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

Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 1 Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services Limited

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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 and offers care and accommodation for one young person who has experienced early childhood instability that has led to trauma and/or associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

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

Date of last inspection: 29 January 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to 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)(d)) 30/03/2020

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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— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 30/03/2020

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person benefits from good-quality care that contributes to her good progress in many aspects of her life. This is because the staff team places her individual needs at the centre of their work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between the young person and staff are warm and caring, and all interactions are extremely engaging. The young person is clearly at ease with staff and appears settled in her home. The young person said, ‘The staff are friendly, kind and always available if I need to speak to them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person enjoys good health and has access to specialist services and support Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 3 to promote her physical and emotional well-being. She is encouraged and supported to attend routine health appointments. Appropriate arrangements are in place for the safe administration and management of medicines to promote the safety and well-being of the young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Suitable education arrangements are now in place for the young person. These are tailored to her needs and take into account her previous educational circumstances. Staff work in partnership with education providers and other relevant professionals to ensure that the young person has every opportunity to reach her full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person enjoys spending time with her family. These arrangements are supported and supervised by staff, as required. Staff make good use of new technology to enable the young person to stay in touch with her family. This sustains her important relationships, supports her cultural and identity needs, and keeps her connected to the people that she cares about.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person contributes her views through regular meetings and constant communication with staff about daily decisions, such as the food she eats and the activities she takes part in.

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

The young person lives in a safe home. There are strong and supportive safeguarding arrangements to help her feel safe and protected from harm. Staff support the young person to have a better understanding of risk and to develop healthy and safe relationships.

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

The manager ensures that there are comprehensive risk assessments in place for the young person. Staff safeguard her by using these assessments to help them to identify risks and vulnerabilities and by having strategies that minimise these risks.

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

Staff consistently focus on promoting positive and improving behaviours, and the young person frequently receives praise and rewards because of this approach. Staff do not use formal sanctions or physical interventions. The young person is stable in her relationships with staff because they are experienced at helping her maintain safe boundaries and socially acceptable behaviours.

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

The young person lives in a physically environment that is largely safe. Regular fire drills are carried out to ensure that the young person knows what she needs to do in the event of an emergency. However, there is an old fridge discarded in the garden. This is not only dangerous but also detracts from the homeliness of the setting.

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

The manager ensures that staff use well-thought-out behaviour management strategies and use their positive relationships with the young person to defuse and manage challenging behaviour. Because of this approach, there have been no physical restraints since the last inspection. Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 4 Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of the young person by preventing unsuitable adults from working with her.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides good leadership and is supported by a deputy and staff team who are committed to improving the lives of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well trained and competent. They have good access to training opportunities to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills they need for their work with the young person. Staff are either qualified to a level 3 diploma in residential childcare or are working towards gaining the qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff retention is good, and morale is high, with staff reporting that they feel well supported. This is underpinned with a programme of induction for new staff, which includes fortnightly supervision. For more established staff, formal supervision takes place with consistency, culminating with an annual appraisal. Supervision clarifies areas of responsibility and accountability for staff, as well as supporting their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent visitor calls at the home once a month to monitor and report on the quality of care. The manager is not using this monitoring effectively. For example, several of the visitor’s most recent visits to the home have been announced. This can fail to give an accurate account on the quality of care provided and does not ensure that Ofsted has a good overview of the home between inspections.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working with educational settings, health professionals and placing social workers is effective. This ensures that appropriate support is in place to assist young people’s progress and to maximise their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In response to the two requirements and one recommendation made at the last inspection, impact risk assessments are now completed prior to a young person moving into the home, and staff are aware of the information contained in the young person’s risk assessment.

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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. Inspection report children’s home: 1249117 5 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

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Information about this inspection

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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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, 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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