Children's Home run by Nurture Childcare Services Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 1238043 1 Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private organisation. The home provides a stable and caring environment for young people who present with challenging behaviours relating to their past experiences. It is registered to care for five young people.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has managed the home since March 2018.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1238043 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1238043 3

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Statutory requirement

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

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or 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, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

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

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 10/08/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, strategies to reduce risk are agreed between the home and the child’s placing authority. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  Ensure that behaviour management plans contain detail regarding the most suitable form of restraint given the needs of the individual child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 48, paragraph 9.53) Inspection report children’s home: 1238043 4  Enable the registered person to make best use of the independent scrutiny of the home by ensuring that the majority of independent visits are unannounced and that the reporting period is clear. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Living in this home is having a positive impact on the sole young person who is currently living here. He benefits from receiving consistent care, clear boundaries and good routines. Very positive and respectful relationships are evident between staff and the young person. This is key to his progress and investment in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In response to a consultation exercise undertaken by the home, the young person said, ‘This is a lovely house to live in. The staff are really good at supporting and helping me out when I need it.’ The young person feels safe and is settled here, which is key to the positive progress he is making. Significantly, he is now able to engage in challenging therapeutic work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person follows a familiar daily routine. He is currently receiving home tuition and mainly engages positively with his tutor. He also participates in a range of activities with staff, such as fishing, going swimming and to the trampoline park. Staff successfully engage the young person in tasks that help him to prepare for independence. During the inspection, the young person completed the online food shopping, cooked lunch and cleared the table.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One professional working with the home described the staff team as ‘cohesive and enthusiastic’. Staff take pride in their work and want the young person to make the most of the time that he spends in the home. Staff hold ‘theme nights’ on a quarterly basis, which involve the whole staff group. ‘Hobbies’ was the theme on the most recent occasion. Staff talked about their interests and the young person was able to test many of them out for himself. Such experiential opportunities help spark young people’s interest.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals report that communication from the staff is good, with verbal updates and more formal monthly reports. This effective communication ensures that everyone working with the young person is kept up to date.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is in a rural location. There is ample space inside and outside of the property. The home is pleasantly decorated and provides a homely environment for young people to live. Currently, the home reflects the individual interests of the sole occupant.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have a good understanding of the young person’s history and associated risks. Good-quality risk assessments confirm that specific issues receive appropriate Inspection report children’s home: 1238043 5 consideration. The risk assessments provide clear strategies for staff to implement to reduce risk. However, they are not currently shared with the child’s social worker, to ensure that issues have not been overlooked. The manager is currently revising the format to improve them further, highlighting more clearly when risks have increased.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staffing levels are high, ensuring the safety of the young person and those in the community. Staff are alert to changes in the young person’s behaviour. They can successfully de-escalate the majority of challenging incidents. Occasionally, staff do need to engage in physical interventions, although incidents are reducing. They maintain detailed records on such occasions. However, the young person’s behaviour management plan is not clear about the most appropriate restraint techniques to use. This would ensure the least distress to the young person and the safety of all those involved.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The current resident does not misuse drugs and alcohol or put himself at risk by going missing from the home. There has been a reduction in other risk-taking behaviours such as self-injurious behaviour and smoking, although it is difficult to evidence the degree of progress because specific detail is not always recorded.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Weaknesses are evident in relation to staff recruitment processes. Gaps in employment history have not always been identified or explored. In addition, a reference was not taken for an individual who had undertaken voluntary work with children, and full information was not available for an agency member of staff who had worked in the home. This means that the recruitment process is not sufficiently thorough to ensure the integrity of those working with young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a new manager in charge of the home. He has recently completed the Ofsted registration process. He is an experienced practitioner and is currently completing his level 5 management qualification. He has had a positive impact on the home. Staff morale is high, as they can see the positive effect of the changes that he is making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is well supported by an experienced deputy manager. Together they provide strong leadership and support to staff. Staff receive regular good-quality supervision and an annual performance appraisal.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The majority of staff have the minimum level 3 qualification or are working towards this. They have the knowledge to underpin their working practice in the home. Training opportunities are prioritised for staff, who can access a wide range of options. The staff team has completed training on attachment, self-injurious behaviour and radicalisation. Highly specialised training has also been purchased by the provider to help staff gain an understanding of the complexities of the current resident, thus ensuring that they have the skills to meet his specific needs. Staff are appreciative of this. One staff member said, ‘I can’t fault this company for their commitment to training.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some shortfalls in the effectiveness of management monitoring were identified in this Inspection report children’s home: 1238043 6 inspection. Notably, the external monitoring visits to the home are usually announced. This does not allow the independent visitor to observe practice in the home when staff are not expecting them to visit. Therefore, this potentially reduces the effectiveness of the visits. Furthermore, the reporting period can be confusing, resulting in the reader of the report being uncertain whether issues have been missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager is forward thinking and looking to make further developments in the home. He is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He has a development plan to assist him to track the changes he is making. He is introducing systems that will help him track young people’s progress more effectively. In addition, he has allocated staff specific responsibilities. So, improvements are being driven forward in a timely manner.

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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

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’. Inspection report children’s home: 1238043 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 71 Edge End Lane, Great Harwood, Blackburn BB6 7QD

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Inspector

Mandy Williams, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1238043 8 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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