children’s progress and any concerns are quickly resolved. Feedback from professionals and family members about children’s progress is positive.

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

Safer recruitment practices are in place to ensure that only adults who are safe to work with children are employed at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced. She is fully involved in the children’s lives and is a strong advocate for them. One parent commented, ‘The manager and staff are very much committed to the children and the home mirrors that of a family home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working at the home. They work well as a team to provide consistent care. Since the last inspection, some staff have left, but the manager has ensured consistency in the care children receive and staff morale has remained high. Staff feel valued and supported by the manager and say she is approachable, helpful and understanding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reviews incidents and identifies any learning from practice. However, on one occasion, a child made an allegation that resulted in police involvement, and Ofsted was not notified. While this did not compromise the child’s safety, it reduced the regulator’s oversight of practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place to monitor practice across the home. However, oversight of some documents lacks rigour and analysis, which means that identified actions are not always completed. As a result, opportunities to improve practice are missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reviews the quality of care that children receive. However, this does not include children’s feedback. The manager has not used the review to identify an action plan focused on improving the quality of care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a range of training, which is specific to the children’s needs. Staff also benefit from regular, reflective supervision and team meetings, which are a chance to discuss children and progress, reflect on practice and identify development needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2812917 5

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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

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)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that strategies to reduce risks are implemented immediately following incidents. This includes room searches, observations and seeking medical advice when children self- harm.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children are educated on keeping themselves safe. This includes risks associated with knife crime. 14 October 2026

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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

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; 14 Oct 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2812917 6 there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; or

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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)(b)(c)(e))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should actively ensure that the quality-of-care review is evaluative and includes feedback from children, families and professionals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2812917 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Fortitude Residential Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Plymouth House, 22 Plymouth Road, Blackpool, Lancashire FY3 7JS

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Inspector

Sam Baird, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2812917 8 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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