Children's Home run by Oaktree Childcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2651794 1 Registered provider: Oaktree Childcare 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 home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home and they spent time with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: 2651794 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/08/2025 Full Good 15/05/2024 Full Good 29/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2651794 3

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Summary of findings

Children’s experiences and progress while living at the home have been varied. Staff successfully supported one child to move to independence. However, other children have experienced unplanned endings when staff were no longer able to meet their needs.

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Summary of findings

Staff respond effectively when children go missing from home and allegations are managed appropriately. However, risk assessments do not always provide clear guidance for staff, and the impact of children living together is not robustly considered.

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Summary of findings

Some areas of the home require improvement, including the child’s bedroom. In addition, staff are not consistently compliant with fire safety procedures.

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Summary of findings

An experienced manager provides effective leadership and support to staff. However, there are inconsistencies in the frequency of staff supervision.

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences and progress while living at the home vary. Staff carefully supported one child to make a planned move to semi-independent living. This gradually reduced staffing support to help the child develop the skills and confidence needed for increased independence. This resulted in positive progress from the child’s individual starting point.

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improvement to be good

Two children experienced unplanned endings after staff identified that they were unable to meet their needs. Staff have reached the same conclusion for the child currently living at the home and are working with the placing authority to identify a more suitable provision. Although staff appropriately recognise the limitations of the care they can provide, these disruptions affect children’s stability and continuity of care.

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improvement to be good

Staff have worked hard to build positive relationships with the child. They encourage the child to take part in activities that reflect their interests, including horse riding, which the child does enjoy. However, relationships between the child and staff remain fragile. Staff have developed positive relationships with children who have moved on from the home. In one case, staff maintain regular contact and continue to offer the child support.

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improvement to be good

The child currently living at the home is not being supported effectively to maintain their bedroom to an acceptable standard. In addition, the bedroom window remains boarded up while a replacement pane is awaited. Other areas of the home also require attention to promote a homely environment. During the inspection, leaders and managers took action to address some of these identified shortfalls.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the importance of children maintaining positive relationships with their family and friends. The child is supported to maintain appropriate contact with the Inspection report for children’s home: 2651794 4 people who are important to them. However, staff do not consistently maintain sufficient oversight of the child’s telephone contact. This limits their ability to identify emerging risks and safeguard the child from potentially unsafe relationships.

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improvement to be good

The manager has completed an assessment of the child’s risks. However, this does not provide staff with sufficiently clear guidance on how to respond to the child’s known vulnerabilities and identified risks. Although the child’s care plan has been updated, it continues to contain outdated information. This impacts staff’s ability to understand the child’s current needs and respond to them effectively.

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improvement to be good

The needs of the child already living in the home were not fully considered before a new child moved in. Although an impact assessment was completed, it did not sufficiently evaluate how the children’s individual vulnerabilities, risks and behaviours could affect one another.

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improvement to be good

Towards the end of one child’s time at the home, there was an increase in incidents between the children. This disrupted a period during which the child had been making positive progress. Staff identified strategies to minimise the children’s interaction with one another and reduce the likelihood of further conflict prior to the child’s planned move.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing from home have increased recently. Staff respond effectively and follow procedures to promote the child’s safe return. They work closely with relevant professionals and use information from incidents to review risks and strengthen plans aimed to reduce the likelihood of further missing-from-home incidents.

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improvement to be good

Allegations made by children are taken seriously and responded to appropriately. Leaders and managers ensure that timely discussions take place with relevant professionals to assess concerns and determine appropriate action. Where investigations have identified shortfalls in staff practice, leaders and managers take effective action to address these and promote learning. This helps to improve practice and safeguard children effectively.

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improvement to be good

Door wedges are used in the home, preventing fire doors from closing and potentially compromising the safety of children, staff and visitors in the event of a fire. In addition, staff do not consistently ensure that visitors are made aware of the home’s fire evacuation procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been management and staffing changes since the last inspection. An experienced manager moved to the home with an established staff team and one child from another home operated by the provider. Prior to this, the home was led by a different manager. Due to the recent nature of these changes, it is too early to Inspection report for children’s home: 2651794 5 determine their full impact on children’s experiences and progress. Staff speak positively about the new manager and feel well supported in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The use of non-permanent staff has increased to meet the child’s higher staffing requirements. The manager tries to use the same agency staff wherever possible to provide consistency for the child and develop familiar relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that the home’s statement of purpose accurately reflects the service currently being provided. It contains outdated information about the staffing arrangements and the admission of children to the home. As a result, children, families and placing authorities do not have access to accurate and reliable information about the home’s operation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Supervision records demonstrate that sessions are detailed, providing staff with opportunities to reflect on practice and discuss children’s needs. However, leaders and managers do not provide supervision consistently. This limits the manager’s ability to review staff practice and identify development needs. Team meetings are well attended and encourage staff to share information and reflect on children’s needs. Managers also use these meetings to support group learning and professional development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2651794 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s individual risk management plans provide staff with clear strategies to manage and reduce risk. 28 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

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 28 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2651794 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are effectively supported to maintain their bedrooms to an acceptable and hygienic standard.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that the home environment is homely and that any damage is repaired as quickly as possible.

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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;

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the needs of children already living at the home are effectively considered when new children move into the home. Specifically, the registered person must ensure that actions identified to manage risks between children are detailed and clear. 28 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must— 28 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2651794 8 take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that fire doors are not obstructively held open using door wedges or other objects.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s case records are up to date and reflective of children’s current needs. 28 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 28 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff receive regular supervision. 28 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2651794 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: 2651794 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oaktree Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ground Floor, Seneca House, Links Point, Amy Johnson Way, Blackpool, Lancashire FY4 2FF

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Inspector

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2651794 11 regulates and inspects to 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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