Children's Home run by Hopscotch Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1277497 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 is operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post, who has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1277497 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1277497 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were three children living at the home at the time of this inspection. The home is spacious and decorated to a high standard, creating a homely environment. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and children take pride in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s progress with education is mixed. One child is completing her exams. Another child is not currently engaged in education, however, has a college place for September. The home has introduced education planners to support children’s learning at home. One child’s attendance at school is sporadic and the home is working with the relevant agencies to look at alternative plans. The acting manager and staff team are proactive in arranging and encouraging education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are up to date and contain detailed information. This means staff have accurate information about children’s needs and how to meet them.

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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 steps on their journey. Children are prepared practically and emotionally for their next steps.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have positive relationships with staff. 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

The children enjoy a range of activities and positive experiences. They have recently had a party to celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences of arriving at and leaving the home are positive. One child has moved on to successfully live independently and one child has moved back to her previous foster carer.

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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 put at risk 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

Incidents of children going missing from the home are infrequent. When children do go missing, staff respond well to these incidents. Staff follow clear protocols for all children. This includes actively searching for children and encouraging them to return to the home. Consequently, children are safer. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277497 4 Key-work sessions are individualised to the needs of each child. Topics covered show that areas of risk are discussed. This demonstrates that children are being helped to learn what it means to keep themselves safe.

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

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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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There was no registered manager in place at the time of the inspection. However, an acting manager is in post and has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The acting 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 acting manager has the relevant qualification.

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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 on the suitability of each child’s placement. This ensures that the needs of the children are met safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

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

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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. This includes workshops for staff and managers. When staff have not been able to attend training, the manager has put plans in place to ensure that they receive all the relevant information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers’ oversight of the home has improved. There are regular managers’ meetings and regular audits to identify shortfalls. Effective monitoring and evaluation of the home allows 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 manager’s review of the quality of care should be more evaluative and fails to include external feedback. A recommendation is made in relation to this. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277497 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring the written risk assessments contain all the relevant, specific information and action plans. 10 June 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should undertake a review, every six months, that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. This review should include the feedback and opinions of children and other stakeholders. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 1277497 6

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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: 1277497 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

Rachael Crook, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1277497 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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