Children's home run by Nurture Childcare Services Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 2490697 1 Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Ltd 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 two young people who may have social and/or behavioural needs.

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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: none Inspection report children’s home: 2490697 2

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Recommendations

 Staff must be aware of whether a child has an EHC plan and the information in it. An EHC plan details the education, health and social care support that is to be provided to a child or young person who has special educational needs or a disability. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.4)  Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. In particular, debriefs with staff following incidents should be undertaken consistently. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  As set out in regulations 31–33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment,

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Recommendations

supervision and performance management of staff, including agency staff, safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  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 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report children’s home: 2490697 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person who lives in this home receives individualised care from a committed and stable team of staff who know him well. The young person has highly positive relationships with the manager and staff, and this supports his well-being and good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person’s physical health and emotional well-being is strongly supported. Staff work well with external partners to ensure that the young person receives appropriate care and support. The young person is regularly given positive education by staff, in areas such as healthy eating and the benefits of physical activity. Staff ensure that they provide positive role modelling to encourage the young person to maintain his healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have good insight into the things that are important to the young person. They are fully aware of the issues affecting his emotional well-being and those that are likely to cause him anxiety and distress. This means that staff are able to anticipate challenging situations and ensure that the appropriate care and support are in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

From his starting point, the young person has made significant progress in education. An education professional described the young person’s increased engagement in education and said that he was now exceeding the expected targets. Monthly education reports help to ensure that staff are fully aware of the young person’s barriers to education and the support that he requires.

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

Safeguarding practice is sound. Concerns are identified and responded to promptly. The registered manager both ensures that all relevant agencies are notified of any safeguarding concerns and keeps clear records of all action taken. Effective responses help to ensure that matters are addressed quickly and the risk of recurrence is minimised.

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

There are some significant risks relating to the care of the young person. The manager and staff demonstrate a clear understanding of these risks and the actions required to keep the young person and others safe. There is good evidence that risks have decreased over time due to the consistent support provided to the young person and highly effective multi-agency working.

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

There is an individualised missing-from-home risk assessment in place for the young person. Staff show good awareness of the action that they should take to safeguard the young person, should he go missing from the home. However, there have been no such incidents during the young person’s stay. Inspection report children’s home: 2490697 4 Records of incidents demonstrate that staff are skilled in de-escalating challenging situations. These records also show that, over time, the young person has developed safer and more appropriate behaviours. There has been one incident of physical restraint since the home began operating. Some shortfalls were identified in relation to the recording of this incident and the follow-up actions taken by the previous manager. The current registered manager has identified the shortfalls and taken action to address them.

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

Thorough recruitment processes help to ensure that the young person is protected from adults of unsuitable character. All prospective employees are required to undergo a number of background checks prior to being offered a post. It was also noted that police checks are continually updated to ensure that there are no changes. However, some missing information in relation to an agency staff member was identified during the inspection. Ensuring that good recruitment practice is applied to agency staff would provide further protection for the young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a suitably qualified manager in place who has been registered with Ofsted since April 2019. The registered manager demonstrates a good understanding of the aims and objectives of the home and has high aspirations for the young person in her care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young person, staff and external professionals speak highly of the registered manager. There is evidence that the registered manager works effectively with external professionals and promotes good communication within the home. This helps to ensure that all staff are updated about any changes to the young person’s care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Following some turnover of staff under the previous manager, the team has now stabilised. Staff report a good level of support and speak highly of the manager and each other. All staff report a good level of training and supervision. Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A comprehensive training programme helps to ensure that all staff have the skills and knowledge to carry out their roles effectively. All staff at the home hold nationally recognised qualifications in caring for young people. Staff training has been further enhanced by providing additional specialist courses tailored to the young person’s individual needs. The registered manager monitors training regularly to ensure that all staff remain up to date with their learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager uses quality monitoring processes effectively. This enables her to identify strengths and areas for development. Where shortfalls are identified, the registered manager maintains clear information outlining the actions that she has taken to rectify them. Unwelcome incidents are analysed so that any potential learning is identified and communicated to the staff team. This helps to ensure that such incidents do not recur and supports continuous improvement. Inspection report children’s home: 2490697 5

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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 difference 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: 2490697 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2490697 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 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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