Children's home run by ABC Care and Education Ltd in Lancaster

Inspection report for children’s home: SC443765 1 SC443765 Registered provider: ABC Care and Education Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to care for three children who may experience emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2018.

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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: 1 December 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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good

# Inspection report for children’s home: SC443765 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/12/2021 Full Good 16/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/01/2019 Full Good 05/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC443765 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make measurable progress from their starting points. They are able to identify areas where they have made progress. In relation to this, one child said, ‘Since living here, my behaviour has got better; I don’t get as angry as I used to.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are positive about the experiences they have had while living at the home. Children talked enthusiastically to the inspector about going on holiday abroad, accessing local community groups and making new friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm, welcoming and homely environment. The home is decorated to a high standard, in line with children’s wishes and feelings. Important memories are captured in photos and proudly displayed throughout the home. This enables children to feel involved and build a sense of belonging in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to have contact and rebuild relationships with key people in their lives. This enables children to maintain important relationships and supports their sense of family identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s plans are clear, individualised and updated regularly. When updates are made, staff sign and date the documents to reflect that they are aware of changes. This means that staff are up to date with the plans for children, and children receive a continuity of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access education, and they implement additional educational support when needed. When there have been issues with children accessing education, staff provide appropriate challenge to the local authority. This has enabled children to continue to access education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External professionals are happy with how children are cared for in the home. One social worker said, ‘The standard of care is exceptionally high at this home. The placement has a real family environment, which I think, especially with the smaller children, is really important.’

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

Children say that they feel safe living in the home. Children told the inspector that they are confident in sharing any worries or concerns with the staff team. Regular children’s meetings and key-work sessions mean that children are consulted with, and they can share any concerns.

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

Since the last inspection, the local area risk assessment has been updated. This now incorporates potential risks in the local area that were discussed at the last inspection. As such, the recommendation that was previously made for this has been met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC443765 4 Children are supported with clear and consistent boundaries from the staff team. Children are helped to understand the impact of their behaviours, and proportionate boundaries are put in place. Consequently, children’s risk-taking behaviours and the frequency of incidents have decreased.

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

When there are incidents, staff follow protocols to keep children safe. Documentation for incidents is clear and easy to follow. However, images of one child’s injuries were recorded in another child’s file. A recommendation has been made in relation to this.

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

There has been one occasion when a child was missing from home. Staff reported the child as missing to the police. Staff were proactive and searched the local area, and the child was found and returned home. When discussing the way the children are safeguarded, one police officer said, ‘From all of the children’s homes I work with, this is one the police cannot find fault with, and this has remained consistent.’

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

In the last year, three new members of staff have joined the home. A well- embedded recruitment process is in place to ensure that new staff are suitable to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a confident, passionate and child-focused registered manager. The manager is supported by a deputy manager. Together, they promote a culture which emphasises making the home feel as close to family life as possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers and staff talk positively about the children in their care. The manager refers to the children as ‘our children’ and speaks about them in an aspirational manner. This helps to reinforce to children that they have key people in their lives who care for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is carefully considering the impact of moving another child into the home. Although no children have moved in, there have been requests from local authorities. One local authority said, ‘We have tried to make a few additional placements, and they have always said no, which shows they have [name of child’s] best interests at heart.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When new staff start working at the home, they are well supported through a clear induction programme. Staff are provided with regular, up-to-date training, and they report that this improves their practice. This means that children are provided with care by staff who are well trained and supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they enjoy working at the home due to the support provided by the management team. Staff receive regular one-to-one supervision, all of which is up to date. This allows staff the opportunity to reflect on their practice and explore areas for further development. There are also regular team meetings, daily handovers and daily reflections between staff. This practice ensures that key Inspection report for children’s home: SC443765 5 information is communicated among the staff team, providing children with continuity of care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC443765 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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Recommendation

 The registered person should be familiar with the home’s policies on record- keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. This is specifically in relation to ensuring that children’s records do not include images of other children from the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC443765 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: ABC Care and Education Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: International House, 61 Mosley Street, Manchester M2 3HZ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Kennedy

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Inspector

Rob Neild, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC443765 8 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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