Children's Home run by Care Today (Childrens Services) Ltd in Manchester

Inspection report children's home: 2625182 1 Registered provider: Care Today (Childrens Services) 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

This children’s home is operated by a private company.

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Information about this children's home

It is registered to provide care for two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Both children spoke with the inspector about their experiences of living at the home.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children's home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 9 December 2025

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2625182 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2025 Full Good 21/05/2024 Full Good 06/09/2023 Full Good 07/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2625182 3

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Summary of findings

Children make outstanding progress and are well supported by a consistent team of staff who promote strong relationships, education and independence. Family connections are encouraged, contributing to children’s identity and resilience. Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and talk to children about how to keep safe. Staff work collaboratively with other agencies to help keep children safe and risks have reduced for both children. The manager provides highly effective leadership and leads from a place of high aspirations for both the children and his team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The same two children have remained living at the home since the last inspection. They continue to receive highly individualised and therapeutic care, which enables them to make exceptional progress across all aspects of their development, including health, education, and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff’s warm and nurturing approach contributes to strong relationships between the children, the manager and staff. These relationships have played an important part in supporting children through some difficult and challenging periods. As a result of these strong relationships, children have learned to trust and respect the staff who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children attend school and college and are making significant progress in their education from their starting points. Staff work closely with education professionals and advocate tenaciously for children until they receive education that meets their needs. Some children who were previously not attending education have now achieved GCSE qualifications and are accessing further education. This gives the children the best possible chance to achieve their educational potential and improves their future opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s health is actively promoted. All children are appropriately registered for the full range of health services available to them and are encouraged to attend all routine health checks and assessments. Staff have access to clinical support to assist them in meeting each child’s emotional, social and psychological well-being needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have friendship groups in the local area, and their friends regularly come and spend time in the home. This adds to the welcoming and family feel to the home with children’s friends comfortable spending time there. Children are given opportunities to participate in activities in the local area and to go on holidays home and abroad. These are positive experiences for children and provides them with happy memories and experiences. Inspection report children's home: 2625182 4 The manager and staff have built strong relationships with children’s families. There has been some exceptional work to reconnect children to family members and this has been incredibly rewarding for children. One child was not aware that he had extended family living not too far away. With support from staff, the child has now formed positive relationships with these family members. This has been invaluable for the child’s self-

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is clean and tidy and has a warm, homely feel. The home is personalised with photographs on display of the children taking part in activities. Children are encouraged to help with household tasks, such as keeping their bedrooms tidy and helping staff to prepare and cook meals. This encourages them to take pride in their home and promotes their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are supported to make choices in their daily lives, promoting their independence in line with their age and development needs. They are actively involved in decisions, from selecting their meals to choosing activities that reflect their interests and preferences. This inclusive approach empowers children, giving them a sense of control and ownership over their experiences while helping them to develop their decision making skills.

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

Children’s safety is prioritised by staff. Children have been supported to reduce their risks when measuring from individual starting points. Staff have an excellent understanding of the children’s risks and vulnerabilities and know how to keep them safe.

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

The manager and staff respond to, manage and resolve safeguarding concerns effectively. The manager works collaboratively with professionals to ensure that information is shared swiftly. Known concerns are quickly addressed in order to keep children safe. The manager uses these experiences to improve practice and make changes that further improve safeguards.

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

Children said they feel safe living in the home. They are confident that staff will support them to explore past experiences that are often very difficult for them. The quality of relationships between the children and the staff is very evident. This enables children to address previous concerning behaviours and to work towards more positive outcomes. Open and honest communication is promoted so that children feel able to discuss any worries or concerns.

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

Staff know how to respond if children go missing from home. They work successfully to support children to return home safely. Meaningful discussions take place with children and the manager analyses the factors relating to incidents to ensure that staff are proactive in preventing future incidents. Consequently, incidents of children going missing from the home have reduced.

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

Preventative work on substance misuse, online safety and healthy relationships is Inspection report children's home: 2625182 5 delivered with empathy and a non-judgemental tone. Staff are not afraid to tackle sensitive subjects with the children although they may sometimes resist. A consistent approach supports insight and sustains long term change. This work contributes to the excellent progress that children make.

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

Behaviour support is thoughtful, consistent and tailored to each child. Staff do not need to use physical intervention as children have trusting relationships with them. When boundaries are tested, responses are calm, fair and proportionate. Staff help children to reflect on their behaviour and understand the consequences of their actions. Consequently, children are better equipped to manage overwhelming feelings in healthier ways.

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

Each child’s risks associated with internet access are understood. Children are given guidance and support to help them to understand how to stay safe online and appropriate websites they can access. Individualised plans are in place to monitor children’s internet use to reduce the risks associated with online activity.

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

The manager understands and follows safer recruitment and vetting procedures for new staff. There is an induction and training programme for new staff, and they have shadow shifts at the start of their employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is invested and dedicated to the children. The manager is inspiring and ambitious and he has effective oversight. There is clear management of procedures which helps the desired outcomes for the children to be achieved. The manager continuously seeks ways to improve. This ensures that staff deliver an excellent level of care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Morale is high and staff feel supported by their manager and enjoy working in the home. The manager creates an open environment where staff can approach him about work and any personal concerns. One staff member said ‘I feel very well supported by management, which is particularly important to me as I have a lot of responsibilities outside of work. We regularly catch up to discuss how things are going, where we can improve and how management can support me.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Stakeholder feedback was wholly positive. All external agencies were able to comment on the individual progress of the children and how this is due to the care the children are receiving. In relation to one child’s progress, their social worker commented, ‘he has made great progress in his life. This is entirely down to the staff at the home who have encouraged and supported him in many ways. It is testament to them.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Systems for monitoring and reviewing practice are highly effective. Leaders and managers make good use of these systems to maintain a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and to identify opportunities for further development. Reflection, learning and continuous improvement are firmly embedded in the culture of the home. Inspection report children's home: 2625182 6 Monthly team meetings include collective reflective discussions about staff practice and the progress of children. Research is used to support staff’s learning and development. The team work together to improve practice, and the quality of care provided to the children. This enables staff to develop a more in-depth understanding of the different practice approaches, to improve the quality of care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All staff have access to regular training; however, the manager is not complacent. He has worked hard to ensure that staff engage with further specific training to support children effectively. This has recently included training to improve staff’s understanding of effective communication. This provides staff with additional knowledge and skills in how to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager strives for effective care planning and promotes strong working relationships between the home and the placing authority. The manager will advocate firmly on behalf of children when decisions or plans do not reflect their best interests. For example, when he was concerned about the education status of one child, the manager escalated his concerns with other statutory agencies to ensure they took the child’s views seriously. As a result, the child was able to attend school and complete their GCSE’s. This effective advocating and partnership working played a key role in supporting the child’s education. Inspection report children's home: 2625182 7

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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 children's home: 2625182 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Care Today (Childrens Services) Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 2nd, Floor Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6LR

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Liam Fitzpatrick

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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2625182 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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