Children's Home run by Nurture Childcare Services Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 2511614 1 Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider. It is registered to care for three children who may have emotional and behaviour difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2019.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2511614 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/06/2021 Full Good 02/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2511614 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live in the home. The care they receive is individualised and tailored to their needs. Their care plans are clear and detailed. This means staff have all the information they need to provide good care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A stable and consistent staff team means that children can build relationships with staff and form positive attachments. These positive relationships are a real strength and have contributed to the progress the children have made. When additional staff are needed, these are usually staff who have worked regularly at the home and are already known to children. This further promotes consistency of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child’s school attendance has improved since living in the home and she attends most days. One child is not currently engaging with education. Staff remain persistent in their attempts to find activities which will help children to return to formal learning, and have been proactive in arranging interviews for various provisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child spends a significant amount of time away from the home which is authorised by his social worker. Despite this, the manager and staff team have worked hard at building and maintaining a relationship with the child. This has allowed them to put support in place to try to engage the child with his care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote age-appropriate independence skills. Children are encouraged and supported to develop the necessary skills for the next step on their journey. Children are prepared practically and emotionally for their next steps.

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

Risks are identified and understood by staff. They know the children well and work hard to keep them safe. However, written risk assessments are not always clear, and staff do not have clear action plans to follow should certain incidents occur. This has not led to children being harmed and the written risk assessments were updated during the inspection.

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

One child has reduced the number of times he has been missing from the home. Whilst he still spends a significant amount of time away from the home, the manager and staff team have worked with external agencies to authorise addresses where it is safe for the child to stay. Positive relationships between the child and the staff mean that he keeps in touch regularly and staff go and conduct checks as per his missing- from-home protocol.

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

Staff work well with children to promote positive behaviours. There have been no physical interventions since the last inspection. Staff promote positive behaviours through incentives, rewards and positive relationships. Inspection report children’s home: 2511614 4 Managers recruit new staff safely. Staff are thoroughly vetted and assessed before any appointment is confirmed. These safe recruitment procedures make sure that children are protected by preventing unsuitable adults from working in the home.

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

Children live in a home that is physically safe and secure. Staff complete regular health and safety checks and follow a range of safety procedures to protect children from potential hazards. The home presents as homely. However, there are some repairs to be made and some of the furniture should be replaced. A recommendation has been made in relation to this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about her role and the children she cares for. This has created an ethos in the home characterised by high ambitions for the children. The manager is experienced and has the relevant qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably qualified or currently undertaking their qualification in residential childcare. There is a good training programme in place to ensure that staff have the necessary skills to meet the complex and challenging needs of the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are suitably matched before coming to live in the home. Impact risk assessments are completed, which inform placement decisions around the suitability of new admissions. This ensures that the needs of the children are met safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision which is purposeful and reflective. Regular team meetings allow staff the opportunity to discuss any issues in the home and ensure everyone is kept up to date with the children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the home. Effective monitoring and evaluation of the home allow the manager to identify any areas for development and make plans to address these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers’ review of the quality of care should be evaluative and detail external feedback. A recommendation will be made in relation to this. Inspection report children’s home: 2511614 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure they monitor the quality of care at least once every six months. The review should focus on the quality of care provided by the home, the experiences of the children living in the home and the impact the care is having on the children. The views of the children and external professionals should contribute to this review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should specifically ensure that each child’s missing-from- care protocol is clear for staff to follow in the event of a child going missing from the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. The plan must

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Recommendations

include details of the steps the home will take to manage the risks on a day-to- day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a homely and domestic environment. This is specifically in relation to replacing the sofas in the lounge. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2511614 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Seighford Hall, Clanford Road, Seighford, Stafford ST18 9NL

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Inspector

Rachael Crook, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2511614 7 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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