Children's home run by Care Afloat Ltd in West Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC006014 1 SC006014 Registered provider: Care Afloat 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 provider and provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The organisation offers an education service and therapeutic support from an external contractor.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of this home was registered with Ofsted in April 2014.

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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 for children’s home: SC006014 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/08/2021 Full Good 25/02/2020 Full Outstanding 21/01/2019 Full Good 09/01/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC006014 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. She is cared for by staff who know her well and are committed to meeting her individual needs. Care practice is underpinned by a multi-agency approach that has been effective in helping the child to better understand and overcome the challenges in her life. This has supported and improved her emotional well-being and enabled her to make good progress in many aspects of her life. A social worker said, ‘There is a tight team around [name of child], and the staff are a major part of this. The progress she has made while living at the home is amazing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are interested in what the child has to say and provide lots of opportunities for her to contribute to and influence her plans and how the home is run. This is within the limitations of the court-approved deprivation of liberty order, which at times, limit choice and opportunity. Staff are fully aware of the implications of this order and are successfully working with the child to reduce the need for imposed restrictions. The child said, ‘It is a fairly good home and I like most of the staff. Living here has made me realise that anything that has been lost can be got back.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with education staff to deliver a bespoke timetable of home learning. This has enabled the child to continue to engage in learning while overcoming the personal challenges that she faces daily. As a result, her levels of engagement are high, and attainment is good. The child said, ‘I know how important it is to get good qualifications and I enjoy learning, especially with my tutor, although I am looking forward to going to a new school where I can make friends.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is given good support to help keep in touch with the important people in her life. Staff are responsive to the changes in family dynamics and work hard to ensure that the child is given the practical and emotional support she needs to have safe and purposeful contact.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the house is a pleasant and comfortable home. It is decorated and maintained to a good standard with evidence of how the child has contributed to making this her home. This is with exception to one area, where offensive graffiti has been etched into a window. This was done before the child arrived at the home and has been left unaddressed for many months.

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

Living in this home and the consistent support from staff have made things safer for the child. Staff have a good understanding of her behaviours, risks and vulnerabilities. They are effective in implementing multi-agency agreed strategies of support. This approach is highly personalised and provides opportunities for the child to reflect on and better understand her own risk-taking behaviour. As a result, Inspection report for children’s home: SC006014 4 risks such as suicidal ideation and self-harm are managed effectively and have reduced significantly over time.

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

Incidents of going missing from home have reduced. This is in part because of the court-approved restrictions that have been imposed. When incidents of going missing have occurred, staff have made every effort to locate and return the child safe and well. However, of the 11 missing-from-home incidents, only four independent return home interviews have been offered by the child’s placing authority.

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

The staff team models consistent and caring behaviours. The child responds positively to parent-like boundaries and is generally courteous and polite, as seen during the inspection. Staff place a great deal of importance on the positive relationships that exist between them and the child. Incidents of conflict are infrequent, but when disagreements do occur, staff work hard to rebuild relationships through reflective discussion and compromise.

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

The child said that, overall, the rules of the home are fair. However, she expressed dissatisfaction with staff turning off the power to her bedroom sockets. Based on the child’s behaviour, it is unclear why this would be a necessary strategy and it is certainly not one that fits with the home’s overall ethos of care. Positively, this was discussed during the inspection and a decision to cease this institutionalised response was made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides effective leadership for a competent staff team. She is fully involved in ensuring that good standards of care are maintained, with a clear focus on helping the child to progress and achieve her individual goals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are enthusiastic about their work and talk with warmth and affection about the child. The team is settled, and staff turnover is low. This means that the child is cared for by a consistent team of staff who know her well. The effectiveness of this is evident in how chaos has been replaced by stability. The social worker said, ‘This has been a hard 12 months, but the work done by staff has brought stability. [Name of child] is in the best place she has been in for a long time.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff express confidence in the manager and describe good levels of support. They have regular opportunities for practice-related supervision. This facilitates time to reflect on the child’s progress and the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good access to mandatory and needs-led training means that staff have the right knowledge and skills to meet the child’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Suitable action has been taken to address one requirement from the previous inspection. This has resulted in improvements to the bathroom and shower room. A second requirement was made relating to statutory records. Although the identified records have now been provided by the placing authority, other examples of Inspection report for children’s home: SC006014 5 statutory records, such as the child’s care order and updated deprivation of liberty order, were found to be missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Three recommendations were also made at the last inspection, two of which have been addressed. Effective processes are now in place for the storage and administration of controlled medication. Opportunities to gain a suitable qualification are now available to all staff. However, it is still not customary practice to ensure that children are offered independent return home interviews after episodes of being missing. As with the failures by the placing authority to provide statutory information, the manager has not given any form of challenge to hold the placing authority to account.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and is constantly seeking ways to improve the experiences and outcomes for the child. In this respect, the manager makes good use of internal and external quality monitoring activity and team meetings to promote a child-focused improvement agenda. Inspection report for children’s home: SC006014 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, challenge the child’s placing authority when it fails to provide an independent return home interview after any episode of the child being missing, and when it fails to provide statutory information in a timely manner. 14 December 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any graffiti is quickly removed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature and that the practice of turning off the power supply to the sockets in children’s bedrooms is not used as a behaviour management tool. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: SC006014 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Afloat Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 158-160 Birkrig, Digmoor Parade, Skelmersdale WN8 9HP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Fletcher

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Inspector

Paul Scott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC006014 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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