Children's Home run by Barracare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2647022 1 Registered provider: Barracare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to four children. The statement of purpose states that the home provides the children with a safe and nurturing environment where they can reside comfortably and build a platform to grow and develop into young adults.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2021.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 2647022 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2647022 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a team of staff who understand their individual needs. The staff are passionate about the care of the children, which helps staff and children to form trusting relationships. A child said, ‘The staff really do care for us and make sure we are okay. They make me feel important.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consultation with children is consistently promoted. Key workers work collaboratively to ensure that the views and opinions of children are reflected in the care provided in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is suitably monitored, and medication is securely stored.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for in accordance with the PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) model of care. The focus of care is to enable the children to express themselves through play and exploration in a safe, secure and caring environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Regular key-work sessions take place with children. These sessions are fully recorded and address issues such as feelings, separation and anxieties. However, the records do not include the children’s reviews of the work undertaken with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are provided with a range of activities and are supported to celebrate religious and cultural festivals from across the world. This enables the children to learn about other cultures and beliefs and provides a good opportunity for children to try out different foods.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Toys, games and age-appropriate books are available throughout the home. The children enjoy story time in the evening and reading books with the staff. This routine has supported them to become settled in their education and make impressive progress in school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote ‘green care’. This involves outdoor activities ranging from daytime camping, den building, fishing and long walks in the nearby woods. A staff member said, ‘Fresh air, exercise and fun are crucial for a child’s development and support positive mental health.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and clean and provides ample space for children. The home has benefited from the development of a children’s zone, also known as ‘the snug’. This new space has proved to be ideal for key-work sessions, gaming, story time and creative arts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms require further development. Although some repairs have been made, damage is still evident in the home. Furthermore, bedroom windows do not have coverings, such as blinds or nets, to support children’s general privacy. Inspection report for children’s home: 2647022 4

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

Overall, individual risk assessments take account of children’s lived experiences and draw attention to potential triggers for challenging behaviours and the strategies in place to manage them. Most assessments are updated and are relevant to the current concerns for the child. However, risk assessments are not updated for children who are currently living with their family members, having refused to return to the home. This means that steps to reduce or manage potential risks are not in place to guide the staff should a concern arise. The registered manager must ensure that interim arrangements for the children’s care and protection are in place until formal decisions are made.

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

Detailed assessments that consider the risks associated with the children living together are completed for all children. The assessments help to ensure that children are matched appropriately to the home, that their needs can be met by the staff and children who come into the home complement children who already live there.

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

The day-to-day care of children is focused on praise, fun, exploration and the promotion of play. Overall, challenging behaviours are quickly diverted using agreed distraction techniques.

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

Staff are trained in the use of holding a child to keep them safe. This strategy is rarely used because the staff are in tune with the children and quickly help them to become calm using the agreed de-escalation techniques. When a hold has been required, it has been brief, fully documented and followed by a debrief with the child and staff members.

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

Records of children who have been reported as absent or missing from the home are confusing. This is because the home records a child’s absence even when it is agreed. However, the records demonstrate that swift action is taken to implement the missing-from-home policy in the event of a child being missing from the home.

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

Children are provided with age-appropriate information, including the children’s guide, the house rules and support information should they wish to speak to an adviser independently of the service.

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good

The registered manager is passionate about the care and support offered to the children living in the home. She fully embraces the day-to-day routine for the children and immerses herself in their overall support and care. However, in doing so, the registered manager has taken on a carer’s role. This has resulted in a lack of management oversight and appropriate decision-making when concerns arise. Inspection report for children’s home: 2647022 5 The registered manager demonstrated a lack of confidence in escalating concerns to the local authority and challenging their inaction and lack of response. Furthermore, the registered manager has failed to take decisive action to ensure that interim arrangements are secured for two children who are currently living away from the home.

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good

The home is in need of aesthetic repair and decoration. Some furnishings are damaged and require replacement. In addition, children’s bedrooms lack privacy as a result of having no window coverings or obscure glass.

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good

Notifications are not consistently provided to Ofsted in accordance with regulation. This means that the regulatory body is not kept informed of serious or significant incidents or how they have been managed.

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good

The registered manager monitors the care provided in the home and ensures that the staff working with the children are safe to do so. However, when concerns are identified, there are no records to demonstrate the action taken to address them.

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good

The home employs a committed and enthusiastic staff team. Three staff are qualified at diploma level, and three staff are enrolled on this training. Staff are trained in the PACE model of care and receive ongoing training, including both mandatory and relevant online training.

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good

Staff receive support from the registered manager and deputy manager. Formal supervision sessions take place regularly, and informal support is available daily. A staff member said, ‘The management is very good. We all have good support. It is a great place to work.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2647022 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

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

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;

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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)(c)(d)) 10 February 2023

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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; 10 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2647022 7 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(b))

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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;

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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

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 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

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)(e)(f)(h)) 10 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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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. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)) 10 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2647022 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is prompt and professional repairs made to the home, such as fixing damage to the walls. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that items that are damaged, such as wardrobes and curtain poles, are replaced as soon as possible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.24)  The registered person should ensure that children are encouraged to read their records and add further information to them. Children should be regularly reminded of their rights to see information kept about them and be given information about how they might be supported to access their records in later life. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 14.6)  The registered person should ensure that children’s personal spaces, which are

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Recommendations

usually their bedrooms, have appropriate window coverings to ensure that the children’s privacy is supported and protected. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.18)

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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: 2647022 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Limes, Barkerhouse Road, Nelson, Lancashire BB9 9NL

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Inspector

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2647022 10 regulates and 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 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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