Children's Home run by Hopscotch Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC432741 1 SC432741 Registered provider: Hopscotch Care Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children who may have social, emotional and/or behavioural needs.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager for this home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

p.1

inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

p.1

inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC432741 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/08/2017 Full Outstanding 22/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/12/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC432741 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their education potential and are helped to do so.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

p.3

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; and that staff help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(iv)(viii)(ix)) 21/11/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

p.3

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; and that staff are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies.

p.3

Requirement Due date

Ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(vii)(d)) * 21/11/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered 21/11/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC432741 4 person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.3

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(h)) *

p.4

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.4

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

p.4

Requirement Due date

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

p.4

Requirement Due date

that arrangements are in place to manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority, and that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(2)(b)(ii)(iii)(c)) *

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that impact risk assessments are thorough and undertaken prior to a child coming to live in the home. Ensure that all care planning documents and agreed local authority plans are adhered to by managers and staff. 21/11/2019

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, 21/11/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC432741 5 revise it and notify HMCI of any revision and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. The registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1)(3)(a)(b)(5))

p.4

Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (2)) 21/11/2019

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 21/11/2019

p.5

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—

p.5

Requirement Due date

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 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 measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they

p.5

Requirement Due date

have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)) 21/11/2019

p.5

Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report children’s home: SC432741 6

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s safety and educational needs are not being fully met at this home as a result of the poor standard of care and support. The lack of coordinated placement planning to support children effectively is placing them at significant risk. The lack of detailed planning documentation, that includes defined objectives to work towards, hinders the staff team’s ability to keep children safe and improve their outcomes.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Contrary to the home’s admissions policy and procedures, not all children have benefited from a detailed impact risk assessment or a thorough appraisal of their needs. Since the last inspection, the service has admitted children with needs that it cannot meet. Challenging and disruptive behaviour by some children has been unsettling for other children, problematic for staff to manage and has required police assistance at times. This has contributed to children’s progress being hindered and their experiences being of a poor quality.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Managers failed to secure a local authority care plan prior to a child’s admission to the home. There is therefore a lack of clarity around the expectations of staff to help and support the child to make progress. This is further confused by the fact that the staff were unable to demonstrate that they have compiled their own placement plan for the child, to identify the child’s individual needs and how these are to be met. The lack of information means that it is unclear what the purpose of the placement is and significantly compromises the staff’s capacity to assess the appropriateness of the placement. Although it is acknowledged that the placement was intended to be for a short period of time only, this lack of important information fails to not only safeguard this child but also the other children living at the home.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

When children at the home do not have an identified education provision, they do not engage in purposeful activity. For example, during the inspection one child asked a member of staff what he could do, as he was ‘bored’. The staff member’s response was: ‘What do you want to do?’ This response was given even though the child should have been participating in education or educational activities. Poor routines and a lack of structure to children’s days limit their opportunities to reach their full educational potential and also their future life chances.

p.6

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Inspectors observed positive relationships and respectful interactions between children and staff. They saw some staff making good use of these relationships to manage challenging behaviour. A child commented, ‘I like the staff and can talk to them; they’re funny.’ The staff and managers recognise the importance of children staying in touch with family and friends, ensuring that safe and suitable arrangements are in place for children to keep in contact with those people who are important in their lives. Inspection report children’s home: SC432741 7

p.6

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

Managers and staff are unable to identify, manage or minimise risks to children effectively. Poor-quality risk assessments prevent the staff from having a clear understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities, including the consideration of their previous known risks. These assessments do not provide staff with clear strategies and guidance to enable them to keep children safe. This fails to ensure that risks are managed consistently by the staff and that appropriate support is in place to minimise risk to children. A social worker commented, ‘I would have expected that robust risk assessments were in place for the known risks for [child’s name].’

p.7

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

There is a lack of effective monitoring by managers following incidents requiring the physical restraint of children. Poor recording and the lack of explanation of the use of physical intervention measures do not assist in the analysis or evaluation of the appropriateness of physical intervention. Similarly, these shortfalls also restrict the opportunity for managers to assess whether staff practice, and behaviour management strategies remain appropriate to safeguard children. For example, one child was restrained after refusing to go to her room at bedtime. This practice was not challenged as inappropriate, despite being contrary to the home’s policies and procedures on physical intervention.

p.7

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

Care planning is poor. For example, there is a lack of shift planning for one child who is on a one-to-one staffing ratio; the rota does not show how this is to be managed throughout the day and there is a lack of written communication about this matter. Furthermore, plans to manage children’s behaviour are not robust and have led to children being physically restrained and the police being called to help manage children’s behaviour.

p.7

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

The home’s environment is not adequately maintained. For example, there was a missing handle on the patio door, missing towel rails, broken overflow in the bath and one child did not have a wardrobe. Furthermore, there were no towels or soap in any of the bathrooms. The presence of locks on doors, such as the airing cupboard and kitchen pantry, fails to create a homely and welcoming environment for children to live in. The condition of the home and the general environment is tired and in need of attention to offer a suitable place for children to live without compromising their health and well- being.

p.7

The of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is currently no registered manager for the home. The last registered manager left in April 2019 and the home is currently being managed by an new manager. A lack of permanent management arrangements, alongside poor impact risk assessments of admissions to the home, has created a challenging environment for staff to manage and for children to live in. Managers’ internal monitoring of the home is ineffective because potential risks are not identified or addressed. In addition, internal monitoring systems of the home fail to Inspection report children’s home: SC432741 8 identify weaknesses in practice, such as those found at this inspection.

p.7

The of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager and registered provider do not ensure that the statement of purpose, which describes the service, is adhered to or that it covers the issues required by regulation. It lacks detail about the ethos of the home; monitoring and surveillance and staffing issues are missing or inaccurate. This means that social workers and others who read the document do not have a full and accurate picture of the service. The statement of purpose contains the following information: ‘We provide a safe and containing environment for our young people. Consistent boundaries and routines are maintained within the home environment.’ Given the serious shortfalls highlighted in this inspection, the home is not acting in accordance with its own statement of purpose. Poor leadership means that the home is unable to fulfil its own aims and objectives. Furthermore, the use of internal alarms within the home is not detailed within the home’s statement of

p.8

The of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have failed to oversee and monitor the home to identify areas of weakness and to take decisive action to resolve these. As a result, the quality and standard of care at the home has fallen to an unacceptable level. The manager has not reviewed records in the home, or evaluated incidents that have occurred, to identify shortfalls in staff practice and to highlight patterns and trends, for example, by carrying out thorough responses to physical restraints and individual risk assessments.

p.8

The of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has failed to provide staff with regular supervision. This lack of effective supervision fails to provide staff with an opportunity to reflect on their practice and identify any further training they may need.

p.8

The of leaders and managers: inadequate

The lack of rigour by the managers has not helped the home to sufficiently protect children or to deliver good standards of care. More effective systems are needed to ensure that the safety and well-being of the children are suitably scrutinised and always promoted.

p.8

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.

p.8

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: SC432741 9 Inspection report children’s home: SC432741 10

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hopscotch Care Limited

p.10

Inspectors

Elaine Allison, social care inspector Julia Toller, regulatory inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: SC432741 11 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.

p.10

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.11

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.11