Children's Home run by Thunderbolt Mobile Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 1 SC055153 Registered provider: Thunderbolt Mobile Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This service is owned by a private organisation that provides activity-based intervention for children who may be experiencing a period of difficulty or crisis.

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Information about this children’s home

Up to three individual placements for children are provided. At the time of the inspection, two children were accessing this service, one of whom was admitted during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Placements are usually short term, and they are activity-based, such as with trips on a barge or in a camping pod. A planned yet flexible programme designed to meet children’s individual needs and circumstances is agreed with placing authorities.

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Information about this children’s home

The organisation offers an education service and therapeutic support from an external contractor.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager in post.

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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: 17 November 2021

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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: SC055153 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/11/2021 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/11/2018 Full Good 13/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a flexible package of support that is responsive to their individual needs and circumstances. Working to a 12-week programme, children are provided with a range of activities that are designed to give them a positive break from chaotic lifestyles and risk-taking behaviour. The effectiveness of this approach is evident in the number of children that have regained control over their lives and moved on successfully to more permanent placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled at forming strong relationships with children quickly. They use these effectively to help children explore past behaviours and experiences and change their thinking. One child said, ‘It is great being here. Staff have helped me to think about how I can sort things out and be a better person.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Supporting children to rebuild and improve relationships with the important people in their lives is an essential part of this programme. Staff work closely with parents and carers and ensure that they are fully involved in care planning. A professional wrote, ‘[Name of child] was supported in all aspects of his care. The staff promoted family time and advocated for [name of child] to have more time at home with his friends.’ She also wrote, ‘[Name of child] stated that he felt part of a family while he was there, which is a huge endorsement for the staff.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children with poor education attendance are encouraged and supported to re- engage in learning. Staff work closely with tutors from the organisation’s school to promote a bespoke package of learning support for each child. As a result, children’s attendance improves, and they begin to make progress relative to their individual starting points.

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

Well-thought-out strategies of support are used to help children stay safe. Initially, these are based on high levels of supervision underpinned by an educational approach. Staff are good at engaging children in reflective conversations and direct work that enable them to reflect on past behaviours and make better choices going forward. As a result, children are demonstrably safer because behaviours such as going missing from home and being at risk of exploitation reduce significantly.

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

Multi-agency responses ensure that incidents of children going missing from care are managed effectively. Although infrequent, some missing-from-care episodes have spanned over several days. Staff are proactive in their efforts to locate and return the child as quickly as possible, sometimes going to great lengths to do this.

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

Staff act as positive role models and take a patient and tolerant approach to behaviour management. Praise and rewards are used well, and consequences, when used, are proportionate and fair. Physical restraint is infrequent and is always only Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 4 used as a last resort. Of the four incidents since the last inspection, the police have been required on two occasions. The manager has failed to notify Ofsted of these incidents.

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

Restraint records are of an acceptable quality. However, the manager was unable to provide evidence that the debriefs for children or staff had taken place. Furthermore, the management evaluation of these incidents is not always done within regulatory timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well run by an experienced manager who is in the process of registering with Ofsted. He is ambitious and passionate about improving the lives of the children, which is a value that is shared by his staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered address for the service is a business address and cannot accommodate children. Recognising the limitations of this arrangement, the organisation has recently acquired a property that can accommodate children. Plans are in place to move children, the manager and staff soon. This will provide a more permanent base from which to operate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children benefit from the care of an experienced and settled staff team. The manager recognises the qualities of his team, and staff are competent in their role. Induction and supervision are used effectively to maximise staff development and potential. This is strengthened by a range of mandatory and needs-led training that helps to ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to carry out their roles well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and recognises where improvements need to be made. A recent audit has identified areas for improvement, which include reorganising records to ensure that they are easily accessible. The manager is in the process of addressing this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains good oversight of staff practice, care planning and children’s progress. The biannual quality of care review is detailed and clearly focused on an improvement agenda. However, children’s view are not yet routinely captured as part of this process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Suitable action has been taken to address two of the requirements and all the recommendations from the last inspection. However, despite the improved efforts of the independent visitor, there continues to be an absence of consultation with parents and, to a lesser extent, children and staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 5

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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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 12 April 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)) 12 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person— 12 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 6 if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. (Regulation 45 (2)(b)) 12 April 2023

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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: SC055153 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Thunderbolt Mobile Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 158/160 Birkrig, Digmoor Parade, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN8 9HP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Fletcher

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Inspector

Paul Scott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 8 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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