Children's Home run by Hopscotch Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children‟s home: 2510847 1 Registered provider: Hopscotch Care Limited 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 one young person who may have emotional or behavioural needs. The home is owned and operated by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a manager who registered with Ofsted in April 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 17 to 18 September 2019

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 2510847 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 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–

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Requirement Due date

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)) 25/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that–

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to–

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; and

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use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b), (2)(e)(h)) 25/10/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 2510847 3 Fitness of workers

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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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), (3)(a)(d)) 25/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

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–

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

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 25/10/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 2510847 4 person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)–

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

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))

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Recommendations

 Sufficient staff means a home having enough suitably trained staff on duty to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home. The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1) Inspection report children‟s home: 2510847 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person who lives at this home was admitted following the breakdown of a previous placement. At this time, there were significant concerns about his well-being. From this starting point, the young person has made remarkably good progress. He is healthier and happier and has grown in confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person acknowledges the significant progress that he has made. He said, ‘I have come so far and it’s all down to being here’. He values his relationships with staff and speaks highly of them. Staff have a good understanding of issues that impact on his emotional well-being and support him well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the point of his admission, the young person had an undiagnosed health condition which was impacting significantly on his well-being. Due to the vigilance of staff and their support in ensuring that the young person received appropriate medical advice, his condition was diagnosed and treated. As a result, the young person’s health is greatly improved and he has learned about how he can control symptoms through lifestyle choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Prior to joining the home, the young person had experienced significant disruption to his education. The manager advocated strongly for the young person to receive suitable provision and, as a result, he has recently started a college course. The young person is extremely pleased about this and is particularly looking forward to the opportunity to make some friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person lives at a significant distance from his family. Contact is well supported. For example, the manager has previously made arrangements for the young person’s family members to be accommodated in local hotels to enable them to spend time together. At the time of the inspection, the young person was busily preparing for a birthday party and was looking forward to his family attending.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Work is ongoing to support the young person in preparing for independence. The young person expressed confidence about this. He said, ‘I’ve been talking to [name of manager] about it. They won’t let me fail. They are going to help me get ready for everything.’

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improvement to be good

Assessments demonstrate decreasing risk in all areas of the young person’s life. In previous placements there were concerns regarding some high-risk behaviours, such as being missing from home and frequent incidents of challenging behaviour towards staff. However, there have not been any concerns of this nature since the young person moved to this home. Inspection report children‟s home: 2510847 6 The young person confirmed that he feels safe and is able to talk to staff about any worries or troubles that he has. He said: ‘ I can always talk to staff. I do it all the time. If something is wrong, I tell them. When I first came I started writing it down, but now I can say it.

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improvement to be good

Staff demonstrate good understanding of safeguarding and potential risks to the young person’s safety and well-being. However, written guidance could be improved to help to ensure that staff have the information needed to support the young person in a consistently safe way. In addition, where measures to manage risk have changed due to decreasing concerns, this should be clearly reflected in the young person’s risk management plan.

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improvement to be good

The young person has not been missing since he moved to the home. This is highly positive progress, as ‘missing’ episodes were a significant concern for the young person upon his admission. There is a well-detailed protocol in place which provides clear information about the action that staff must take if the young person does go missing in future.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of the young person, the circumstances which may cause him to become emotionally heightened or distressed and how he may communicate his feelings through behaviours. Individualised guidance enables staff to support the young person in a positive and consistent manner, which means that incidents rarely reach crisis point.

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improvement to be good

Although there have been no recorded incidents of restraint, a recent diary entry indicates that a staff member physically intervened in a situation to safeguard the young person and others yet did not properly record the method of intervention used. If such incidents are not correctly recorded and monitored, there is a risk that the young person may not be protected against unsafe or inappropriate restraints.

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improvement to be good

During the inspection, some shortfalls were identified in relation to the recruitment of new staff. There are recruitment procedures in place, and these are generally followed. However, where further scrutiny is necessary, for example if a prospective staff member’s background checks showed an issue of concern, the records are unclear in terms of the additional measures taken to ensure their suitability. Thorough recruitment procedures are an important aspect of safeguarding and therefore must be evidenced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is a manager in post who was registered with Ofsted in April 2019. It is evident that the manager has very positive relationships with the young person and with the staff team. The young person and staff spoke highly of the registered manager and expressed satisfaction with his leadership. One staff member felt that she had learned a great deal from the manager and said that it was a privilege to work with him.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff describe good levels of training and support. There is a comprehensive training programme in place which helps to ensure that staff have the necessary skills to provide Inspection report children‟s home: 2510847 7 safe and effective support. However, at the time of the inspection some training information relating to more recently appointed staff had not been updated. This information should be regularly updated so that training levels can be effectively monitored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are provided with supervision on a regular basis. This gives them the opportunity to discuss areas such as training, development and work performance. In general, supervisions were up to date for most staff. However, an agreement to provide one staff member with enhanced supervision due to concerns about his performance had not been adhered to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has experienced some staff turnover since the last inspection. In addition, the home shares a staff team with another solo placement service which is located nearby. Rotas show that this could be managed more effectively to help to ensure that the young person benefits from consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Internal monitoring could be used more effectively to ensure that shortfalls and areas for development are identified quickly. Shortfalls in areas such as recruitment were found during this inspection yet had not been previously identified. Effective monitoring and quality assurance will help to ensure that the young person benefits from a constantly improving service. Inspection report children‟s home: 2510847 8

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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: 2510847 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hopscotch Care Limited

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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: 2510847 10 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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