‘Serious failures’ at children’s home where youngster tried to buy a knife online

A Stockport children’s home which failed to monitor a youngster who tried to buy a knife online and put another in an ‘entirely inappropriate hold’ has been rated ‘inadequate’ in a scathing new report. Ofsted says the home - which cannot be named - is responsible for ‘serious and/or widespread failures’, meaning children are either ‘not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded’.

Run by Care Haven (UK) Ltd, the home provides care for up to five children and was classed as ‘good’ at the last inspection in November 2021. But the latest report - based on a two-day visit in June this year - says there have been ‘significant changes’ to the staff team since then, with the majority having moved on.

Despite remaining staff working additional shifts to provide ‘continuity of care’, officials noted this did ‘not promote stability for children living in the home’. In perhaps the most serious criticism, the home was said to be ‘inadequate’ in how it helped and protected young people.

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“Children living in the home are not consistently and adequately safeguarded,” the report reads. “The risk management plans for one child do not provide staff with appropriate strategies to mitigate all identified risks.

"This includes the known risk of the child previously being in the possession of a knife in the home. There is no ongoing monitoring following a further concern in relation to the child trying to purchase a knife online.”

The quality of staff’s relationships with children was also said to vary. While inspectors ‘observed some positive interactions’, youngsters were ‘not receiving appropriate