Children's Home run by Elm Housing Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2836174 1 Registered provider: Elm Housing Limited 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 provider. It offers care for up to 3 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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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: 17 September 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: 2836174 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/09/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2836174 3

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Summary of findings

Children live in a warm and welcoming home. They enjoy a range of activities and are encouraged to participate in those that match their interests and strengths.

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Summary of findings

Children report that they can speak to staff and feel listened to. When children go missing, staff demonstrate strong commitment and take proactive steps to locate them. However, staff are not always spoken with within 48 hours following a restraint to ensure that their views and experiences are understood.

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Summary of findings

The registered manager and staff are ambitious for children and maintain positive relationships with professionals. Staff benefit from regular training and supervision that support their practice. However, management oversight requires strengthening, and notifications to Ofsted are not always submitted within the required timescales.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience carefully planned moves into the home. Comprehensive assessments are carried out to ensure that children can live safely alongside one another. Children are given opportunities to visit the home before moving in, helping them to become familiar with their new environment. One child has made significant progress and is now working towards returning to live with their family. Another child has recently moved into the home and is making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children have made sustained progress during this inspection period, and some have moved on from the home due to concerns relating to their behaviour and staff’s ability to meet their needs. Despite these challenges, children appear to have had positive experiences and receive care and support from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child was not attending education when they moved into the home. With support from staff, they engaged in home education and successfully completed their examinations. Another child has recently moved into the home and, while a suitable school placement is being identified, is being supported to access educational opportunities, including cooking and physical activities. This demonstrates staff’s commitment to promoting children’s learning and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a variety of activities that reflect their interests and preferences. They enjoy spending time together and have participated in activities such as visiting theme parks and going on day trips. Photos and mementos of these experiences are kept in memory books for children to retain. These opportunities help children to develop social skills, build positive relationships and create lasting memories. Inspection report for children’s home: 2836174 4 Staff use a reward-based system that encourages positive behaviour. One child has saved enough ‘reward balls’ to enjoy a skydiving experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to understand their behaviour. A mentor with lived experience of exploitation works with the children. Children have access to support from the in-house therapist, who also works with the whole family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and maintained to a good standard. It is well decorated and furnished, creating a comfortable and homely environment. Photos of children and staff are displayed throughout the home, helping to promote a sense of identity and belonging. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their individual preferences and contain their own belongings, further supporting their sense of ownership and permanence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

However, one child’s bedroom is not currently ready for occupation and is occasionally used by staff as a sleep-in room. As a result, the home does not provide a suitably prepared bedroom for a child moving into the home.

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

Children report that they feel safe and say that they have someone they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns. When children raise complaints, they are responded to promptly.

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

Staff work hard to understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge of children’s vulnerabilities. Children have risk assessments that are individualised to their specific needs. Risk assessments include strategies for staff to use to reduce risk. Staff follow these strategies in practice.

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

When children go missing from home, staff are quick to respond. Partnership work with the police and family members is effective, and staff actively ensure that the children return home without delay. Staff have a good understanding of the missing-from-home procedures.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed. This means that staff are recruited safely. Recruitment checks ensure that only suitable individuals are employed to work with children.

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

Staff use de-escalation techniques with children before using physical intervention. However, there have been incidents when staff have held children. Recording in relation to these incidents is not consistently in line with regulation, such as staff being spoken to within 48 hours of a physical restraint. This does not help staff to learn from any incidents to prevent any further incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: 2836174 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is caring and ambitious for children. He advocates effectively for the child. A deputy manager supports the manager. A member of staff said, ‘Management are always available to offer guidance, advice and practical support when needed, while encouraging professional development and reflective practice.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff maintain effective relationships with relevant professionals, which supports a coordinated approach to meeting children’s needs and contributes to providing consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have the necessary skills to provide effective care for children. The staff receive training to meet the children’s needs. Training is individualised for children. This helps staff to respond to children’s changing needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. This provides staff with the opportunity to discuss and reflect on their practice. Staff attend team meetings, which helps to support their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has had limited opportunities to undertake monitoring activities due to staffing issues that have required him to work directly with children. This has limited his overview of the quality of care and development of staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Notifications of significant events are submitted to the regulator. However, on occasions, there has been a delay. This does not allow the regulator to have sufficient oversight. Inspection report for children’s home: 2836174 6

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

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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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 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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff are spoken to within 48 hours of a measure. 20 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 any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and 20 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2836174 7 any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all significant incidents are notified to Ofsted.

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Requirement Due date

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must undertake regular audits to inform their oversight of the home. 20 September 2026

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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: 2836174 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Elm Housing Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Turner & Brown, 105 Garstang Road, Preston PR1 1LD

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Inspectors

Karen Andrews, Social Care Inspector Shane North, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2836174 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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