Children's Home run by Strive to Care Limited in OldhamOfsted inspection, 10 Sept 2026

Inspection report for children’s home: 2863295 1 Registered provider: Strive to Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to 2 children who may have learning disabilities/and or social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in December 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in this home, and they were both spoken with.

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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: not previously inspected

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2863295 2

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Summary of findings

Children are thriving and making exceptional progress from their starting points. There is an overwhelmingly strong sense of respect between the children and the staff. Staff’s enthusiasm and the relationships that they build with the children and each other create a strong family-like culture. Children who have previously been at elevated risk of harm are now protected and enjoying life. The structure and predictability provided to children helps them to feel settled, confident and motivated to engage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have extremely strong and trusting relationships with staff. Staff take the time to get to know children and to understand how they communicate. Staff are attuned to subtle changes in children’s presentation, meaning that they can respond to these with the individualised care that children need. Staff invest in the children and successfully encourage them to invest in themselves. This gives children a sense of belonging and stability, and children say that they feel happy and safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff help children to flourish in their education. The manager and staff are tenacious and persistent in ensuring that children receive the most suitable education for their individual needs. This has resulted in exceptional educational progress. A child who was out of school for over a year is now attending daily, learning a trade and has received a local authority award for improvement. They now say that they can ‘see a future’ for the first time. The other child has also been helped to significantly increase their educational attendance, and this has resulted in them making clear academic progress since moving to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are helped to develop the skills they need for the future. Staff work with the children to ensure that they build on existing skills and develop new ones. Staff give children the tools they need to develop their own strategies to enable them to make good choices and remain in control of their own futures. Professionals say that both children have increased in confidence and that this contributes to progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff understand the importance of relationships with key people for the children’s social and emotional development. Family members and friends visit the home and are always warmly welcomed by staff. Staff also go above and beyond so that children can maintain positive relationships with the people who are important to them who live further away. One child said that this support has helped them become calmer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s views are at the heart of the care that they receive, and staff consistently show children that their views matter. Staff reflect on children’s requests and when safe and appropriate, facilitate these. When children’s wishes cannot be followed, staff ensure Inspection report for children’s home: 2863295 3 that children understand why. Children trust that they will be listened to, and they say that this makes them feel valued and understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children positively engage in their local community and are valued members of society. They are involved in supporting neighbours who are in need of help, and staff work with children to help them understand tolerance and acceptance. This is helping children to understand the importance of community and of contributing positively to the world around them.

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

Children are safe because of the highly effective support they receive from staff. They know the children and their risks exceptionally well and maintain detailed care plans and risk assessments. These include highly effective strategies to manage risks, and staff both understand and work in line with these. Targeted work helps children to develop the skills they need to learn from their decisions, and this contributes to reductions in harmful activities, such as vaping and smoking. Children are no longer led by negative influences and turn to staff as their role models. Both children say they now feel a greater sense of safety.

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

Staff encourage positive behaviour and consistently role model respect and patience to children. The reasons for rules are made clear to children, which helps them accept and follow them. Staff help children to communicate strong feelings appropriately and support them to manage these. Positive behaviours and children’s achievements are consistently praised and rewarded, and this results in children making more positive decisions.

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

Staff skilfully navigate difficult conversations with children and undertake significant amounts of work with them to help them be safe. This includes in areas such as radicalisation, exploitation and criminal activity. Staff work proactively with specialist professionals to spot early warning signs and respond to risks. They use creative ways of working with children to empower them to understand risks and make positive choices. This is reducing these risks for the children and keeping them safer. One child is also now using the knowledge and skills they have gained to motivate those close to them into making safer decisions.

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

Staff provide the children with creative and interesting records of the progress they have made. They help children to understand and make sense of some of their past experiences and choices. These are true celebrations of the children’s journeys and how they have developed strength and resilience. Children are proud of their progress and vocalise ambition for their futures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An enthusiastic and committed registered manager leads the home. He is transformational and organised in his approach with unwavering attention to detail. Inspection report for children’s home: 2863295 4 Leaders and managers set high standards, and the skilled and dedicated staff team meets those standards and matches the manager’s energy levels. This provides the children with positive role models from the top down.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Research and reflection drive staff practice and the care provided to children. Staff are eager to learn and develop, and the manager creates a culture of learning and development that all staff invest in. Staff understand the theories that drive their practice and the importance of the work that they do.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel highly supported by the manager. The manager provides effective induction and reflective supervision sessions. These encourage staff to understand the theoretical basis for the care they provide. An in-house psychologist also motivates staff to reflect on their practice and understand how it influences children’s progress. Staff morale is exceptionally high, and staff talk with pride about their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has efficient and effective monitoring and review processes. The manager’s footprint is evident across the home with evaluative and reflective oversight throughout. Staff regularly gather feedback from the children, their families and professionals. The manager reviews and evaluates this and uses it to make practice improvements. Leaders and managers aim to proactively foresee difficulties that may arise and take action to remove potential triggers or barriers to children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are provided with a thorough programme of training and there is a culture of revisiting existing knowledge on a regular basis. When a need emerges or a gap in learning is identified, the manager provides bespoke training for staff. Staff talk about how the training they have undertaken has informed their practice and positively contributed to the care they provide for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals say that the staff’s ability to understand and build relationships with the children, and those involved in their care, directly translates into the children’s progress. Professionals are impressed by the ongoing commitment to further development and improvement and say that nothing is too much trouble for managers and staff. Staff have extremely positive working relationships with professionals and share a collective responsibility for the children, helping the children to make significant progress in different areas of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations were made at this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2863295 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: 2863295 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Richmond House, 50 Tontine Street, Blackburn BB1 7ED

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Inspector

Lisa Gordon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2863295 7 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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