Care Standards Tribunal, 2025-04-16 (Ms Joanne Tracey & Libra Children Services Ltd v Ofsted)
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Court | Care Standards Tribunal |
| Neutral Citation | [2025] UKFTT 00431 (HESC) |
| Date | 16 April 2025 |
| Registration Number | 2024/01239/.EY |
1
First-tier Tribunal Care Standards
The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social
Care) Rules 2008
NCN: [2025] UKFTT 00431 (HESC)
2024-01239.EY
Heard at Birmingham Civil Justice Centre
On 1, 2 and 7 April 2025
BEFORE:
Tribunal Judge Siobhan Goodrich
Specialist Member Ms L Bromley
Specialist Member Ms M Harris
Between:
Joanne Tracey & Libra Children Services Ltd
Appellants
v
Ofsted Respondent
DECISION AND REASONS
Representation
For the Respondent: Mr Neil Smart, Ward Hadaway, instructed by Ofsted Legal
Services
The Appellant: Ms Tracey in person, supported by Mr Richard Williams
The Appeal
1. The First and Second Appellants appeal against the decisions made by the
Respondent under section 13 of the Care Standards Act 2000 on 2 September
2024 to refuse the application for registration as the provider and manager of a
children’s home, Elmdene House. The right of appeal lies under section 21 of the
Care Standards Act 2000.
2. The evidence regarding both the decisions under appeal is inextricably interlinked
and the appeals were therefore consolidated on 15 November 2024 at the request
of the parties.
2
The Parties
3. The Appellant has worked in a variety of roles in the care sector for over some 30
years. Often her work has been on an agency basis and, on occasions, via direct
employment. She was appointed as a Responsible Individual (RI) and was
considered suitable to be the RI for Coven Homes by the Respondent in August
2023. She resigned from that position on 12 October 2023.
4. She and her partner, Mr Williams, are co-directors of Libra Children’s Services Ltd.
The applications made on 19 February 2024 relate to the provision of a children’s
home at Elmdene House (“the Home”) at 1072 Chester Road, Erdington,
Birmingham. The registration sought is for up to three children with emotional
and/or behavioural difficulties (EBD). It is intended that Mr Williams will work off
site and be responsible for overall organisation matters, such as pay roll.
5. The Respondent is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and
Skills (Ofsted) and is the statutory authority responsible for the registration and
regulation of children’s homes under the Care Standards Act 2000, and the
regulations made thereunder, which include the Children’s Homes (England)
Regulations 2015.
The Hearing
6. We had received an indexed and paginated bundle (630 pages pdf). This included
the witness statements, exhibits and other documents which the parties provided
pursuant to case management directions regarding the exchange of evidence. In
preparation the panel read the bundle as a whole, and with particular regard to
essential reading list. We had also received and read the parties’ skeleton
arguments.
7. During the oral evidence of Ms Tracey it emerged that, pursuant to the direction of
Judge Khan on 13 March 2024, she had provided a witness statement and
documents in response to the third statement of Mrs Cardozo-Evans dated 4 March
2025. Contrary to the directions order made by Judge Khan the Respondent had
not ensured that this late evidence was included in the hearing bundle and had not
bought hard copies of these documents to the hearing. The further bundle was,
however, then provided to the panel both electronically and copies were provided
by the court clerk, which we marked as Exhibits M 1-9. Ms Tracey adopted her
undated statement during her evidence and spoke to the further documents which
included the witness statements from Ms Liz Jones and Ms Kehinde Olaniyan in
support of the appeal.
Restricted Reporting Order
8. The Tribunal made a restricted reporting order under Rule 14(1) (a) and (b) of the
2008 Rules, prohibiting the disclosure or publication of any documents or matters
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting