Children's home run by Searchlight Care Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1249034 1 Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services 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 company. It is registered to provide care for one child who has had adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 2018 and holds a leadership and management qualification at level 5.

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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

Date of last inspection: 18 January 2022

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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: 1249034 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2022 Full Good 17/07/2019 Full Good 19/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1249034 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The same child has lived in the home since the last full inspection. The child benefits from well-planned, personalised care that promotes her needs effectively and contributes to sustainable change and improvements in her life. The child has made good progress in relation to her individual starting points across aspects of her physical, social, emotional and behavioural development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff and the child are positive. This helps create a settled environment where the child can discuss any issues or concerns with staff in confidence. Because of this, the child has formed strong attachments with staff, which creates trust and respect. This helps her to develop emotional resilience and to move forward in her life positively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives support with her education that is based on her individual needs. Consequently, her school attendance is good, which helps to increase her chances of reaching her full academic potential. Staff have developed links with teachers and attend regular meetings. This joined-up approach helps address any problems the child may be experiencing so that the right support and guidance can be provided at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health and well-being are promoted. Staff ensure that healthcare plans identify her individual health needs. Statutory health assessments have been completed, and the child has attended all required medical appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to take part in a wide range of activities available in the home and in the local community. These include day trips to local attractions, horse- riding and trampolining, as well as games and crafts that entertain her in the home. The activities help the child keep active and have fun.

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

Staff ensure that the child is safeguarded. Risk assessments are clear and up to date. This ensures that staff understand the risks that the child faces and are clear about how they need to respond to these.

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

The child has made progress in reducing her challenging behaviour. This is because staff understand the child’s needs and frustrations and can discuss issues with her and de-escalate situations. Because of this support, the number of physical interventions for the child is reducing over time.

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

The good relationships between staff and the child mean that she feels safe and secure in the home. Because of this, the child has not gone missing from home since the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249034 4 Staff ensure that the home environment is safe for the child to live in. A range of health and safety checks are completed to assess whether there are any hazards that could pose risks to her. The child takes part in regular fire drills to ensure that she knows how to safely evacuate the home in case of an emergency.

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

Safer recruitment and employment practices ensure that staff are suitably vetted. This prevents unsuitable people from working at the home and helps to ensure the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from an experienced manager who exercises strong and effective leadership of the operation of the home. The manager ensures that the child’s needs are prioritised effectively and staff are well supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are dedicated, organised and caring, and they work as an effective and cohesive team. Staff are suitably qualified or working towards a recognised qualification. They receive good-quality supervision meetings to discuss the child’s care their own training and development. The communication systems are effective and consist of regular staff meetings and daily shift handovers to provide everyone with up-to-date information. This supports the child by providing a continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have training and development opportunities, with access to both internal and external training courses. This promotes the knowledge of staff to enable them to work effectively with the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff maintain effective partnerships with the family of the child, schools, social workers and other professionals to ensure that the child benefits from effective help and the best possible all-round support. Staff ensure that the needs of the child are prioritised and met effectively.

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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: 1249034 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Marcus House, Parkhall Road, Longton, Stoke on Trent ST3 5XA

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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1249034 6 inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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