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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1238043 1 Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is owned by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager in post.

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This monitoring visit

During a full inspection on 12 and 13 October 2022, inspectors identified widespread concerns around staffing arrangements in the home, safeguarding practice and ineffective leadership and management. The serious and widespread shortfalls found at this inspection led to immediate enforcement action and Ofsted issued a notice to restrict accommodation at the home.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit took place to monitor the restriction notice.

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This monitoring visit

There are currently three children living at the home. Since the full inspection, the provider has taken action to address some of the shortfalls identified. The provider has improved the home environment. The garden has been cleared of rubbish and pathways are now free from moss and safe to walk on. The home is welcoming and decorated for Christmas. Children are settled and attending education.

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This monitoring visit

It is Ofsted’s view that the provider has adhered to the restriction, as no other children have been admitted to the home since the last inspection. The restriction notice will remain in place until 4 January 2023.

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This monitoring visit

The requirements were not considered at this visit and will be reviewed at the next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1238043 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/10/2022 Full Inadequate 11/01/2022 Full Good 21/09/2021 Full Inadequate 11/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1238043 3

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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

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers are to enable children to access specialist services to meet the child’s individual needs. This relates to health, well-being and education services.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers are to establish links and professional relationships with external bodies and professionals to secure essential support and input that supports the individual needs of the child. 15 December 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— that staff—

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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, 15 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1238043 4 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

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(ix)(x))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the requirement for leaders and managers to establish appropriate links with education providers and the headteacher of the virtual school, to seek support for children to access meaningful and relevant education.

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Requirement Due date

Those caring for children are to be able to identify the barriers to learning and take appropriate action and escalate any concerns with the local authority.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must maintain links with education providers and communicate effectively to ensure children are appropriately supported.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met; 15 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1238043 5 children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(ii)(iv)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to leaders and managers ensuring that children have access to specialist services to support their individual needs.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, those who care for children are to be aware of children’s relevant plans and have the skills to understand and promote children’s well-being.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 15 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1238043 6 understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers are to ensure that staff understand how to identify and respond to risks and be clear about their roles and responsibilities.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers should ensure that those who care for children are aware of relevant plans for individual children.

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Requirement Due date

Managers are to ensure that those who care for children understand safeguarding policies and procedures and are appropriately experienced, skilled and trained to safely care for children.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers should be satisfied that those staff caring for children have the appropriate qualifications and skills to meet the needs of children and keep them safe from harm.

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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

promotes their welfare. 15 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1238043 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that the home is appropriately staffed to meet the needs of the individual children. Staff should be appropriately trained and skilled and have relevant experience to deliver relevant and safe care.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers should update all relevant plans and ensure that these plans are read, understood and followed by those who care for children.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers are to support staff and the running of the home by providing regular supervisions and team meetings. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1238043 8 Managers are to address any maintenance concerns and ensure the home environment is safely and appropriately maintained.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)) 15 December 2022

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d)) 15 December 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs. (Regulation 31 (1)) 15 December 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character; 15 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1238043 9 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to leaders and managers being satisfied that all staff, either permanent or temporary, have the relevant skills, qualification and experience.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 15 December 2022

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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: 1238043 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Nichola Croft, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1238043 11 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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