Children's home run by Hopscotch Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 1 Registered provider: Hopscotch Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties. The home is operated by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who registered with Ofsted in December 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 1 February 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the last inspection, compliance notices were issued in relation to regulation 12, protection of children, regulation 13, leadership and management, and regulation 40, notification of serious events. Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/02/2022 Full Inadequate 05/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 3

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improvement to be good

There were no children living in the home at the time of this inspection. One child had recently left after making some progress. For example, incidents of self-harm had reduced and the child’s relationship with their parent had improved significantly.

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improvement to be good

Concerns were identified about the child’s nutritional health before their departure. It was not clear from records what action had been taken to support the child or whether the concerns had been raised with an external healthcare professional.

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improvement to be good

Staff attempted to engage the child in work to support them to prepare for independence. However, the child’s engagement was limited.

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improvement to be good

At the last inspection, a requirement was raised in relation to supporting children who are not in education or training. The manager was able to demonstrate that positive work had been carried out with the child before they left the home, which supported their home learning and return to education.

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improvement to be good

The manager was in the process of completing a thorough assessment before the admission of a new child. Appropriate consideration was being given to the needs of the child, skills of staff and the location of the home before offering the child a place. This addresses a requirement made at the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

The manager has taken appropriate action to address the actions set out in a compliance notice relating to safeguarding, which was issued at the last inspection. However, further improvements are necessary to help ensure that children benefit from consistently safe and effective care.

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improvement to be good

Some risk management plans contain a good level of information and provide clear guidance for staff. However, in other examples, risk management plans lack clarity because information is incomplete and guidance is vague. Furthermore, risk management plans are not always updated in accordance with new information.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, all staff have been provided with updated training in safeguarding. Staff have been supported to revisit the home’s whistle-blowing policy and reminded of their responsibility to report any safeguarding concerns immediately.

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improvement to be good

Information relating to an incident of concern was unclear in terms of the action taken by the manager and the timescales of the matter being reported to the Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 4 relevant agencies. Therefore, the manager was not able to demonstrate that she had followed the home’s safeguarding procedures.

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improvement to be good

Improvements have been made to the environment and no concerns were identified about the standard of accommodation. This addresses a requirement made at the last inspection. However, it was identified during this inspection that the home’s fire risk assessment was out of date and that action recommended at the last review, which took place over a year ago, had not been taken.

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good

There is a manager in post who was registered with Ofsted in December 2021. The manager responded positively to concerns raised at the previous inspection and has taken action to address the requirements made.

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good

Following the departure of the child who previously lived in the home, managers decided not to move any more children into the home until the matters raised by Ofsted at the previous inspection were addressed. This demonstrates that children’s best interests are considered and that managers are committed to improvement.

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good

Staff spoke positively about the home and felt confident that recent improvements would support the safety and quality of the service provided to children. Staff said that they were well supported and this was further demonstrated by supervision records.

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good

Managers and staff have taken part in a range of training since the last inspection. This has helped to enhance staff skills and knowledge and increase their confidence. However, several staff have not completed nationally recognised qualifications within the required timescales. It is acknowledged that this is partly due to the pandemic, but previous high turnover has also contributed to the low numbers of qualified staff.

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good

Managers’ oversight has improved. The introduction of correlation packs for significant or adverse incidents enables the manager to demonstrate that appropriate action is taken. Furthermore, there is now clear information to show that potential learning from such incidents is identified.

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good

Some shortfalls were identified in terms of how the manager records and evaluates communication with external professionals. This may lead to gaps in information- sharing or mean that partnership working is less effective. A recommendation has been raised to support improvement in this area. Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 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, 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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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)(vii)(d)) 27 May 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 promotes their welfare.

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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;

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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)(c)(h)) 27 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have evidence of the home’s communication with each child’s placing authority and other relevant persons, which may include services, individuals, agencies, organisations and establishments that work with children in the local community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3)

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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: 2528141 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hopscotch Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 19 Lancaster Road, Carnforth LA5 9LD

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Inspector

Marie Cordingley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 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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