Children's Home run by Hopscotch Care Limited in Lancashire

Unique reference number SC432741 Inspector Maria McGranaghan Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered manager POST VACANT / Conrad Thomas Potts Date of last inspection 18/09/2014 2 of 5 Inspection date 13/03/2015

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Previous inspection adequate Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged adequate at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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This inspection

At the last inspection on 18 September 2014 the home was judged as adequate with seven requirements and two recommendations being made to address the short falls in practice. This interim inspection will review the progress made in addressing these shortfalls and evaluate the progress young people make within the service.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager and staff have worked hard to secure improvement and address the shortfalls as identified at the last inspection. The Statement of Purpose has been updated and a copy forwarded to Ofsted for review. Information required in respect of young people’s placements is now up-to-date and young people are now more involved in the planning and review of the care provided in the home.

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This inspection

There is improvement in how records are managed in the home. Complaints, missing from home and restraint records are now suitably developed and contain the correct information. Internal and external monitoring has also progressed. For example, references are now robustly assessed and the décor of the home maintained to a suitable standard. Monitoring reports are beginning to show a better analysis of the care provision and experiences of young people living in the home.

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This inspection

Systems for managing risk taking behaviours are improved. Young people are better protected because staff understand the actions to take if they feel a young person may be at risk. Consequently, there is a reduction in young people absenting themselves from the home.

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This inspection

Behaviour management plans are now devised to ensure young people’s behaviour is managed consistently. Likewise, redirection and de-escalation techniques used in the home ensure physical intervention is only ever used as a last resort. There has been no use of this intervention since the last inspection. 3 of 5 Of the three young people living in the home, two are working towards independence and will soon be moving on from the home back to their home communities. The manager and staff have worked well to secure supported accommodation and apprentices in home communities as well as building on the relationships with family and friends. Consequently, young people leaving the home will have suitable support in order to make a successful transition into adulthood.

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This inspection

Upon coming to live at the home some young people have a history of educational disengagement. The manager and staff work hard to secure suitable alternative educational opportunities in order to provide them with essential skills in areas such as English and Maths. Likewise and where appropriate, young people are supported to return to mainstream education. Very good support systems are developed to provide young people the support they require in order to achieve within their educational placement.

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This inspection

The management structure of the home is further developed. The manager is now supported by an experienced deputy manager and team leader. Staff receive regular supervision and training with a recent focus of child sexual exploitation and teenage mental health issues. The manager said, ‘Things have really come together. We are working more as a unit with everyone understanding their role and the systems we use to help the young people living here’. 4 of 5

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Information about this children’s home

This privately-owned children's home is registered to accommodate and care for five young people of either gender who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home accepts emergency placements and can offer care to young people on a short, medium or long-term basis.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/09/2014 Full adequate 03/12/2013 Interim satisfactory progress 02/08/2013 Full good 17/01/2013 Interim good progress Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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Information about this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the framework of inspection for children's homes.

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