Children's Home run by Outbound Care in Blackpool

Inspection report for children's home: 2523036 1 Registered provider: Outbound Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties or a learning disability.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in February 2021, having managed the home since September 2020. The manager is also registered for another home within the organisation.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

p.1

outstanding

Date of last inspection: 14 December 2021

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2523036 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/12/2021 Full Good 28/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2523036 3

p.2

outstanding

The child living at this home has continued to thrive since the previous inspection. He receives consistent and exceptionally well-planned care from a stable and dedicated staff team. The secure and trusting relationships between staff and the child provide a sense of safety and stability which contributes to excellent progress in all areas of his development.

p.3

outstanding

Positive relationships between the staff and the child were evident throughout the inspection. The child spoke about the staff being the ‘best thing’ about living in the home. One professional said, ‘The team really care about the child and want him to succeed. They see the child beyond the behaviour.’ This has allowed the child to flourish while living in the home.

p.3

outstanding

The home is a comfortable environment and is furnished and decorated with the child’s needs and wishes in mind. However, the storage of a tumble dryer in the dining room and lack of decoration in some areas detracts from the homely feel that is evident in other areas of the home. The back of the building and garden area also requires some maintenance and repair work.

p.3

outstanding

The manager and staff team have excellent relationships with the network of agencies involved with the child. Staff are proactive in meeting the child’s needs and are dedicated to providing the best care and support for him. They strongly encourage and motivate the child to engage with specialist services and go above and beyond in providing additional support and follow-up work when gaps have been identified in the child’s understanding. Research-informed practice is embedded in the daily practice of the home, guided by the therapeutic model used by the specialist services involved.

p.3

outstanding

Staff provide exceptional support with the child’s education and act as effective advocates when required. This has enabled the child to access education on a full- time basis and to make significant progress. The child has been able to progress from foundation level work to sitting his GCSEs.

p.3

outstanding

The manager and staff team have worked exceptionally hard in developing and maintaining positive relationships with the local community. This has included supporting the child to set up his own car-washing business, which has resulted in him developing strong relationships with the neighbours.

p.3

outstanding

Staff are committed to promoting positive family time for the child. Staff are flexible in enabling arrangements for the child to spend increased time with his family, alternating between the local area and his home area, despite the distance. Staff highly respect the value of these relationships for the child. Inspection report for children's home: 2523036 4

p.3

outstanding

Staff have a thorough understanding of the child’s risks and have developed highly effective behaviour management techniques. Staff are proactive in delivering interventions in accordance with risk and behaviour management plans. Extensive key-working sessions are undertaken with the child on specific areas of need, in consultation with specialist agencies involved. Staff practice with the child is research-informed through in-house training and consultation with specialist services. This has led to a reduction in the child’s risks, resulting in increased levels of independence for him.

p.4

outstanding

Risk assessments are comprehensive and are subject to regular reviews. The planning and management of risk is exceptional. Staff are proactive in identifying the child’s vulnerabilities and further areas of need. Excellent relationships with wider professionals have created a strong multi-agency approach to managing the child’s risks and preparing him for the future.

p.4

outstanding

There have not been any incidents of physical intervention since the previous inspection and incidents of challenging behaviour are rare. There have been no incidents of the child being missing, however, detailed and robust plans are in place and staff understand the risks for him in the event of this happening.

p.4

outstanding

The positive relationships that staff have with the child enable them to de-escalate most challenging behaviours and the child respects and listens to their advice. On the rare occasions there are episodes of challenging behaviour, prompt follow-up work is undertaken to support the child to learn and reflect on his behaviour.

p.4

outstanding

Transition arrangements are well considered and planned. Staff access relevant training before a child moves into the home to ensure that they have the required level of knowledge and skill to meet the child’s needs. Highly effective planning is already underway for when the child leaves the home, to manage and minimise risks. There is a strong multi-agency approach and staff are fully invested in ensuring that the child’s progress is acknowledged, while ensuring that sight of historic risk is not lost.

p.4

outstanding

The home has a well-established staff team and there has not been any need for further recruitment in this period. Recruitment practices for the current staff members were safe and thorough to ensure that they are suitable for their roles.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is inspirational and motivational. He provides exceptional support to his staff team and is ambitious and dedicated in providing the best possible care for the child living in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2523036 5 Managers have created a stable and consistent team through excellent retention of staff. Staff receive relevant training and support and are actively encouraged to access relevant qualifications when required. Training opportunities for the staff are comprehensive and relevant to the child’s needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager seeks regular feedback from the child and staff to consistently improve the experiences of the child and those working in the home. The manager strongly promotes professional development. He uses a range of learning tools to support staff to develop their knowledge and understanding of their roles. He runs workshops on topics relevant to the child’s needs, with training in areas such as medication, reporting and recording and missing from home having been undertaken to date. He undertakes single subject supervisions and has introduced quizzes as part of team meetings and developed incentive schemes. This promotes the retention of staff and high morale within the team.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The work the manager has done with the neighbours and local community is outstanding. He acts as a positive role model to both the child and the staff team. He demonstrates what it is to be a good neighbour. This has led to positive relationships being developed which have overcome the local community’s previous reluctance and negative attitudes towards the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has an excellent understanding of the child’s needs, risks and plans for his future. It is evident that he is strongly committed to the child and wants what is best for him. His excellent transition planning and positive relationships with other professionals involved serves to promote the best possible outcomes for the child when moving on.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is well experienced and knowledgeable, and he consistently shares this with the team to promote good practice at all times. He has challenged professionals when required and advocated for the child to ensure that the best possible care is provided by all involved.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is excellent internal and external oversight and monitoring of the care provided to the child and the daily running of the home. The manager makes positive use of the feedback provided by the independent visitor to support the continued development of the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

It is evident that the manager is passionate about the home and the care that is provided to the child living there. He manages his time effectively given that he is dual registered and ensures that he attends the home on a daily basis for the benefit of the child. However, the staff rosters do not currently indicate when the registered manager and deputy manager are present in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2523036 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home is kept up to date and should include a record of any persons who live or work at any time at the home, specifically, the registered manager and deputy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a homely and domestic environment. Specifically, the disrepair of the garden and rear of the property should be rectified, and improvements made to the interior to maintain a domestic impression to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.6

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: 2523036 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Outbound Care Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Metropolitan Business Park, Preston New Road, Blackpool, Lancashire FY3 9LT

p.7

Inspector

Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2523036 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8