Children's home run by Marlowe Child & Family Services Limited in Tewkesbury

Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 1 SC061952 Registered provider: Marlowe Child & Family Services Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural needs. It is part of a group of five homes managed by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: Inadequate

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 26 and 27 April 2017

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the full inspection in April 2017, the home was judged as inadequate. Serious safeguarding concerns were identified, resulting in an emergency suspension notice being issued. A monitoring visit was completed in July 2017 and the home has remained closed since that time.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

In June 2017, a decision was made by Ofsted to issue a notice of proposal to cancel the registration of this children’s home. Following a meeting of a representations panel in August 2017, the decision to continue with the cancellation was agreed.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged inadequate at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection the home was ‘not judged’.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children have not lived in this home since May 2017 and the home has been closed since that date. It was therefore not possible to review the 14 requirements and one recommendation set at the interim inspection in September 2016. These requirements will remain until such time when it is possible to judge whether they have been met. Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 2 Two additional requirements have been set at this inspection.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

At this inspection, the premises did not contain any furniture and the home is not prepared ready for children. The home does not have a manager or staff team. Leaders and managers have not continued to monitor the home using quality assurance systems required under Regulations 44 and 45.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered provider has indicated that the home will not be operational and, at the time of this inspection, said that they do not have plans to reopen this home. Should the home decide to accept placements, it is required to inform Ofsted of its intention before it does so.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/04/2017 Full Inadequate 06/12/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 30/06/2016 Full Requires improvement 30/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

6. (1) The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who:

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Requirement Due date

(a) understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

(b) use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 02/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 3 (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to:

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Requirement Due date

(a) understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

(i) understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

(ii) protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

(iii) treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

(iv) provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

(vi) help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

(vii) provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

(viii) provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding; and

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Requirement Due date

(ix) make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice;

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Requirement Due date

(c) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to:

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Requirement Due date

(ii) enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home.

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Requirement Due date

Staff must understand and apply the statement of purpose. Staff must understand the individual needs of the young people. Staff must ensure that the premises are kept clean, tidy and well maintained. 11: The positive relationships standard

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Requirement Due date

11. (1) The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on:

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Requirement Due date

(a) mutual respect and trust; 02/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 4 (b) an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

(c) positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(i) meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

(ii) help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

(iii) encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

(iv) help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

(v) communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

(viii) strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

(ix) understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

(x) are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

(xi) de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

(b) that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others.

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Requirement Due date

Young people should receive care from a staff team who they know, who know individual young people’s needs and how these Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 5 are to be met. 12: The protection of children standard

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Requirement Due date

12. (1) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

(ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

(iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

(iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

(v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

(vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

(b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

(c) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are safeguarded effectively;

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Requirement Due date

(d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and

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Requirement Due date

(e) that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies 02/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 6 is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

Staff must have a working knowledge of safeguarding procedures and ensure that child protection concerns are managed effectively. 13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

13. (1) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that:

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Requirement Due date

(a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to:

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Requirement Due date

(a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

(b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

(c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

(d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

(e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

(f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

(g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on:

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Requirement Due date

(i) research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

(ii) feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 02/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 7 (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that monitoring systems are effective and that they are used to highlight weakness and areas for development to improve practice. In addition, leaders and managers need to ensure that the staff caring for the young people are sufficient in number and have the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the young people placed. 14: The care planning standard

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Requirement Due date

14. (1) The care planning standard is that children:

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Requirement Due date

(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

(b) have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, care plans need to be current and identify how young people’s needs will be met. In addition, staff need to have a good understanding of these plans and consistently implement them. 02/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

16. (1) The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

(2) The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI.

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Requirement Due date

(a) keep the statement of purpose under review, and where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

(b) notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

(4) If a home has a website, the registered person must ensure that a copy of the statement of purpose is published on that website unless the registered person considers that such publication would prejudice the welfare of children in the home. (5) Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. 02/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 8 19: Behaviour management and discipline

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Requirement Due date

19. (1) No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. 02/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

25. (1) After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

(c) make arrangements for persons working at the home to receive suitable training in fire prevention; and

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Requirement Due date

(d) ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. 02/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

2. (1) The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

(a) employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

(b) if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

(a) the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

(b) the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

(c) the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and (d) full and satisfactory information is available in relations to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. 02/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 9 33: Employment of staff

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Requirement Due date

33. (4) The registered person must ensure that all employees:

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Requirement Due date

(a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

(b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that this provision also includes staff employed from an external agency. 02/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

(3) The registered person must ensure that: (a) within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes:

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Requirement Due date

(iv) a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

(v) details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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(vii) a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

(b) within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so:

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(i) has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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(ii) has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

(c) within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. 02/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

36. (1) The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which: (a) include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; (b) are kept up to date. 02/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 10 38: Storage of records etc.

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Requirement Due date

38. The registered person must ensure that the following items, which may be kept in electronic form, are kept in an accessible manner: (h) records of the use of measures of control, discipline or restraint; (i) children’s case records; (j) other records.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, young people’s files must be well maintained and ensure that staff have access to the up-to-date records. 02/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

(3) The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. 02/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review) at least once every six months. The registered person must supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. It will, in most cases, be a homely, domestic environment. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations; however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 11

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Marlowe Child & Family Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Staverton Court, Staverton, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 0UX

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Inspector

Paula Lahey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC061952 12 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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