Children's Home run by Searchlight Care Services Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 1 Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services 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 children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who has social and/or emotional difficulties. The home is operated by a private company. The current manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2018 and holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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: not applicable

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Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 2

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Recent inspection history

This is the home’s first inspection since registration in July 2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 3

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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 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)) 29/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14(1)(b)(2)(c)) 29/03/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The day-to-day experiences of the young person are good. Since residing in the home, she is making good progress and has built trusting and secure relationships with staff. The young person has a keen interest in arts and crafts and has started making memory folders with staff of all the activities that she has undertaken, decorating each page with either a drawing or a sticker. Staff support the young person to explore new activities and she particularly enjoys swimming. This is now a weekly activity. She also goes to a local youth club, which provides her with the opportunity to meet peers of her own age. Staff celebrate the young person’s culture and heritage. For example, over the Christmas period staff followed many Polish traditions in the run-up to the festivities. Staff have also learned to cook traditional Polish meals. Previously, the young person had not had much experience of other cultures and has developed a real interest in learning about

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

them. Staff encourage and support this. For example, they have written to foreign embassies asking them to provide further information to the young person. The young person was also looking forward to experiencing her first Chinese New Year celebrations in Manchester. Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 4 Although the young person is not currently attending full-time mainstream education, she is making good progress given her starting point. Education staff are positive about the support that the young person receives form staff in the home. Staff are committed to helping the young person to achieve. They support her to access schoolwork and ensure that school staff keep them updated about her progress. The young person also has a tutor who attends each week, who is working on topics such as humanities and religious studies.

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

The registered manager and staff work closely with the placing authority, and the young person’s social worker commented positively about the service. This means that the young person is provided with consistent care as outlined in her care plan. The current young person does not go missing. However, staff are aware of the risks that this may pose. When a previous young person went missing, staff responded appropriately. They worked closely with the placing authority, family members and the police to ensure that the young person was found and returned safely. Staff provide the young person with useful key-working sessions. These sessions allow the young person to express her wishes and feelings and ensure that she receives good support in important areas. The use of physical restraint is rare. This is because staff have good relationships with young people and use successful de-escalation strategies to

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

respond to their behaviour. Staff understand risk. Risk assessments are generally robust and are regularly reviewed. However, on one occasion, a young person was poorly matched to the home. This resulted in an increase in their risk-taking behaviour. The registered manager was not involved in the decision to admit the young person as she was away at the time. On her return, she took immediate action and worked with the young person’s social worker to ensure that the young person was safely moved to a more suitable provision. The registered manager has reflected on this shortfall and has demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that it is not repeated. The young person currently living in the home is making good progress and told the inspector that she feels safe. However, on one occasion when she first moved in, staff did not follow all aspects of her risk assessment. Specifically, they did not ensure that

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

two staff accompanied the young person on a short trip. The registered manager immediately took appropriate action. She liaised closely with the placing authority regarding this oversight. They were satisfied with the action taken and felt that the incident was unfortunate but isolated. There was no negative impact on the young person and the registered manager’s actions have prevented any recurrence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear vision for the home and is passionate about ensuring that the young person receives high-quality care. This commitment is shared by the whole staff team. The registered manager and staff team are aware of the home’s strengths and Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 5 weaknesses. The registered manager obtains regular feedback from young people, parents and professionals in order to make ongoing improvements and has clear plans in place to develop the service further. The recruitment and induction of new staff is robust. The registered manager has ensured that the staff team has a wealth of skills and experience. Consequently, staff have developed positive relationships with the young person and are providing her with the support that she needs. The registered manager and staff receive good-quality, regular supervision. This means that they get feedback on their practice and feel well supported.

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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: 1249117 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Marcus House, Parkhall Road, Longton, Stoke on Trent ST3 5XA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Denver Underwood

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Inspector

Sarah Junor-Fitzpatrick, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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