Children's Home run by Theracare Homes Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 1 Registered provider: Theracare Homes 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 operated by a private provider. It offers care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in July 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 1 child was living at the home and 1 child had left.

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This monitoring visit

Following the full inspection, the home was judged inadequate. Ofsted imposed a condition on this home on the 9 July 2026 under section 13 of the Care Standards Act 2000. The condition is that no child or young person may be accommodated at the children’s home unless the child or young person was living there at the time the notice was served.

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This monitoring visit

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the restriction of accommodation notice issued at the full inspection. The provider has complied with the notice.

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This monitoring visit

Since the full inspection, the manager has submitted their voluntary cancellation to the regulator. An interim manager is in place supported by the deputy manager.

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This monitoring visit

One child has left, and one child remains living at the home. Concerns raised in relation to the child accessing social networking sites despite being subject to a deprivation of liberty order have been addressed. However, staff have not followed management instructions to conduct room searches. This does not ensure that appropriate action is taken to consistently safeguard children. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 2 The child has been provided with a mobile device. Appropriate restrictions and safety controls are in place, and any attempts to access or alter the device settings have been successfully prevented. On one occasion, the child attempted to remove a safety feature; however, this action triggered an alert to staff, who responded promptly and took appropriate action.

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This monitoring visit

The child is subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) arrangement. Staff continue to ensure that any restrictions imposed are necessary, proportionate and represent the least restrictive option available. For example, the previous practice of keeping doors locked is no longer required because the child is always supervised.

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This monitoring visit

The child is supported by an external psychologist, who is related to the responsible individual. However, there is no evidence that safer recruitment checks have been completed or that they hold the relevant qualifications to provide this intervention. The manager acknowledged this shortfall and advised that the intervention would be discontinued until the necessary checks have been completed.

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This monitoring visit

Concerns regarding the potential development of a closed culture have not been sufficiently addressed. Staff have received training, including on professional boundaries, which has been delivered by the external psychologist. However, evidence of their qualifications and competence to deliver training in these key areas has not been sufficiently explored. This may compromise the quality and effectiveness of the training provided to staff.

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This monitoring visit

The child is cared for by staff with whom they are familiar. Agency staff are no longer used. However, when concerns regarding staff conduct have arisen, internal investigations have not taken account of all available information, and decisions have been made without fully considering the safety of the child. The manager confirmed that they had not seen the outcome of the investigation and accepted that they had not reviewed it to ensure that staff remained safe to care for the child.

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This monitoring visit

Arrangements for the leadership and management of the home remain an area of concern. Insufficient action has been taken to address the shortfalls identified at the full inspection. Following a case review, the condition imposed under Section 13 of the Care Standards Act 2000 has been reissued.

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This monitoring visit

The requirements made at the last full inspection have not been considered during this visit and will be reviewed at the next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/07/2026 Full Inadequate 01/12/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 4

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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; and

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to safeguard children effectively, ensure children are not subject to unnecessary restrictions, and demonstrate professional curiosity during incidents, complete accurate records, and make appropriate enquiries when there are indicators of potential risk. 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 5 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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; and

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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)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that arrangements in place for the setting are suitable, that action is taken to understand the culture and prevent a closed culture continuing and that staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities and take effective action. 11 October 2026

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 6 registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that assessments of children’s suitability to live at the home are carefully considered alongside the staff’s skills, experience and ability to meet their needs.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 7 quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited;

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Requirement Due date

make each child aware of and, if necessary, remind them of each of the matters in sub-paragraph (d)(i) to (iii);

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives;

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Requirement Due date

has access to the home’s children’s guide, and the home’s complaints procedure, when the child’s placement in the home is agreed and throughout the child’s stay in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that an explanation is given to each child as soon as reasonably practicable after the child’s arrival about—

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Requirement Due date

how to make a complaint or representations in relation to the home or the care the child receives and how any such complaint or representations will be dealt with; and

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Requirement Due date

what advocacy support or services are available to the child, how the child may access that support or those services and any entitlement the child may have to independent advocacy provision; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the views of each relevant person are taken into account, so far as reasonably practicable, before making a decision about the care or welfare of a child.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(iii)(e)) Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 8 The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)) 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 9 The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this relates to leaders and managers ensuring that children’s bedrooms are clean and free from hazards, and that immediate action is taken to remove damage. 11 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff practice is reviewed to make sure they are qualified, experienced and have the skills and training to provide consistent care. 11 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have effective oversight of the home and that the registered manager receives regular supervision. 11 October 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. 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 10 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;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Theracare Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit F1–F3 Blenheim Court, Carrs Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK8 2JY

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Inspector

Nicola Forrester, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2839658 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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