Children's Home run by Blackpool Borough Council in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033611 1 SC033611 Registered provider: Blackpool Borough Council 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 operated by a local authority. It provides short-break care for disabled children. Up to seven children may attend at any one time. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 26 children on a regular basis and an additional three children were in the process of introductions to the service.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has managed the home for over five years.

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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

Date of last inspection: 13 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC033611 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/11/2019 Full Good 13/12/2018 Full Outstanding 13/12/2017 Full Outstanding 21/02/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC033611 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who know them well and have a good understanding of their needs. Managers and staff are responsive to children’s changing needs and provide well-planned, individualised care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Many staff members have worked at the setting for many years and have established meaningful relationships with the children and their families. Staff empathise with children’s families and will often work alongside them to help improve the situation at home, such as developing a healthy sleep pattern for a child. Staff also appreciate the significance of a regular break for families. With this in mind, the service remained open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, providing families with a much-needed lifeline.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Careful consideration is given to the appropriateness of offering short-break care to children. Managers ensure that they have full and up-to-date information, so that they can make an informed decision. Although the child’s needs are matched against those of other children attending the service, to ensure that their needs are compatible, this is not always clear in the home’s records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend regularly with the same group of children, allowing them to form positive friendships. One parent spoken to during the inspection commented on how her daughter, who is non-verbal, has formed a new friendship while attending. This helps children build their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well. They understand how children communicate and process information. Some children are unable to communicate verbally to express their needs. However, staff can skilfully interpret their behaviour and body language, so that they know how the child is feeling and what they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming and equipped to meet the needs of the children attending. There is plenty of room for children to play both inside and outside the home. Children enjoy the use of electronic tablets, a trampoline, swing, ball pool and bicycles during their stay. The home also has an accessible vehicle for trips outside the home, which they plan to make full use of now that the restrictions relating to the pandemic are being lifted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and social workers speak positively about the service. One parent commented, ‘The service is very good and the respite it provides is extremely valuable to families like mine. We wouldn’t manage well without the short breaks that we get.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC033611 4

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

Children receive a high level of supervision and support, in line with their complex needs. Staff ensure that children are cared for in a safe and supportive home environment. Parents express trust and confidence in the staff team’s ability. One parent said, ‘I have not found it easy to trust others with my vulnerable child, but the staff are kind and understanding and have helped me feel at ease.’

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

Children’s care is sensitively and carefully planned, so, in the main, children are settled and content during their stay. Detailed short-break plans and individual behaviour support plans ensure that staff use consistent approaches with children. Incidents that require staff to use a physical intervention to keep the child or others safe are rare, as staff can skilfully defuse most challenging situations. However, when a physical intervention has been required, the child has not always been debriefed or a social story completed, to help the child understand why the intervention was necessary.

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

Children learn how to keep themselves safe. Staff carry out activities with children on keeping safe, including online safety. Staff also use an interactive booklet on fire safety and taking part in a fire drill. The drill includes the sounding of the fire alarm, so that children become familiar with the sound and what they need to do when they hear it. Children regularly take part in practice fire drills, so that they know what to do in the event of an emergency.

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities with regard to safeguarding vulnerable children. Good partnership working with schools and social workers ensures that any concerns are swiftly addressed. However, lines of responsibility became confused following a recent allegation. Responsibility for the investigation was shared and the investigation was completed without formal consultation with the local authority designated officer.

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

There have been few staff changes since the last inspection over two years ago. However, robust staff recruitment procedures ensure that only those suitable are able to gain employment in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager in charge of the home. She also worked in the home before becoming manager, so knows the staff and children extremely well. She is supported by a well-established and experienced management team. She recently returned from a planned period of absence, when another member of the management team was formally registered to manage the home while she was away. This provided consistency in her absence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from strong leadership. The manager is passionate about supporting children to fulfil their potential and she is a visible presence in the home. She will play an active part in the direct care of children if required. During this inspection period, the home admitted a child that they already knew in an Inspection report for children’s home: SC033611 5 emergency, following a breakdown in their home situation. This was to allow an appropriate placement to be identified. This involved the service having to operate over a holiday period, when they would ordinarily have closed. The manager worked alongside the staff team to ensure that the child was safely looked after during this time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The short-term placement of this child did have a negative impact on the availability of short-break stays for other children. Initially, it limited the number of other children who could attend, but ultimately the service to others was paused for a short time, due to the challenges that the child presented. Although this impacted on other families, it did keep their children safe. Any stays that were cancelled at the time have subsequently been rearranged.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a motivational leader and makes good use of the individual skills and talents of staff members, who each take responsibility for an area of the service. This motivates staff to do the job well. The staff know each other well and they work well together. Staff say they feel supported by managers. However, there have been gaps in the frequency of formal supervision, which has not always been undertaken at the frequency outlined in the organisation’s own policy. There has also been inconsistency in the formal supervision record used, with some containing little case discussion or a focus on staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff have worked in the home for many years and have completed a wide range of training over this time. However, some training courses need to be refreshed to ensure that staff’s knowledge remains current. In addition, a recommendation was made at the last inspection for specific training for staff in self- injurious behaviour and children’s mental health. This has yet to be carried out, in part due to the restrictions of the pandemic. Consequently, this is raised as a requirement, to ensure that priority is given to this matter.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is reflective and eager to review the delivery of service and make improvements. She has a development plan which helps staff to focus on areas for improvement. One recent introduction has been the use of electronic recording. While this has aided managers’ monitoring and review of children’s progress, the system for recording currently allows for staff to make amendments to historic records without an audit trail of these changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works in partnership with other professionals to ensure that children receive the services and support that they require. She will confidently and effectively challenge services when necessary. A number of social workers and parents commented on the commitment of staff and dedication of the manager, with one saying, ‘They will go the extra mile.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC033611 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—

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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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that impact risk assessments for potential new placements consider the impact that the placement will have on the group of children attending together for short breaks. 15 April 2022

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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—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that staff have access to appropriate training. This includes updates to mandatory training, plus training to meet the specific needs of children attending the service, such as self-injurious behaviour and children’s mental health. 15 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 15 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC033611 7 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that staff receive supervision at the frequency outlined in the organisation’s own policy.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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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)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that children receive a debrief following any physical intervention that has been necessary. 15 April 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are clear arrangements in place for the management and oversight of allegations against people who work with children. The relevant officer in the local authority should be informed promptly of all allegations that come to an employer’s attention. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.18)  The registered person should ensure that records that are kept electronically (regulation 38) are securely stored, ensuring that they cannot be changed or amended at a later date without leaving a clear audit trail of any changes made. (‘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 for children’s home: SC033611 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blackpool Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: PO Box 4, Blackpool FY1 1NA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Melanie Boothman

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Inspectors

Mandy Williams, Social Care Inspector Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033611 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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