Children's Home run by Nurture Childcare Services Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 2571033 1 Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider. The home provides accommodation for children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties who are unable to live at home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post is currently vacant.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 4 November 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The 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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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and are not protected, and their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: First inspection

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2571033 2 Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: 2571033 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected. Inspection report children’s home: 2571033 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s progress is mixed. From her starting point, the child who currently lives in the home has progressed positively within education. The provider’s in-house education coordinator and staff have helped the child to overcome barriers to her learning. As a result, the child’s individualised timetable has recently been increased to reflect her positive progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

When the child moved into the home, her placing authority care plan was not challenged by the provider. As a result, the child moved into the home with high levels of free time which subsequently placed the child at risk of harm. Furthermore, when the child is out for long periods of time, staff have not ensured that the child has access to food and drink.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home conditions are good. The house is tastefully decorated. The child’s bedroom has soft furnishings chosen by the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

A child’s cultural needs were promoted by staff. This enabled the child to explore and celebrate her cultural identity. For example, staff regularly took the child to a specialist grocery store and restaurant, a considerable distance away, to enable the child to purchase much-loved foods.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

A child who recently left the home remained in the home despite escalating concerns. As a result, this led to staff being assaulted and police being called to manage the child’s behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child has access to community healthcare, which includes mental health services. However, staff did not take action to support the child to attend the doctors following a discussion between a member of staff and the child regarding a health issue.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff promote children seeing their families in line with their placing authority care plans.

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

Children have been left at risk of significant harm. For example, staff informed the inspector that several strategy meeting minutes and outcomes had not been shared with staff by the previous acting manager for a significant period of time. This means that staff have not been kept up to date with emerging risks or actions to keep the child safe.

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

The use of physical intervention is minimal, and when these do take place the records are detailed. However, several debriefs following serious incidents have not been undertaken with staff and children. One incident involving the manager was reviewed Inspection report children’s home: 2571033 5 by herself. This doesn’t promote children’s safety or safeguard children, due to a lack of objective scrutiny.

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

There have been delays in notifications being sent to Ofsted which contain limited information and do not include significant events that have occurred. This limits the regulator being able to consider action.

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

Despite a child having a history of self-harm and considered to be at high risk, the manager had not taken sufficient action to address unsafe conditions, which resulted in a child’s bedroom containing broken mirrors. A safe environment for the child has not, therefore, been maintained.

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

Impact risk assessments do not adequately assess the level of risk or provide robust strategies for staff to follow. Staff did not have the skills and experience to manage the risks or behaviours of a child who has recently left the home. This resulted in a number of staff being assaulted and injured on numerous occasions.

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

Staff allowed the mother of one child to stay overnight at the home. There was a lack of risk assessments in place at the time that the child’s mother stayed overnight, despite the mother having a significant history associated with risk.

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

Furthermore, risk assessments did not contain any strategies for staff to undertake welfare checks when the child returned home under the influence of drugs and alcohol. This does not demonstrate robust safeguarding practice and leaves the child at potential risk of harm.

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

One child was found to be smoking illegal substances in the garden of the home. Although the risk assessment was clear that staff must undertake a room search if the child was suspected to be using, or be in possession of, illegal substances, the child told staff that they could not enter her room until she had tidied it and staff did not, therefore, carry out the room search. Staff are therefore not demonstrating that they are following risk assessments and, as a result, the child is left exposed to harm.

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

Incentives and consequences are not clear for children to learn how their behaviours affect themselves and others. However, the acting manager has now taken steps to address this issue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The acting manager has been in post for four weeks and has made an application to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been a lack of oversight or stringent monitoring of incidents or practice in the home. Four acting managers have been in post at the home over the last three months. As a result, there has been ineffective leadership thus far.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The current acting manager has failed to ensure that staff monitor the child’s bedroom, which resulted in the child’s bedroom containing unsafe items that could Inspection report children’s home: 2571033 6 have caused injury to her. Staff and the child report that staff do not enter the child’s bedroom unless the child agrees. However, the acting manager has not challenged this practice, leaving the staff with no clear direction in counteracting the risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Furthermore, there has been a failure on the acting manager’s part to make improvements at the home, despite shortfalls being pointed out by the previous independent visitor. Failure to monitor standards effectively, or take action when concerns are identified, means that poor practice and standards of care will continue, and children will not benefit from an improving service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

In discussion with the inspector, the acting manager demonstrated a lack of insight into the shortfalls in standards of care and safety and was not able to articulate that areas requiring improvement had been identified, or how they would be developed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Poor decision-making around the admission of one child to the home, and then the termination of the placement for the child, resulted in the child’s time in the home being prolonged, despite the provider giving immediate notice, due to serious safeguarding concerns. This resulted in a number of staff being assaulted by the child and the child subsequently being arrested.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The quality of safeguarding practice and recordings is poor. An allegation against a staff member resulted in the designated officer requesting the manager to undertake a reflective discussion with the staff member. However, there was no record of this taking place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Due to staffing difficulties, previous managers have had to care for children directly as part of their shifts. This has impeded on their leadership of the home and has led to the poor oversight of recording and risk management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been a high turnover of staff and managers, which has had an impact on children being able to form trusting relationships. However, a new permanent staff team is currently being embedded alongside the newly appointed acting manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are either qualified to the appropriate level or are currently undertaking the relevant course. This means that the child receives support from suitably qualified staff. Inspection report children’s home: 2571033 7

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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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

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)(iii)(v)(b)(d)) 5 December 2021

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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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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 5 December 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2571033 8 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;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 5 December 2021

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Requirement Due date

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")—

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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)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 5 December 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2571033 9 (1) Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 5 December 2021

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2571033 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 71 Edge End Lane, Great Harwood, Blackburn BB6 7QD

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Inspector

Rachel Springford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2571033 11 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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