Children's Home run by Safety and Focused Care in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2631136 1 Registered provider: Safety & Focused Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for one child. The provider specialises in caring for children who may have social, emotional and mental health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2021.

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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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2631136 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2631136 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The adults caring for the child have supported him to realise his full potential. A family member of the child commented that the adults have given him aspirations for the future. These values stem from non-judgmental attitudes and a solution- focused approach to the child’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives a wide range of opportunities to develop his social and emotional skills. He has been supported to develop his life skills through employment, social enterprise opportunities, charitable work and campaigning. His achievements and memories are celebrated by adults and captured in books. This practice ensures that the child can remember significant milestones in his life. He is also building foundations to support his adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are several written plans in place that highlight the care in place for the child. Some plans, however, are not owned by the child, and he does not access his records. The documents have lost focus and it has resulted in the child not having specific and measurable goals that are owned by him. This practice can create barriers to children being central to their journey and plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made exceptional progress with his education. The adults have advocated for him to receive additional educational support and have ensured that he is educated in a provision that meets his needs. This progress has resulted in the child being motivated to exceed his academic targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has an up-to-date education, health and care (EHC) plan. There is, however, a lack of awareness relating to the local offer, which sets out the support available for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This is a missed opportunity to access additional resources for children in order to inform their care and plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The adults caring for the child advocate on his behalf to ensure that he receives the specialist health support he requires. The adults also ensure that distance is not a barrier to accessing health services. This has resulted in good progress being made with the child’s physical and emotional health. The child has also benefited from close partnership working with other agencies in order to inform the child’s day-to- day care.

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

The adults caring for the child keep him safe. They understand the risks surrounding the child, and they ensure that he is educated to put his own safeguards in place. There are, however, some safety plans in place for risks that are not apparent in the child’s life. This can result in the child being stigmatised and practice being institutional. Inspection report for children’s home: 2631136 4 The adults support the child to regulate his emotions at times of distress. This ensures that heightened situations are de-escalated very quickly. The adults have helped the child to reflect on his emotions and develop healthy coping strategies. The child is now able to overcome hurdles with the help of the adults he trusts.

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

The child rarely goes missing from care. However, on the few occasions he has, the adults have followed his safety plan to ensure that he gets home safely. The adults work with the child to understand his triggers, and they support him to manage risky situations through new strategies. This support has reduced the risk of the child going missing from care.

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

There was one occasion when the provider’s child protection procedures were not followed fully. The child was not at risk of harm. However, decision-making at the time of the event was not in line with the provider’s policy. The registered manager resolved the matter when she was made aware of it, and learning has been taken from the situation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The adults in the team that directly cares for the child feel very supported by managers. The support is underpinned by formal processes such as supervision, team meetings, senior management meetings, probation reviews and an induction. The consistent support from the managers ensures that children receive high-quality care and standards remain high.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The adults caring for the child have engaged in training to develop their knowledge base. However, there remains training that needs to be done to ensure that the adults are knowledgeable in all topics relating to the child’s needs. This development will help the adults to underpin the child’s care with relevant learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The adults in the team that cares for the child all act as his champion. They challenge other agencies when he requires additional support from them. If there are delays in securing a positive outcome for the child, independent advocacy is organised. This child-centred ethos ensures that barriers are removed, and children are given the support that they require to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are passionate about ensuring that the child’s progress continues. They do this by evaluating the quality of care provided for the child. There is a focus on reflection in order to enable the adults to continually learn and challenge themselves to be better. The managers have good monitoring systems in place, and they ensure that poor practice is addressed in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: 2631136 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the child’s individual identity is promoted, and plans take into account the child’s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs and their previous experiences. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)  The registered person should ensure that the adults caring for children have a knowledge of children’s EHC plans and the resources available to them through the SEND local offer. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 26, paragraph 5.4)  The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them to ensure that the child is not stigmatised. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 44, paragraph 9.17)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate resources to support their training needs in order to meet all of the children’s individual needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that the child’s records are non-stigmatising. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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 for children’s home: 2631136 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Safety & Focused Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 54 Wood Street, Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire FY8 1QG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Tereasa Denby-Wallis

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Inspector

Carly Quinn, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2631136 7 regulates and inspects 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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