Children's Home run by Thrive Residential Care Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: 2835292 1 Registered provider: Thrive Residential Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home 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

The home registered with Ofsted in June 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. An interim manager is in post, and they have submitted their application to register.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. Both children were spoken with by the inspectors about their experiences of 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: 22 September 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

An assurance inspection was carried out on 5 March 2026, when serious and widespread failures were found. Following this, compliance notices were issued under Regulation 12, the protection of children standard, Regulation 14, the care planning standard, and Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Inspection report for children's home: 2835292 2 A monitoring visit was completed on 23 April 2026. During this visit, it was evidenced that the manager had made a number of positive changes. Following this visit, a case review was held on 28 April 2026. A decision was made that the provider had taken sufficient action to meet the compliance notices. Inspection report for children's home: 2835292 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/09/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2835292 4

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Summary of findings

Staff provide good-quality care to the children living in the home. The children are settled and making good progress.

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Summary of findings

The children are cared for by a team that has the skills and knowledge to build meaningful relationships. Children’s welfare is promoted at all times.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children living in the home are making good progress. They were observed to be happy and enjoying their time with the staff caring for them. Staff regularly speak to children in meaningful ways, and this is recorded clearly. All staff in the home speak confidently and warmly about the children in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves from the home have not always been planned. Two children have moved on from the home following significant incidents. The endings for the children have been unplanned. However, the manager has worked with staff and external professionals to make the endings as positive as possible. The team has visited and made telephone calls with the children. This has supported them to settle in their new homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time for children is promoted and supported by staff in meaningful ways. Staff support children to spend time with family and recognise the importance of this to support the children’s plan for reunification. Managers maintain a positive relationship with family members and are in regular contact with them. Feedback from a family member highlighted the staff’s support to the children, but also to themselves, to help towards ensuring plans for children are achievable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is well supported by the staff. Children are encouraged to attend school, and staff have excellent communication with school staff. Children are supported to reflect on any issues in school, and staff try different techniques to encourage school attendance. Children are in good health. They are supported to attend all relevant appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been a good number of direct-work sessions completed with the children, and these have been in relation to relevant topics. There have been sessions completed with the children about managing their emotions and their behaviours towards one another. Additionally, there have been sessions completed with the children around cultural differences in order to reduce the use of abusive language towards staff, and this appears to have had a positive impact. Inspection report for children's home: 2835292 5 The home presents as tired. At the current time, the home is not maintained to the high standard that is expected. There were maintenance issues outstanding, and the home lacks the soft touches that make it feel like a warm and homely environment.

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

The children living in the home presented as safe and settled.

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

Safeguarding practice in the home is good, all known risks are identified and plans are in place to work towards reducing them and keeping children safe. The team is clear about the strategies needed to keep children safe and implements these on all occasions. Consequently, there has been a significant reduction in incidents.

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

There is a proactive response from the team when children go missing from home. Staff continue to search for children until they are located and act in line with plans when reporting children missing from the home. The team works effectively in partnership with the police.

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

There has been a decrease in the use of physical interventions. However, there have been several incidents during which physical interventions were used. There was a time in the home where it was evident that the team was inexperienced, and shortfalls were identified in practice by the leadership team. However, due to good management oversight, the shortfalls have been identified and addressed. Additionally, the leadership team has reflected on incidents in team meetings and supervision sessions to improve practice in the home.

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

The current team is all up to date with relevant training and is confident in the skills needed for de-escalation and managing the behaviours of the children. There have been significant improvements in behaviour management. There are clear and consistent boundaries now in place for the children, and this has had a positive impact on the behaviours and the risks identified for the children.

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

Door alarms are used on children’s bedrooms. However, there is no clear rationale for the routine use of these, and this limits the children’s privacy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and qualified manager. The culture of the home is characterised by high expectations and aspirations for all children. The team has confidence in managers when reporting and addressing safeguarding matters. The ethos and objectives of the home are demonstrated in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have the skills and knowledge to be able to meet the needs of the children. When a shortfall is identified, the manager responds appropriately and training and subject- specific supervision sessions are completed. Managers and staff receive regular and Inspection report for children's home: 2835292 6 effective supervision that is focused on children’s experiences, their needs, plans and feedback. Supervision is recorded well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers actively and regularly monitor the quality of care provided. The manager uses their monthly audits to ensure that they have oversight of the home. These are used as part of the information collection for the completion of the Regulation 45.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use learning from practice and feedback to improve the experiences and care of children. The manager is effective in collating information from incidents and feedback to improve practice. This is then delivered to staff during team meetings and supervision sessions. There are clear development plans in place for the team and future training opportunities. They identify strengths and areas for improvement to continually improve the experiences of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Action is taken to address all issues of concern, including any concerns or complaints from children. Investigations are carried out into allegations, and appropriate action is taken. All relevant professionals are informed. Reflective sessions are completed with the team, which focus on improvements for the team. Inspection report for children's home: 2835292 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 registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is a clear rationale for the use of door alarms on children’s bedroom doors and that any agreement is clear about the need to have these activated. This requirement is restated. 7 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home; (Regulation 6 (1)(c)(i)(ii)) 7 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2835292 8 Specifically, the registered manager must ensure that the house is decorated and maintained to provide a homely environment for the children living in it.

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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: 2835292 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Thrive Residential Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Thrive Residential Care, Guardian House, Capricorn Park, Blakewater Road, Blackburn BB1 5QR

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Inspectors

Rose Maddocks, Social Care Inspector Jane Ayres, His Majesties Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2835292 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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