Children's Home run by Hopscotch Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children‟s home: 1277497 1 Registered provider: Hopscotch Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have social, emotional or behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 November 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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Date of last inspection:

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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Date of last inspection:

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1277497 2

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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

The protection of children standard The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— 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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)) 21/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records The registered person must ensure that— 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— the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure. within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person

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Requirement Due date

to do so (“the authorised person”)— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i-viii)(b)(i)(ii)) 21/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1277497 3 Notification of a serious event The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; a child protection enquiry involving a child is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  Staff should be familiar with the home‟s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page

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Recommendations

62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should make best use of internal monitoring processes to ensure continuous improvement. („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

Young people live in a safe and comfortable home. They are supported by a staff team that takes time to understand their needs and the things that are important to them. Young people receive individualised care that supports their progress and general well- Inspection report children‟s home: 1277497 4 being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The positive relationships shared by staff and young people are a strength of this home. Young people spoke very highly of staff and expressed contentment with the way staff support them. One young person said, „They are such lovely people. They always do their best for me.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have access to an in-house therapist. The therapist also works with the members of the staff team to assist them in developing their understanding of young people‟s therapeutic needs. This input, as well as external specialist support, promotes young people‟s emotional health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff are aware of the importance of education. Currently, one young person does not have an education placement. The registered manager is engaged in ongoing dialogue with the young person‟s placing authority in an attempt to address this. Staff have continued to support the young person‟s learning in the home environment and he is engaging well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive a good level of support to maintain contact with their families. Two staff members recently travelled a considerable distance, and stayed out of the area for several days, to support a young person to attend a family event. A family member of another young person said, „They really support our relationship because they know it is important to [name of young person].‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have regular opportunities to enjoy a wide variety of activities. Staff have a very good understanding of young people‟s interests and ensure that well-planned activities are provided. Young people‟s talents are recognised and encouraged. This supports young people to achieve and grow in confidence.

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

Young people are safer as a result of the care and support they receive. Young people have been admitted to the home with concerns relating to behaviours such as being missing from home or engaging in anti-social behaviour. In all young people‟s cases, these concerns have significantly reduced or completely ceased.

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

Young people said that they feel safe and expressed confidence in the staff. A parent commented that she felt able to sleep well at night in the knowledge that her son was safely cared for. Another family member described the ability of staff to keep young people safe without being too oppressive.

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

Staff demonstrate clear understanding of the risks to young people‟s safety and well- being and are confident in describing the measures they take to maintain young people‟s safety. However, safe practice is not consistently underpinned by clearly recorded risk assessments. Some risk assessments were found to lack up-to-date information. In other examples, strategies to manage risks could be more clearly outlined in young people‟s risk management plans. This would help to ensure that all staff work in a consistent way Inspection report children‟s home: 1277497 5 to maintain young people‟s safety.

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

There have been no incidents of young people being missing from the home for significant periods of time. There have been a small number of occasions where young people have left the home for short periods of time, during which staff have taken appropriate action to locate them. There is guidance in place for staff to follow in the event that a young person becomes missing. This guidance could be improved by being more individualised to each young person.

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

Young people have individual behaviour support plans, which describe known behaviours and agreed strategies. Staff work in a consistent and positive manner to support young people to develop safe and appropriate behaviours over time.

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

Incidents of restraint do not occur frequently. When they do occur, they are usually recorded. However, it was identified during the inspection that one incident had not been appropriately recorded in the correct format. Investigation showed that this was a minor restraint, which had been carried out to stop a young person from hurting themself. However, failure to record incidents of restraint in the correct manner means that such incidents may not be properly monitored. This does not support young people‟s safety. A requirement has been raised in relation to this matter.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager in place, who has been registered since the home began operating in June 2018. Young people, staff and external professionals who work with the home, spoke highly of the registered manager and expressed high levels of satisfaction with the care and support provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works well with external professionals to ensure that young people‟s needs are met. The registered manager demonstrates the ability to challenge outside agencies and advocates strongly for young people, for example in relation to matters such as contact with family and education.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people are provided with a safe and comfortable home, which is maintained to a high standard. The providers of the service maintain regular contact with the home and have positive relationships with staff and young people. One staff member commented that whenever there were any problems, the directors would always attend to support those involved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable staff team and has not experienced any turnover since it began operating. This means that young people benefit from consistency and receive their care and support from people they know well. There is evidence that the registered manager adapts staffing levels in line with young people‟s changing needs. This helps to ensure that young people receive safe and effective care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well motivated and demonstrate pride in the home. They spoke highly of the management team and reported good levels of support. Staff benefit from regular Inspection report children‟s home: 1277497 6 supervision, as well as the opportunity to meet as a team on a regular basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a training programme in place, which helps to ensure that all staff have the skills and knowledge to carry out their roles effectively. The registered manager regularly reviews the training provided to staff, to ensure that it is in line with young people‟s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the quality of recording would benefit from some improvement. Some examples of records that lacked clarity were identified during the inspection. The management team has identified this as an area for development and is planning to provide additional training to staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

It was identified during this inspection that some significant incidents have occurred that Ofsted has not been notified about. Failure to ensure Ofsted receives notification about significant events undermines its ability to effectively monitor services. This does not promote young people‟s safety and well-being. Therefore, a requirement is raised.

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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: 1277497 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 19 Lancaster Road, Carnforth LA5 9LD

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Inspector

Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1277497 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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