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 service is owned and managed by a private provider. The home provides care and support for up to two children.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspection of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Ofsted last visited this service on 27 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. This report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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outstanding

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 3

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outstanding

This home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for all children. Consequently, all children are making exceptional progress from their starting points in all areas of their development, including education, health and their behaviours.

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outstanding

Since the last visit, one child has been supported to move on from the home. The decision to move out of the area was directed by the courts, and the registered manager and staff team ensured that the child had a positive ending to their time at the home. They collected him from the police station and spent time with him before moving him to his new home. The child maintains telephone contact with all the staff on a regular basis and said, ‘They (staff) have been like a parent to me. They are all amazing, I would not be where I am without them. You don’t appreciate what you have got until it has gone.’

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outstanding

Children have excellent relationships with staff and benefit from the family atmosphere in the home. The home is presented to an exceptionally high standard, and the atmosphere is very relaxed. During the inspection, a child was observed laughing with staff and comfortably talking about the day’s events. One child said, ‘I give my home 11 out of 10. It’s outstanding. The staff are lovely, helpful and good fun. I love it here.’

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outstanding

Consultation with children is exceptional in all aspects of their care. Staff undertake effective one-to-one key-work sessions with children. These are very detailed and address a range of topics which are relevant to the individual child, including their overall progress and experiences. This includes risks in the community, drug and alcohol misuse, gang affiliation and education. One child said, ‘When we make a mistake, there is no shouting. They (staff) just talk to us and help us understand what went wrong.’

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outstanding

Educational outcomes for all children have significantly improved since coming to live at the home. Prior to moving to the home, one child had not been in school for over three years. His attendance has now improved to 100% and prior to changes in national policy, he was due to take his national qualifications a year earlier. This is a significant achievement. Another child has returned to school full time and has made significant progress in all areas of the curriculum. The headteacher said, ‘[Name of child] is like a different child. He has made significant progress academically and socially. The staff are very committed and readily available to provide support and guidance.’

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outstanding

All children’s healthcare needs are detailed in their plans. Healthcare plans fit together with key-work sessions to assist children in making informed decisions and choices in their lives. Topics such as substance misuse, sexual health, sexual Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 4 exploitation, healthy eating and exercise are examples of some of the excellent work that is undertaken with children during key-work sessions.

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outstanding

Staff ensure that there is information and guidance to support children to achieve healthy lifestyles, including food choices, nutrition and hygiene. Staff are persistent in ensuring that children’s physical and emotional needs are well met. As a result, children make positive and healthy choices that improve their own health, including eating a varied diet and getting fit through physical exercise. In addition, staff support children to grow their own vegetables. Children are then encouraged to use the products they grow in their cooking. One child said, ‘I never used to eat veg, but I do now as I get to grow it. It tastes amazing.’

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outstanding

Staff work closely with families, which is a considerable strength of the service. Children talk to staff about their wishes and views in relation to spending time with family and friends. Furthermore, staff work with families to equip parents with the necessary skills to continue to support and develop their children. Consequently, family relationships have improved, and children now spend quality time with family members.

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outstanding

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have consistently encouraged children to talk about their views, worries and concerns. Staff reinforced to children the importance of the guidance about social distancing and wearing masks. Despite children not being able to access activities during the national lockdown, the staff team identified creative activities that encouraged participation. The children and staff took part in a dining event, litter picking on the beach, delivering food to local food banks and supporting a local homeless project.

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outstanding

Children live in a very safe environment and are protected from harm. The staff apply excellent safe caring practices consistently while remaining proactive and creative to ensure that the safety of each child is paramount. Consequently, vulnerable children say that they feel very safe and happy living in the home and that they have a strong sense of safety and well-being.

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outstanding

The staff are very well trained in safeguarding. They can recognise the signs of abuse and risks relating to gang affiliation, criminality and child sexual exploitation. They know exactly what they need to do when they have concerns about children and take decisive action to safeguard all children in their care.

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outstanding

The staff have excellent relationships with safeguarding agencies, including the police. If children go missing from the home, staff ensure that they liaise effectively with placing social workers, the police and children’s families and friends to coordinate searches and contact. Strong relationships with, and understanding of, children enable staff to be successful in locating them and supporting them to return safely to their home. Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 5 Staff continue to report all serious incidents that impact on children’s safety and follow up on all safeguarding concerns. If the managers do not agree that appropriate action is being taken to safeguard children, this is consistently challenged. One police officer said, ‘The home is one of the best I work with. Staff are an excellent advocate for all children in their care.’

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outstanding

The staff ensure that comprehensive risk assessments and safety plans are in place for all children. They are updated as new risks arise. Staff balance effectively the need for protection with enabling children to take reasonable risks as part of their growth and development. They involve children in devising the plans and encourage children to let them know how best to help them to feel safe.

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outstanding

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an outstanding piece of work has been completed with children regarding mental health, the pandemic and exploitation. The project carefully encouraged the children to think about the potential long-term impact of the pandemic on their lives. Children have responded extremely well to the guidance given.

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outstanding

Children’s behaviour is usually excellent and it has significantly improved over time. Children benefit from a nurturing and structured environment where positive behaviour is actively promoted through praise and rewards. A child said that they are all treated fairly and that they can openly discuss any concerns they may have with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is inspirational and ambitious for children and ensures that this ethos is cascaded to the entire staff team. The registered manager understands children’s needs exceptionally well and constantly scrutinises and drives the progress of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children live in a highly effective and efficiently managed home. Every effort is made to ensure that children receive the best possible care, to support their individual needs and promote their well-being. The registered manager is experienced and has recently completed a national qualification to enhance his management skills. He is a positive and enthusiastic leader and manages the home effectively, with the support of his senior care workers and the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An experienced, stable and committed staff team provides an excellent quality of care for children. All the staff have worked together for some time. This continuity of staffing has promoted children’s attachments. The skills within the staff team match children’s needs exceptionally well. The number of staff on duty is sufficient to promote children’s safety and welfare in the best possible way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All staff report that they are extremely well supported by the registered manager and senior care workers. They have a very detailed understanding of their roles and responsibilities and the high expectations for providing excellent childcare. They Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 6 routinely receive professional supervision, and regular team meetings are held to review practices in the home and the progress and experiences of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are suitably qualified. They receive high-quality training to build their individual skills and knowledge relevant to the children they are caring for. Staff apply their learning effectively to their day-to-day work with children. One staff member said: ‘I recently did some research on county lines. I talked to the children about what I have read and understood, and they helped me think about this from the child’s perspective.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The provider has a creative and inclusive approach to the provision of training as children undertake training sessions alongside staff. This has included first aid, mental health and exploitation. This provides an opportunity for children and staff to learn together about the risks in society. One staff member said, ‘Having children involved in the training sessions has helped expand my knowledge of what children face in society on a day-to-day basis.’ Children also completed a project with staff during the COVID-19 pandemic about mental health and the impact this has on people’s health and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Partnership work between the home and other agencies is outstanding. All feedback received confirms the ‘outstanding work’ completed by the staff team and their ‘commitment and perseverance’ for all children. One professional said: ‘I am continually impressed by the support and encouragement that the staff have provided to [name of child]. This is the first time he has been in school in three years and he has excelled. He is now mature beyond recognition and is going from strength to strength due to the care and support that he receives from the staff at the home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children’s written records provide a high level of detail about their experiences and progress. These comprehensive records provide an insight and understanding of children’s lives and contribute to the planning for their futures. Staff develop life storybooks for children that contain photos and provide a clear picture of their experiences and achievements while they are living at the home. They provide an excellent source of discussion with children about how much progress they are making and help them to understand their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and senior care workers are not complacent and use effective monitoring systems to understand the strengths of their service and identify any areas for development. They successfully use the home’s development plan to make improvements to the service provided, to ensure that all children receive the highest quality of care. Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 7

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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 8

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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 FY8 5AY

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Inspector

Michelle Edge, Social Care Inspection Manager Inspection report children’s home: 2517429 9 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, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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