Children's Home run by Therapeutic Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: 2762093 1 Registered provider: Therapeutic Care 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

A private provider runs this home. The home provides care for up to 2 children who may experience emotional or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home. The child spoke to the inspector during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

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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: 9 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: 2762093 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/09/2025 Full Good 06/08/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2762093 3

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Summary of findings

Children who live and have lived in this home make good progress in most areas of their lives. Children have access to a wide range of activities and experiences. They are encouraged to maintain good links with their family and friends.

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Summary of findings

Children are provided with stability and are well-supported by staff and the manager, who have their best interests at heart.

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Summary of findings

The home is clean and comfortable and thoughtfully arranged to provide a stable and nurturing environment. This supports children to feel secure and relaxed within their living space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and one child has moved in. Children’s moves have been managed in a sensitive manner, even when they have been unplanned. Staff and the manager have done all they can to ensure that children feel supported. Consideration has been given to the suitability of children to live together. This has all contributed to children’s overall sense of well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a welcoming and safe environment. Children can personalise their bedrooms in accordance with their own tastes and interests. There are photos of children throughout the home. Their trophies and achievements are proudly displayed. The child said, ‘I like living here because it is calm, there is nothing I would change.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to maintain links with those who are important to them. One child is being supported by staff and the manager to re-build fractured links with family members. Staff travel considerable distances with children to see their loved ones. Children’s family members can visit the home and are invited to important events in children’s lives. This allows children to spend quality time with their families in a natural environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities. Children are encouraged to develop new interests and staff have provided many different new experiences for them. One child has enjoyed a recent holiday to Spain with staff. Children are encouraged to join local clubs, which gives them opportunities to make friends locally and aids their social development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to explore and develop their own identity. They are accepted for who they are, without judgement from the adults in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is valued in the home. Staff and the manager work alongside other professionals when issues arise in school. When children are not attending a formal Inspection report for children's home: 2762093 4 education setting staff provide opportunities for learning which align with children’s interests. One child has been able to participate in valuable work experience activities. This has broadened their skill set and given them an insight into the working world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Specialist referrals are made when needed and children are encouraged to attend health appointments. The manager ensures that referrals are monitored.

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

Staff take time to get to know children and develop a good understanding of their needs and vulnerabilities. The manager ensures that staff have clear guidance in how to manage situations and issues. The manager is proactive in managing and mitigating any potential risks to children and involves safeguarding partners when necessary. Staff speak to children regularly about important issues such as staying safe in the community, fire safety and risks around extremism and radicalisation.

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

There are consistent routines and boundaries in the home. Staff diffuse incidents in accordance with their training. This has resulted in a reduction in incidents for the child currently living in the home. Physichal intervention is rarely used. When children have needed to be held this has been proportionate and necessary. There is good recording of incidents and children and staff are spoken to afterwards by the manager. This encourages reflection and learning from incidents.

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

The staff team want the best for children. They speak and write about children with warmth. This allows children to feel accepted and cared for. Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities. Staff know how to escalate concerns including to external safeguarding partners. Recruitment of new staff has been completed safely. This limits the risk of unsuitable individuals working with children.

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

There is a therapeutic ethos in the home. The provider employs a therapy team who provide advice and guidance to staff in the best ways to work with children. Children are supported to improve their emotional health. When children have low mood staff offer nurture and reassurance. However, during one self-harm incident, staff did not look in the child’s bedroom for items that could be potentially harmful or continued an agreed level of monitoring for the child after the event.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified. His practice is child-centred and he knows the children well. He is supported by a present responsible individual who also takes time to get to know the children and staff team. The manager listens to children and is a strong advocate for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable and committed staff team. Most of the staff are qualified and experienced in residential childcare. The manager has ensured that they have the skills Inspection report for children's home: 2762093 5 to meet the children’s needs. When new needs have emerged for children, further training for staff has been provided swiftly which has enabled them to support children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they value the support provided by the manager and wider organisation. There are opportunities for staff to progress in their career. This aids staff retention, which provides consistency for children. Staff have regular and good quality supervision sessions which allows them to reflect on their practice. Team meetings are held regularly and are used as a forum for learning and discussion of practice and best ways to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team have good oversight and have a range of tools to monitor and improve the care provided. Recording on children’s files is of a good standard. Visits from the independent person are regular and support the team to identify where improvements need to be made. However, feedback from external stakeholders is not obtained regularly. This limits the impartiality of the information gathered. Inspection report for children's home: 2762093 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 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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff look in children’s rooms and remove harmful items after disclosures of self-harm. Furthermore, any welfare checks put in place to safeguard the child must be completed in accordance with the child’s plan. 25 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2762093 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. This includes regularly seeking external feedback, such as from family members and other professionals working with the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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: 2762093 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Therapeutic Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Therapeutic Care Ltd, Errigal House, Avroe Crescent, Blackpool FY4 2DP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Joanne Whitehead

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Inspector

Eve Ostridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2762093 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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