Children's Home run by SBL CARE SERVICES (UK) Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 1 Registered provider: Sbl Care Services (UK) Limited 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 run by a private organisation. It offers care and accommodation for up to two children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the home started operating in September 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: this is the first inspection

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: this is the first inspection

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

This is the first inspection since registration. Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 3

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improvement to be good

The home opened in September 2019. This is the first inspection.

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improvement to be good

Not all children who have lived in the home have experienced a smooth transition. One child lived at the home only for a short period of time as staff were unable to keep him safe. Following an escalation in his violent and aggressive behaviour, and police involvement, his placement was ended abruptly.

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improvement to be good

Transition planning is not consistent and does not always consider the known risks for all children and the potential impact these risks might have on other children. Despite one child moving into the home and settling well, his known history, which included missing-from-care incidents, aggressive behaviours, police involvement and gang affiliation, was not carefully considered when another child moved in. This caused a significant disruption.

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improvement to be good

Staff have worked hard to support and encourage children with their education. Children who have not been in school for long periods of time are supported back into full-time education. Feedback from a child’s school was extremely positive about the support and commitment of the staff team.

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improvement to be good

All children are supported to address their health needs and are registered with all local health services. Direct work sessions take place with children to help them understand the importance of heathy lifestyles, exercise and diet. This ensures that children’s health needs are met.

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improvement to be good

A key strength of the home is the support provided to children to maintain contact with important people in their lives. Distance is not a barrier. Staff encourage family members to visit the home, when appropriate, and will also support children to travel to visit their families. Staff encourage family members to take part in fun activities with their child. One parent said, ‘The house is lovely, and the staff are nice. I get regular updates and I am really pleased with the progress my child has made.’

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improvement to be good

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting and supporting children. Staff and managers undertake a range of training in safeguarding matters. In addition to attending the local authority’s safeguarding training, staff undertake online courses on a range of topics, including health and safety. This ensures that staff have a good understanding of their safeguarding roles and duties. Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 4 Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are not consistently updated and do not include all known and current risks for children. When significant incidents have occurred, assessments are not regularly updated. This does not demonstrate that all staff are aware of the current risk factors or the strategies in place to protect children. The registered manager accepted this shortfall and made arrangements to update the relevant paperwork.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the risks associated with children who go missing. When children do go missing from home staff take the appropriate action to locate them and ensure their safe return home. When children return home, staff speak to them to ascertain information relating to why they went missing and any risks they faced when they went missing. Keywork sessions are carried out with the children to highlight the risks to them and the strategies in place to safeguard them. This ensures that children are equipped with the strategies to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff have training in the management and de-escalation of negative behaviours of children. Since the registration of the home, there have been two incidents of physical restraint. The restraints were used appropriately to keep a child safe and minimise further damage to the home. Sanctions, when used, support the children to understand and reflect on their behaviour. Staff also recognise and reward positive behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Further improvement is required in relation to the health and safety practices in the home. There are some inaccuracies in the records relating to medication. For example, the quantity of medication was not accurately recorded. Records are confusing and do not demonstrate how medication is administered safely to children.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment practice helps to safeguard against unsafe adults working in the home. Checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service and obtaining references from previous employers are part of this process.

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good

The registered manager has been in post since the home opened in September 2019. He has recently completed the level 5 diploma in leadership and management and is awaiting verification of a pass by the awarding body. Although he has previously worked within residential childcare, this is his first appointment as a registered manager. He works closely with the responsible individual, who is involved in the day-to-day care of children. Together, they are committed to supporting children to achieve positive outcomes.

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good

There are sufficient numbers of staff working at the home. They are energetic and passionate about the work that they do with children. Staff report that the management team is supportive and approachable. Staff have regular team Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 5 meetings that help them to keep updated on important information and to plan for children’s needs.

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good

Gaps were found in staff’s professional supervision, including supervision for newly appointed staff. Staff’s professional development, support and guidance can be strengthened by ensuring that they all receive regular supervision. The registered manager accepted this shortfall in practice.

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good

Rotas do not clearly show which staff were on duty and the times that they were coming on and leaving shift. When changes had been made to the staff working in the home due to sickness, rotas had not been updated. This does not demonstrate the actual staff on shift and the hours worked.

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good

Since the home was registered, one female staff member has left the home. The staff currently working in the home on a full-time basis, including the registered manager and responsible individual, are male. Consideration needs to be given to the gender balance in the team to ensure that children have contact with positive female role models. A recommendation is made to address this shortfall.

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good

Liaison with partner agencies is effective. Professionals contacted spoke very positively about the staff, the communication with them and the progress that a child has made.

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good

The registered manager does not undertake regular monitoring and has not yet developed an effective monitoring tool to enable him to have a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas that require development. He has not submitted the revised statement of purpose to HMCI as required by regulation.

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good

The registered manager accepted the shortfalls identified throughout the inspection and together with the responsible individual had started to consider how they could change management practices to demonstrate the progress and experiences of children and the leadership of the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 6

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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—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(vi)(vii)) 08/04/2020

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 08/04/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(d)(h)) The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(i)(ii)) 08/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records for each child which are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Recommendations

 Whenever possible, staff in day to day contact with children should include staff from the different gender groups. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.22) Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 8

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 2517429 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sbl Care Services (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 161 Preston Road, Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire FY8 5AY

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Inspector

Michelle Edge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 10 to 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 children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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