Children's home run by Applecast Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2632727 1 Registered provider: Applecast Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for two children. The home provides short- term emergency, respite and bridging placements to allow the local authority time to decide on the most appropriate long-term provision for children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 16 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 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: 22 February 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: 2632727 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2632727 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a stable and consistent staff team. This supports strong relationships built on trust and affection. Staff put in place clear boundaries for children and help them to make progress in many areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience positive and well-planned moves into the home. They visit the home before they move in and meet the staff team. Staff consider children’s wishes and feelings before they move in. One child said, ‘The staff helped me when I first came here, and I was able to learn about the home before I moved in.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and modern. It is located in a unique setting, surrounded by fisheries, farm animals and gardens. One child said that the setting helps them to relax. However, inside the home, one of the communal areas has a shelf with office files on it. This detracts from it being a homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access a broad range of activities in and around the home. This promotes adventure and new skills. One child learned how to look after livestock, while staff supported another child to enrol on a full-time music project. This means that children take part in regular positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to become more independent. Children learn to manage their finances and prepare their own meals. They also learn to manage their own personal care needs. These new independence skills help to build confidence and prepare children for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to enjoy time with their family and friends. This helps children to build positive relationships while developing their social and emotional skills. As a result, one child occasionally stays overnight with their family and is forming good relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with education. Staff work with providers to give children access to learning opportunities. However, children’s files do not consistently include up-to-date education plans. This means that staff are not fully aware of children’s current education plans and targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aware of children’s health needs. They encourage children to attend health appointments and help them to overcome any concerns they may have. Staff also help children with eating a healthy and balanced diet.

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

There have not been any incidents of children going missing from home in the reporting period. Staff understand how to respond if a child does go missing from Inspection report for children’s home: 2632727 4 home and know how to access the child’s missing-from-home protocol. This gives staff a clear process to follow if a child is missing from home.

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

Risk management plans are clear and provide staff with strategies to reduce risk of harm to children. However, plans do not include all known risks. This can lead to inconsistent responses to children’s needs.

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

Leaders and managers listen to children and help them to reflect on incidents. This promotes children’s self-awareness and helps them to manage their behaviour. This helps to prevent incidents from reoccurring.

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

Staff use de-escalation techniques to help children manage their behaviour. Furthermore, staff encourage children to talk openly about any concerns they may have. This reduces the need for physical intervention and ensures that staff maintain positive relationships with children. One child said, ‘I like living here, it’s a good area and I feel safe. The staff are great.’

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

Staff use key-work sessions to educate children in staying safe. This includes discussions relating to online harms and how children can stay safe online. This is helping children to build their online resilience.

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

The manager has completed a location risk assessment. This helps the staff team to identify, understood and manage risks to children in the local area. It also helps the manager to assess children’s suitability to live in the home and how to keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well managed, by an experienced and qualified manager. They work closely with the independent person and follow the recommendations from their monthly reports. This helps to develop practice and improve outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel fully supported by their leaders and managers. Staff have regular supervision and focus on children’s needs and progress. Supervision also enables staff to discuss safeguarding concerns with their manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular training to improve their skills and personal development. However, not all staff receive training to help them respond to children’s specific needs. This means that one child’s needs are not fully met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monthly team meetings for staff help them to provide consistent levels of care for children. The meetings also help them to share good practice and support one another. One member of staff said, ‘It is a supportive staff team and a great environment to work in.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers conduct annual appraisals with staff. Staff reflect on their work and set targets for the year ahead. However, appraisals do not include the views of children or key individuals. This limits their effectiveness. Inspection report for children’s home: 2632727 5 Managers follow up and escalate concerns if responses from local authorities are not satisfactory. This means that managers advocate on behalf of children and promote their best interests. Inspection report for children’s home: 2632727 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, the 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 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

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)(x))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that children’s education plans are kept up to date and are accessible to children and staff. 28 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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern 28 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2632727 7 about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that when risks are identified in relation to children, relevant plans are updated and appropriate support is provided to the child to increase their safety.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that staff attend substance misuse training to ensure that they have the skills to meet the needs of children. 28 February 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals include the views of other professionals who have worked with staff over the year, and the views of children who have been cared for at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that all areas of the home provide a homely and domestic environment that meets the needs of its children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2632727 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Eco Centre, Cobbs Brow Lane, Newburgh, Wigan WN8 7SF

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Inspectors

Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Jennifer Quest, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2632727 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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