Children's Home run by Cherish Children’s Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 2689544 1 Registered provider: Cherish Children’s Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned by a private company and provides care for up to three children with emotional and social issues.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2689544 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2689544 3

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inadequate

The home is in a rural setting, and shops and local amenities are a few miles away. This is potentially isolating for the children. The home has a garden area with no children’s toys or outdoor furniture. On the day of the inspection, one of the children was asleep in the lounge area because he had caused some damage to his bedroom. This was repaired on the same day. The children’s rooms are not personalised. The children are unlikely to feel comfortable and at home if the home is not child-friendly and personalised to them.

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inadequate

There have been some staff changes over the last few months. The children have not had the opportunity to form relationships with staff. Permanent staff have now been recruited to support the children to feel more secure, but it will take time for trusting relationships to develop.

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inadequate

Staff have not communicated well with each other and have not been consistent in their care for the children. The children have not had clear routines. This has meant that the children have not had clear boundaries, which has made them feel insecure.

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inadequate

The children do not attend education. Staff have communicated with school but have not been able to engage the children to attend school or to complete educational activities at home. This means that children are missing out on the opportunity to learn and to socialise with peers.

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

Risk management plans lack detail and analysis. None of the risk assessments viewed had been signed by staff. Therefore, it was impossible to know if they had been read and understood. This means that staff may not be fully aware of the children’s risks and therefore not understand how to support them to stay safe.

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

Staff do not fully understand their roles and responsibilities regarding protecting the children’s needs. Some staff said that they felt unsafe because they have been attacked and threatened by children and have been unable to manage the children’s behaviour. Staff’s concerns and lack of experience have not been addressed by leaders, leaving children living in an unstable home environment.

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

Staff do not have the skills and experience necessary to support each child’s complex care needs. This lack of experience and training, together with limited support from management, means that staff are ill-equipped to care for children with significant mental health and behavioural issues. Inspection report children’s home: 2689544 4 Staff have not been able to develop good structure and routines for children. As a result, incidents are occurring where children are attacking staff and causing damage to the home through the night, which is having a detrimental effect on other children who are trying to sleep.

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

Staff have adopted the approach of taking children out very late at night on drives or to parks as a means of tiring them out to help them settle. This has not been effective in achieving a positive routine. None of the children are attending school, which means that their basic needs for sleep, to have safe routines and to receive education are not being met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers moved children into the home without assessing their care needs and their compatibility alongside the children already living at the home. Managers also did not consider whether the staff team had the skills and experience to support each child’s individual care needs. One child was admitted to the home who had significant mental health needs. Staff were not trained to manage their specific needs and self-harm behaviours. Staff became overwhelmed as they were not equipped with the skills and experience to care for the child effectively. The child’s mental health declined and she was not cared for effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Records of physical intervention lack sufficient detail. The documents do not provide a clear overview of the behaviour that led to the measure and the holds used, and there is no evidence of an individual debrief with both the child and staff member. The manager is therefore unable to demonstrate that such practice is being carried out safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not have good oversight of the missing-from-home records. The documentation lacks the necessary detail. For example, the records do not describe the antecedents to incidents of children going missing from home. Staff lack professional curiosity and do not always follow children when they go missing from home. The manager does not analyse the missing-from-home records and therefore the opportunity to learn lessons from these incidents is lost.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive consistent supervision or support. There have been insufficient staff working at the home. Staff who are inexperienced and lack the knowledge and skills to meet the children’s needs have been responsible for their care. Staff do not communicate effectively. This means that they do not have the opportunity to reflect and learn from their experiences and to develop effective strategies to de-escalate difficult situations and care for the children safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers are not always available if there are incidents in the home late at night or at weekends. This leaves inexperienced staff feeling out of their depth as they try to support children who are displaying heightened behaviours. This leaves staff and children vulnerable and at risk. Staff say that they feel isolated and unsupported. Inspection report children’s home: 2689544 5 The manager has completed several of the shifts himself to support the children when the home has been short-staffed. This has meant he has compromised his ability to have objective management oversight and monitoring of the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2689544 6

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

In particular ensure that children have up to date and relevant risk assessments which are shared with all staff. (Regulation 12 (a)(e)) 6 November 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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—— 6 November 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2689544 7 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(h))

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(b)) 6 November 2022

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, 6 November 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2689544 8 where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s views, wishes and feelings are taken into account when planning their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.5)

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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: 2689544 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cherish Children’s Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8, Skyways Commercial Campus, Amy Johnson Way, Blackpool FY4 3RS

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2689544 10 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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