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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2534829 1 Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties. The home is operated by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager at the home since January 2022.

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This monitoring visit

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 8 and 9 June 2022.

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This monitoring visit

During the full inspection at the home, the inspectors found that managers and staff did not always act to protect children from harm and that leadership and management of the home was poor. Four compliance notices were issued under Regulation 12 (the protection of children standard), Regulation 13 (leadership and management), Regulation 14 (care planning) and Regulation 40 (notification of a serious event).

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was completed to investigate information received which suggested that there may have been a further breach of regulation. Since the full inspection, there has been a high number of safeguarding incidents at the home and a number of complaints made to Ofsted. The focus of this visit was to monitor and to review the actions taken by the provider to safeguard children since the full inspection.

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This monitoring visit

Safeguarding practice in this home is not promoting children’s safety or welfare. Since the last inspection, missing-from-care incidents have increased for some children. Despite these known concerns, the children’s risk assessments do not provide sufficient information for staff to follow to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2534829 2 A high number of safeguarding incidents have occurred that have been poorly responded to by staff and managers. This included an occasion when a child gained her prescribed medication from a staff member and consumed a large quantity. On another occasion, a temporary member of staff was locked out of the home by a child following the child setting a fire in the kitchen. It was the member of staff’s first shift, and she was left lone working in the home. The member of staff did not have sufficient knowledge of the home to be able to gain entry to ensure that the

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This monitoring visit

child was safe. This does not demonstrate safe care.

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This monitoring visit

There are insufficient numbers of experienced, skilled and permanent staff working in the home. The rota consists of several different agency staff and staff from other homes operated by the provider. Consequently, children are not receiving a consistent level of care and not all staff have the skills or knowledge to safely manage all children and minimise the risk factors.

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This monitoring visit

The standard of recording in the home is poor. When safeguarding incidents have occurred, records do not always demonstrate the actions of staff or the specific details of the incident to assure that children have been safeguarded. Additionally, records lack management oversight and children’s comments about what happened.

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This monitoring visit

There is no registered manager in the home. The acting manager has had minimal time to complete management tasks because she has been required to cover numerous shifts in the home. Consequently, appropriate follow-up action has not always been taken, resulting in ineffective safeguarding practice.

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This monitoring visit

A case review was held during this inspection. It was the decision of the case review to urgently restrict the accommodation. This means that no children can move into the home. The requirements made at the last inspection were not monitored at this visit. At this inspection, the inspectors monitored compliance with the restriction notice alongside the four compliance notices. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2534829 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/06/2022 Full Inadequate 29/03/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 12/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/02/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2534829 4

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation (8) (1) (2)(a)(ii)(viii)) 31 July 2022

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and 31 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2534829 5 are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 31 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

*The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 31 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

*The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 31 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2534829 6 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality-of-care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality-of-care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality-of- care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality-of-care review (“the quality-of-care review report”). 31 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2534829 7 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality-of-care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality-of-care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality-of-care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that consequences that are restorative in nature are used to help children recognise the impact of poor behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. Staff should be skilled in supporting children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that clear records are maintained of the verification of all references, demonstrating that appropriate enquires have been made. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2534829 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Jessica Higginson, Social Care Inspector Mandy Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2534829 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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