Children's Home run by Care Afloat Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC006013 1 SC006013 Registered provider: Care Afloat Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company and provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties. The provider offers an education service and therapeutic support from an external contractor.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since the home reopened in January 2022 and was registered in April 2022.

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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 judged

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC006013 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2019 Interim Not judged 23/01/2019 Interim Not judged 24/10/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/03/2017 Interim Not judged Inspection report for children’s home: SC006013 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home reopened in January 2022, having been closed since September 2018. This was to enable a child, the manager and staff team to move from another home which has now closed. This move was planned well in partnership with the child, who has contributed significantly to the decoration and furnishing of the house, which is pleasant, cosy and welcoming.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is very positive about her care experiences and spoke about feeling settled and regarding this as her home. She has strong relationships with the manager and staff, who understand and respond well to her everyday needs. Consistent and reliable support has provided stability that has promoted good progress in many aspects of the child’s life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Attendance and progress in education is good. The child benefits from a bespoke education package that combines academic and vocational learning. The child is particularly proud of her vocational achievements, which have developed into her working as a nail technician in a salon for one day a week. The child is planning to build on this, having been supported to successfully gain a place at a local college. However, it is essential that the child’s education, health and care plan, which has been in draft form for a significant period of time, is finalised quickly to ensure that the right support is in place before the child starts at college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer good support that enables the child to keep in safe contact with family members and friends. Staff are proactive in supporting this in a way that responds to the needs of the child as well as those of the people that she is seeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a keen focus on helping the child prepare for adulthood. Pathway planning has started, although the home is yet to receive a written copy of the child’s pathway plan, which is slightly overdue. The child’s views and opinions are integral to this process in terms of location, type of accommodation, training and employment. The child said, ‘I want to live in a house near to here so that staff can come and visit me.’

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

The staff have a good understanding of the child’s risks and vulnerabilities. Compared to those seen before admission, these have reduced significantly, and incidents of risk-taking behaviour are rare. To an extent, this is because the child chooses to spend very little time away from staff, from whom she gains a sense of safety and security. However, it is apparent that the child has developed an improved understanding of her past behaviours and staff are looking for ways of testing this safely through increased independence. Inspection report for children’s home: SC006013 4 Staff act as positive role models. They have successfully developed a relaxed and nurturing environment that supports a culture of positivity and respect. Individualised incentives and rewards are used effectively to promote positive engagement. The child responds well to this approach and incidents of negative behaviour are extremely rare.

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

The manager and staff understand and take seriously their safeguarding responsibilities. They know what action to take to keep the child safe. For the one incident of concern, the manager was quick to involve the right agencies to ensure that suitable investigatory action was taken. However, although verbal confirmation of the outcome was provided by the placing authority, in-house records do not include the details of the final strategy meeting or the outcome of the investigations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by an experienced and child-centred manager who is close to completing the level 5 diploma. He is ambitious and passionate about improving the child’s life opportunities, qualities that are shared by the whole staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The child benefits from the care of a stable staff team that she knows well. Staff are well motivated and enthusiastic about their work. They talk with pride about the child’s progress and gain a sense of satisfaction from how they have contributed to this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported by the manager and describe him as approachable, with an open-door policy. They benefit from regular supervision that focuses on professional development and improving standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Opportunities for staff to complete mandatory training are readily available via online learning platforms. Plans are in place to further strengthen learning opportunities as more purposeful face-to-face training becomes available. The manager is aware of the need to prioritise training in working with children who self-harm and children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains good oversight of the child’s progress and is fully involved in all aspects of care planning. Internal and external monitoring is of a good standard and is used effectively to promote an improvement agenda.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Case records are detailed and provide a good insight into the child’s needs, progress and experiences. Internal documents are reviewed frequently and updated. However, supporting documentation from external agencies, such as a copy of the child’s care order, a finalised education, health and care plan and the most recent personal education plan are not in place. There is evidence that the manager has chased this information, but he has failed to escalate to a suitable level of challenge when it has not been provided. Inspection report for children’s home: SC006013 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, take a timescaled approach to escalating concerns when professionals and agencies do not fulfil their statutory obligations to the child. 1 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34 (1)(b) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that the home’s records include the minutes of all strategy meetings and written confirmation of the outcome of any allegation. 1 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)) 1 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC006013 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff undertake training in working with children who self-harm and children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)

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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: SC006013 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Afloat Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 158-160 Birkrig, Digmoor Parade, Skelmersdale WN8 9HP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Fletcher

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Inspector

Paul Scott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC006013 8 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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