Children's Home run by Contemporary Concept Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children's home: 2639649 1 Registered provider: Contemporary Concept Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a private children’s home that provides care for up to two children. The home’s statement of purpose states that children living in this home may have a range of social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered in September 2021. The previous registered manager left his position in November 2021. The home currently has no registered manager.

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

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2639649 2

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inadequate

Inadequacies in safeguarding practice compromise children’s welfare, progress and experiences. Before a child’s admission to the home, managers fail to complete impact risk assessments to determine if the staff team has the skills and experience to meet the child’s needs.

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inadequate

Care planning and assessment are poor. Some care planning records are not in place, and managers have failed to take sufficient action to obtain these records from the placing authority. In addition to this, one child’s placement plan was not up to date and does not reflect their current needs. This lack of oversight means that the quality of care planning and the staff team’s understanding of children’s needs are ineffective.

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inadequate

Consistent routines and structure are not in place to support children who are not accessing education. One child remains in bed during school hours and is not encouraged to engage in any educational activities set by their school. Leaders and managers have not introduced incentives or rewards to encourage and support the child to complete their education work. Consequently, the child is not being prepared for returning to full-time education.

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inadequate

One child’s bedroom was not maintained to a reasonable standard. Damage to the bedroom walls and wardrobe had not been addressed by the provider until the inspector spoke with them during the inspection.

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inadequate

The child told the inspector that they like living at the home, and they have some positive relationships with senior managers and staff. Positive interactions between the staff and child were observed during the inspection.

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inadequate

Children have made small amounts of progress since they arrived at the home, such as their willingness to have conversations with staff. They are starting to engage with health professionals and have accessed the local nurse to discuss sexual health and receive support to help them reduce their substance misuse.

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inadequate

Children said that they feel listened to. Children’s meetings are conducted in a way so that children feel comfortable talking to staff about their care and experiences. This helps staff understand children’s views.

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

Managers and staff are unable to identify, manage or minimise risks to children adequately. Poor-quality risk management plans prevent the staff from having a clear understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities, including the consideration of their previous known risks. Risk management plans do not provide Inspection report children's home: 2639649 3 staff with clear strategies and guidance to enable them to keep children safe. The plans do not contain up-to-date timelines of children’s risk-taking behaviour. Risk gradings are not proportionate or a true reflection of the level of risk as identified in other records. On one occasion, poor decision-making by staff exacerbated a situation that resulted in a child being missing from the home for six days. Lack of communication between staff and failure to appropriately risk assess the situation contributed to the failure to protect the child. The responsible individual has

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

identified these failures, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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

Staff understand the action they should take when a child goes missing from home, and they are proactive in trying to locate and return the child home. The staff team works closely with social workers and missing-from-home coordinators. However, return-home interviews with external professionals are not evidenced as having taken place. This is a missed opportunity to gain further insight into where the child has been or to act to minimise risks.

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

Risk management plans state that children will be supported to understand the impact of some risk-taking behaviour, such as child sexual exploitation, substance misuse and online safety. However, there is no evidence to demonstrate that the staff team complete direct work with children in these important areas. Children have not been helped to understand how to keep themselves safe or educated about factors that place them at potential risk.

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

The system in place to manage the administration of medication is not robust. Records are confusing and do not provide a clear audit of all medication received and administered in the home.

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

The system for the recruitment of staff is not robust. Records for some staff working in the home do not demonstrate that suitable vetting has taken place before their employment. Additionally, full and satisfactory information for all employees was not available on file. The lack of suitable vetting and safe recruitment procedures does not minimise the risks to children effectively or protect them from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home does not have a registered manager in post. The previous manager left his position in November 2021, and the responsible individual currently oversees the home. Although senior managers have actively tried to recruit a new manager, they have been unable to secure a suitable candidate in respect of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The core staff team is stable, and staff said they felt supported by senior managers. Team meetings take place monthly. The meetings are child focused and provide staff with vital information. Staff report that they have regular supervision sessions. However, during the inspection, some staff supervision records could not be accessed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Senior managers could not provide evidence that staff had completed mandatory training and training specific to meeting the needs of the child. The training portal Inspection report children's home: 2639649 4 could not be accessed, and so the inspector was unable to determine if the staff team had received suitable training. This means it is unclear whether staff understand children’s needs or have the skills to ensure that children are safeguarded from significant harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual’s oversight of some risk management plans and behaviour management plans is poor. Additionally, the oversight of missing-from-home records is not evaluative or sufficiently detailed. Lessons learned have not been considered to improve staff practice, and there is no evidence of strategies having been reviewed to help reduce the risks for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

All children’s records are stored online. During the inspection, the internet was not working in the home and had been offline for five days. Senior managers had failed to identify a contingency plan to enable staff to access these crucial records and risk management plans during this period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The quality of partnership working between senior managers and children’s social workers has improved. Social workers and parents reported that communication with the staff team is regular, and they are kept up to date in respect of significant concerns and progress. Inspection report children's home: 2639649 5

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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, the 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children’s bedrooms being kept tidy, appropriately decorated, that all damage is repaired and that all furniture is fit for purpose. 9 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; 9 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2639649 6 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. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff providing support and encouragement to children to promote consistent routines and structure during education hours to prepare children to return to full-time education *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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff understand how to risk assess children’s needs or behaviours and act to reduce the risks for children.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that risk assessments and behaviour management plans are up to date, accurately risk graded and provide staff with clear guidance or strategies to reduce risks for children. 6 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2639649 7 They should include detailed actions that staff should take if a child tries to go missing from home, or returns home under the influence of substances, and how to keep themselves safe from child sexual exploitation.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, staff must support children to understand the risks associated with child sexual exploitation, substance misuse and online safety. *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—

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that the staff training matrix can be accessed and that the staff have completed all the required training and training specific to the needs of the child.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that regular monitoring is effective, with particular regard to children’s risk management plans and behaviour management plans.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, children’s case records must all be on file, so they can be used to plan appropriate care and support, and any evaluation of missing-from-home records must be thorough.

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Requirement Due date

Any lessons learned, changes to strategies, and risk assessments should be documented to promote improvements in staff practice and their understanding of the child’s needs or risks. 6 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2639649 8 The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person is to ensure that children’s internal placement plans are up to date and reflect the placing authority’s care plan objectives. Before admitting a child, an impact risk assessment must be completed to show that the suitability of the child has been assessed and the staff have the skills and experience to meet the child’s needs. 9 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safe keeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person is to ensure that there is a safe and effective system in place to monitor the amount of medication stored in the home. 9 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)) 9 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

*The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or 6 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2639649 9 if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that full and satisfactory information for all employees is available on file and that suitable vetting of staff has taken place.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care that there is an opportunity for the child to have an independent return-home interview. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30.)  The registered person should ensure that a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions are kept and that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4.)  The registered person should ensure that where records are kept electronically, this information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2.)

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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: 2639649 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Contemporary Concept Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7 Wyndham Close, Eastham, Wirral CH62 0DH

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Inspector

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2639649 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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