Children's Home run by Care 4 Every Child Limited in Kirklees

Inspection report for children's home: 2716222 1 Registered provider: Care 4 Every Child 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 run by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 4 children were living at the home. Two children were present during the inspection. Three children were spoken to as part of the inspection. The inspector spoke to one of the children on the telephone.

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Information about this children's home

The registered manager was not available during the inspection. The inspection was led by a deputy manager, with support from another deputy manager and the responsible individual. The manager was registered with Ofsted in July 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 inadequate

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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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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2716222 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/04/2025 Full Good 28/05/2024 Full Good 13/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2716222 3

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Summary of findings

Management oversight is currently insufficient. There are serious shortfalls in leadership and management.

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Summary of findings

Some serious incidents were not reported to the regulator. Staff failed to respond appropriately to a child's disclosure and did not follow safeguarding procedures. Since the last inspection, one child moved into the home in an emergency with limited planning and insufficient consideration of the impact on existing children.

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Summary of findings

Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them and help them to maintain positive relationships. Children, children's families and professionals speak positively about the home and the care provided.

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improvement to be good

One child was not supported by staff to have a positive experience of moving into the home. The child was not aware of the location of the home, the names of staff, or the children they would be living with. Children already living in the home were affected by the poor planning for the new child moving in.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not ensure that staff have sufficient information about children's needs, risks and vulnerabilities before moving in. As a result, relationships between children are not always positive. Staff have struggled to manage these relationships safely and children have experienced bullying and intimidation from other children. One child said, 'We just keep out of each other's way.' Staff manage this by encouraging children to spend time in their own space or going on separate activities to manage the conflict. Staff say that more could be done to support the children to go on activities together and build positive relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children have access to a wide range of meaningful activities, including paddle boarding, go-karting and visiting theme parks. Three children have enjoyed a holiday this summer, supported by staff, creating positive memories. Photographs capture children's experiences and professional photograph books are created for the children to access now and in the future.

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improvement to be good

The home is a warm and welcoming environment. There are photographs of the children with staff and certificates of achievement proudly displayed. Children's artwork and poems are made into canvases and displayed in communal areas. Children have personalised bedrooms and have photographs of their family and people of importance on their bedroom walls. The communal areas are well maintained. This gives children a sense of pride and belonging. Inspection report for children's home: 2716222 4 Managers and staff work hard to build and maintain positive relationships with the families of children. Staff promote family time and advocate on behalf of children to increase the time spent with those people who matter to them. As a result, children enjoy more time with their siblings and, where appropriate, this extends to unsupervised time and overnight stays. One parent said that staff 'helped build our relationship back

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improvement to be good

up again' and staff 'work with all of us and work to bring us all together'.

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improvement to be good

Children attend school. Managers and staff work closely with education professionals to support children. Staff have supported one child to prepare for their move to a secondary school. The collaborative approach between staff at the home and staff at the school has helped the child to be prepared and excited to start the new school.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to access appropriate healthcare services and seek specialist support when required. Staff advocate for children to ensure they have the support they require. Staff challenged an external service decision to end their involvement with one child. This meant that the child continued to receive the support they required.

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improvement to be good

Staff are aware of safeguarding and the whistleblowing policy. However, staff have not reported concerns in a timely manner. This has delayed investigations and the provider's ability to ensure that timely action is taken. Staff were not forthcoming about previous whistleblowing complaints that had been made. The provider has not notified Ofsted of the concerns. This hinders the ability for Ofsted to ensure that the provider has taken the necessary action.

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improvement to be good

Staff use physical intervention to support children, but staff do not always use the least- restrictive approach. Leaders and managers have identified these shortfalls and have provided additional training to staff. Oversight of physical interventions is not always completed within required timescales, particularly when the manager has been involved in the intervention. In addition, children are not routinely offered opportunities to reflect on incidents promptly. This limits their ability to explore their feelings and develop alternative coping strategies. These shortfalls do not support a safe and transparent culture for the recording, review and monitoring of physical interventions.

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improvement to be good

The manager does not consider all information provided when children move into the home. This means that staff are not aware of a child's previous experiences and behaviours. This prevents staff from ensuring that all the children's care needs are met. Staff did not efficiently handle a disclosure made by a child. The staff member who received the disclosure did not record it or act to progress it. The disclosure was not reported in line with the home's safeguarding policy. The failure to share important safeguarding information potentially undermined professionals' ability to keep children safe. Inspection report for children's home: 2716222 5 Children can identify staff who they can talk to if they feel worried or have a concern. One child said that the best thing about the home is 'the staff' and if anything is worrying them 'it always gets sorted'.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager was not at work at the time of the inspection and has had limited management oversight since June 2026. An internal investigation is currently underway to explore staffing levels and attendance. It is therefore unclear how well staff are meeting the children's needs or how well staff are being supported. Two deputy managers are covering for the manager in their absence. The deputy managers want the children to do well. However, insufficient support for the deputy managers by leaders has impacted on the management of the home and the morale of the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When staff return to the home following a period of suspension, leaders and managers do not follow their own risk assessment and planned phased return to work. The manager has completed a 6-monthly quality of care review. The report does not consider the quality standards and, therefore, does not meet regulations. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to fully evaluate and improve the care that children experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

An independent visitor attends the home regularly and provides a report. The independent visitor does not consistently visit when children are at home. They do not regularly speak with external professionals or children's family members. This means that the independent visitor's reviews only offer a narrow perspective of the care the children receive. This has not been challenged by the provider.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not ensure that all complaints are investigated. When concerns are raised about the care provided for children, these are not considered and feedback is not provided to the complainant. This is a missed opportunity to review the quality of care and consider any learning or feedback to improve children's experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Safe recruitment practice is embedded. Staff recruited to work in the home are subject to appropriate scrutiny to ensure that they are safe to work with children. Staff receive an induction and mandatory training when they start working at the home. Four out of the 9 permanent members of staff do not have the qualification within the relevant timescale to work in residential childcare. Inspection report for children's home: 2716222 6

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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

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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies;

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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

that the effectiveness of the home's child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when allegations are made against staff, the allegations are investigated without delay. 24 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2716222 7 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is no delay in submitting notifications about serious incidents.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that risk assessments and safeguarding processes are followed. 24 September 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

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. 24 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2716222 8 (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour and management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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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. (Regulation 35 (1)(b) (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 24 September 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. (Regulation 14 (a)(b)) 22 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children's home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)) 22 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2716222 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: 2716222 10

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Care 4 Every Child Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Allen Mills Howard & Co, Library Chambers, 48 Union Street, Hyde SK14 1ND

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Angela Hodgkinson

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Inspector

Gemma Sheader, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2716222 11 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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