Children's home run by Searchlight Care Services Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 1249034 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 operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child who has social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1249034 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/01/2018 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: 1249034 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.

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Requirement Due date

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)) 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

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 all necessary information; and 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 (‘the authorised person’) has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 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. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(i-viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which are kept up to date. (Regulation 36(1)(b)) 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39(1)(3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that complaints are dealt with in line with the organisation’s own timescales. 04/10/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1249034 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has been living in the home for several months. He told the inspector that he likes living at the home and feels safe. He can identify several staff members whom he can talk to about any concerns. He feels listened to. As a result, he is starting to develop positive and secure relationships with the staff who look after him.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and nicely presented. There are plans in place for the child to personalise and decorate his bedroom. Consequently, the child resides in a homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been some delays in the child starting school. However, the registered manager has persistently challenged the virtual school and advocated for the child. As a result, he is due to start school after the summer holidays. The registered manager and placing authority have also ensured that the child receives tuition to make sure that he continues to learn. His tutor confirmed, ‘He is engaging well and making good progress.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to access a range of positive activities. For example, they take him trampolining and on visits to the local park. The child has also developed a friendship with another child who lives locally. Staff promote this by arranging opportunities for the two children to play together. These experiences provide the child with the opportunity to spend time with children of his own age, while developing new interests and hobbies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to see his family. This support ensures that he maintains contact with the people who are important to him.

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

Staff provide the child with good-quality key working sessions on important topics, as identified in his care plan. These include going missing, internet safety and relationships. The sessions allow the child to express his views, wishes and feelings, while ensuring that he receives good support.

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

Since he has resided at the home, the number of times that the child has been missing has significantly reduced. When the child does go missing, staff take appropriate action. For example, staff search for him and work closely with his parents, the police and his social worker. This approach ensures that the child returns home safely. When he does return, he is able to speak to an independent person about his time away from the home.

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

Risk assessments are robust and regularly reviewed by managers and staff. However, on one isolated occasion when the child first moved in, staff did not follow all aspects of his risk assessment. Specifically, they did not ensure that two staff members accompanied the young person when he was playing in the field adjacent to the home. The registered Inspection report children’s home: 1249034 5 manager took appropriate action and liaised with the child’s placing authority about this oversight. The placing authority is satisfied with the action taken by the registered manager. The child was not harmed, and there has been no further occurrence. All staff are now clear about the details in the child’s risk assessment.

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

The child is provided with clear and consistent boundaries, and his behaviour has improved. Staff use incentives to encourage him to behave positively and they reward him when he does well. For example, the child recently received money to purchase a computer game for engaging very well with his education.

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

Staff use effective de-escalation strategies to respond to challenging behaviour. Physical restraint is rarely used and only used as a last resort. However, on one occasion, staff did not record a physical restraint appropriately. This did not allow the child to discuss his views about the incident. The registered manager is aware of this shortfall and is taking action to ensure that it is not repeated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is clear about the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She is committed to ensuring that the staff team delivers good-quality care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that robust impact risk assessments are completed prior to children being admitted to the home. These documents clearly detail how staff will meet children’s needs when they move in. In addition, children are provided with the opportunity to visit the home and meet staff prior to being admitted. Consequently, children feel less anxious when moving to their new home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The recruitment and induction programmes for new staff are robust. The registered manager ensures that staff receive regular, good-quality supervision. Consequently, staff get feedback on their practice and feel well supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager obtains regular feedback from children, parents, neighbours and professionals to make improvements and develop the service further. For example, the child has discussed how he would like to be supported at certain times. The registered manager and staff team have acted on this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When a complaint was received from a neighbour, the registered manager investigated their concerns. Although the complaint was resolved, this was not completed in a timely manner. This means that on this occasion the complainant was not provided with feedback in line with the organisation’s complaints policy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When there are changes to the child’s care plan, some documentation in his case file is not always updated to reflect this. This has the potential to be confusing for staff. Inspection report children’s home: 1249034 6

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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: 1249034 7

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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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Inspector

Sarah Junor-Fitzpatrick, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1249034 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 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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