Children's Home run by Connect Care Solutions Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 1 Registered provider: Connect Care Solutions Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to two children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in October 2022.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is very comfortable and homely as the manager and staff have made a significant effort to give it a family feel. Children’s rooms are personalised, and there are photos of the children all around the house, as they would be in a family home. This helps children to feel comfortable and relaxed when they are at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have fun and enjoy a range of activities. This includes days out at theme parks and visiting a staff member’s horse and helping to care for it. Children enjoy cooking with staff and having pamper nights. This helps the children to build positive relationships with staff and broaden their experiences, which will build their confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school, are learning and making good progress from their starting points. Staff are ambitious for children and support them to attend and do well in their education. A staff member from one of the children’s schools said, ‘They [the staff] are brilliant, helpful and very receptive to new ideas.’ Good communication between staff and school supports children so that they make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to actively participate in day-to-day decisions about their lives, such as what they would like to eat and what activities they would like to do. Children have access to the records kept about them in the home, if appropriate. This means that children have a sense of taking ownership and control of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to complete age-appropriate independence work, such as learning to cook and budgeting. These are helping them to prepare for their adult lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to invite friends and family back to their home to stay for meals. Staff will also support children to go to see family members in their home areas. This promotes a sense of belonging and helps them to retain their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A child had vapes in their bedroom. This is not appropriate and does not promote a healthy lifestyle. Once this was identified at the inspection, staff took action to remove them quickly.

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

Children’s individual risks are identified and understood. The risk assessments are dynamic and staff update them regularly. This helps them to see that children’s risks are reducing over time.

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

There have been no episodes of the children going missing since they have lived at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 4 There has only been one incident where staff have had to intervene physically to keep children safe. This incident was managed well by staff, and debriefs were recorded with both of the children and staff. Staff completed mediation work with the two children to support them to repair their relationship.

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

Children’s behaviour is managed well with lots of incentives and positives. Children are allowed to take age-appropriate risks. A child said, ‘This is the best children’s home I have been in.’

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

The provider completes safer recruitment checks to ensure that staff are appropriate to care for children. Some staff members’ previous employment history warranted additional checks to gain a fuller picture of their experience and background.

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good

There are sensors on the external doors of the home that are used at night so that staff can hear if the doors are opened. It is important that any equipment used to monitor children should be contained in the home’s statement of purpose and agreed with the children’s placing authority.

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good

The manager’s monitoring had omissions. Some paperwork completed by a member of staff contained incorrect information. This had not been reviewed and rectified by the manager.

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good

The manager has an ambitious vision for the home and high expectations for the children. He has worked hard to build positive relationships with the children and the staff. This means that children’s confidence in the relationships in the home have started to improve.

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good

Staff training is thorough, and all staff have participated in mandatory training, which is both face to face and online. Supervision is regular and of good quality. It provides plenty of opportunity for staff to reflect on their work with the children. Team meetings are regular, and staff discuss their plans and ambitions for the children. This helps to ensure that everyone caring for the children are consistent in their approach so that the children’s boundaries are clear and they feel secure.

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good

The manager has challenged partner agencies when he has felt that their response to the child’s situation is not appropriate. This ensures that children are receiving the services that they need.

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good

The manager demonstrated that he had completed an in-depth risk assessment to ensure that the staff are experienced and receive the appropriate training and support to help them to meet the children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 5

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Statutory requirement

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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

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Requirement Due date

delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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 (3) (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose is reviewed regularly and includes the use of any equipment to monitor the children, and that placing authorities are aware that they are used.

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Requirement Due date

Also, the registered person should keep oversight of tasks, such as the Annex A, which are allocated to other members of staff to ensure that they are completed accurately. 19 May 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are supported to be healthy, and be aware of the dangers of smoking and vaping and that they are discouraged from using vapes in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, paragraph 7.18, page 35) Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 6  The registered person should ensure that recruitment practices minimise potential risk to children. This includes completing additional background checks when a staff member’s employment history warrants it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, paragraph 13.1, page 61)

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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: 2694539 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Connect Care Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Victoria Road East, Thornton Cleveleys FY5 5HT

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 8 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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