The care home run by Real Housewives of Cheshire star Ampika Pickston, 43, and bought with a £1.2m loan from her billionaire fiance David Sullivan
A crisis-hit care home for vulnerable girls owned by reality TV star Ampika Pickston and funded by billionaire West Ham United owner David Sullivan has been permanently shut by Ofsted due to a risk of harm to children, The i Paper can reveal.
The Real Housewives of Cheshire star, 43, opened AP Care Homes Ltd’s sole facility, Moss Farm Children’s Home, in Styal, Cheshire, in July 2023.
She had bought the property with a £1.2 million loan from her 76-year-old fiancé, Sullivan, who has an estimated £1.1 billion fortune.
Sullivan was not among the parties involved in the proceedings, and there is no suggestion he had any involvement with the firm beyond the provision of the loan.
The home was closed twice in its first seven months by regulator Ofsted, due to a series of safeguarding incidents, including one child who had not eaten for 48 hours, another who attended hospital following an injury to her knee, and “significant” bullying which led to one child being moved to a hotel.
Rejecting an appeal by AP Care Homes against the latest closure by Ofsted, a Care Standards Tribunal found Pickston had threatened to stab one manager with a fork if she spoke out about the company, and that she had taken a girl to her own home in order to look for her missing dog.
Judge Siobhan Goodrich also noted “serious and continuing regulatory failures” and stated the panel had “little or no confidence” that Pickston would not be involved in leadership or management decisions in future or that she would listen to the views of trained staff who disagreed with her.
Despite Judge Goodrich saying Pickston’s desire to “provide a home where children with emotional and/or behaviour difficulties [could be] well looked after” was “laudable”, she wrote in her 12 May judgment: “The risk of harm to the health, well-being and safety of children who may come to live at the home is significant and has been amply demonstrated by… the experiences of many of the children who have lived there.
“We are satisfied that cancellation of registration is necessary, justified and proportionate to the risks to the health, safety and well-being of children who might otherwise live there.”
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 7: West Ham Owner David Sullivan with Ampika Pickston in the Directors box during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on May 7, 2023 in London, United Kingdom.
West Ham Owner David Sullivan with Ampika Pickston in the directors box at the London Stadium (Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty)
The judgment said a cancellation notice meant Pickston and anyone else who had a financial interest in the company would not be permitted to be involved in running a care home, or to foster or childmind young people, without Ofsted’s permission.
A week-long hearing, which took place at Warrington Magistrates in March, heard eight managers had quit in just 13 months, raising concerns over their lack of autonomy, as well as Pickston’s ability to run the home while keeping children safe.
Judge Goodrich said: ”We do not consider that Ms Pickston will be able to restrain herself from interfering with the exercise of professional judgment that needs to be undertaken by experienced and skilled leaders and managers.”
One former manager, whistleblower Natalie Williams, who like all staff had been made to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) preventing them from speaking publicly about AP Care Homes Ltd or Pickston, alleged Pickston threatened to stab her in the eye with a fork if she disclosed to Ofsted or the media any wrongdoings of the company.
While Judge Goodrich said she did not believe Pickston “was serious or would have acted” on her threat, she accepted Ms Williams’ account, which Pickston had denied.
Judge Goodrich also noted that Pickston’s reason for having taken a girl back to her own home suggested Pickston had a “very poor understanding of professional boundaries”.
Pickston was also criticised for her ongoing “combative” approach to Ofsted – an organisation she claimed had targeted her unfairly because she was a public figure.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 31: David Sullivan and Ampika Pickston seen attending attending National Reality TV Awards at Porchester Hall on July 31, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Ricky Vigil M / Justin E Palmer/GC Images)
David Sullivan and Ampika Pickston pictured at the National Reality TV Awards last year
(Source: GC Images)
The Tribunal heard Pickston had started High Court action against the three individual Ofsted inspectors who had recommended the home’s closure, which the Tribunal said could impact the watchdog’s ability in future to keep children safe.
Judge Goodrich said: “We consider that the end goal was to seek the removal of [the inspectors] from… monitoring the home. Such an approach may have a chilling effect on statutory regulation, the purpose of which is to safeguard children.”
She added: “We have little or no confidence that Ms Pickston has really changed her attitude to Ofsted, or that she would be able to effect or sustain any change in attitude in future.”
At an earlier hearing, Pickston, who was raised by her grandfather in Lancashire, said she had decided to open the home as “I had a tragic childhood, I just wanted to give something back”.
When AP Care Homes, Pickston and Sullivan were approached for comment, their lawyer David Beard pointed to parts of the judgment which said it was “to Ms Pickston’s credit that she continued to pay her staff in order to be in a position to reopen”, that the property was “spacious, well decorated and well-kept”, and that it was “clear that Ms Pickston has invested very considerable funds, time and effort in the home.
She sincerely wants to provide a home where children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties (EBD) are well looked after and be happy and safe.”
Mr Beard said: “AP Care Homes Limited and Amipka Pickston are extremely disappointed with the Tribunal decision and are in the process of appealing the decision.
“The provision of the care home was not financially motivated – both of which are completely contrary to substantial previous press reporting relating to AP Care Homes Limited and Amipka Pickston.”
An Ofsted spokesperson said: “We cancelled Moss Farm Children’s Home’s registration in March 2024… because we had reasonable cause to believe that children may have been at risk of harm. We are pleased the Tribunal has upheld our decision.”