Children's home run by Connect Care Solutions Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2642400 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 privately owned home provides care for one child with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, the interim manager was on annual leave, therefore the responsible individual supported the inspection. The interim manager has submitted an application to Ofsted to become the registered manager.

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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: 7 February 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2642400 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2642400 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, one child had been living in the home for a year. The child said that they were happy living in their home. They also said that they like the adults caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff and the child are based on mutual respect and dignity. Staff provide care and help which is sensitive to the child’s needs. This helps the child to develop a sense of their own identity while increasing their emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to eat a healthy and balanced diet. The child also takes part in activities and regularly goes walking, and recently did a fun run for the first time. This helps to promote the child’s physical and emotional health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to stay in contact with their family and other adults who are important to them. Staff take the child long distances to support family time, which includes going out on activities together. This helps the child to maintain and strengthen relationships with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with education providers to pursue opportunities for the child. As a result, the child now attends a training programme daily. This helps the child to develop skills for employment. It also means that the child now has a clear structure to their week.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carry out regular key-work sessions with the child. This includes discussions about relationships, staying safe and personal health. The child also completes a wide range of issue-based training online as part of their education. This promotes their understanding of risks and staying safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to add to their personal memory book. This includes photos of their activities and experiences. It also contributes to the child’s history and life-story work and enables them to reflect on their achievements.

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

Staff work closely with statutory agencies to promote multi-agency working. The child’s social worker said, ‘Their strongest points have been around advocating the child’s needs and ensuring their safety.’

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

All staff know how to respond if the child is missing from home. The child tells staff where they are and when they are going to return home. As a result, there have not been any recent missing-from-home incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: 2642400 4 Staff support the child to develop independent living skills, including shopping, cooking and budgeting. However, staff struggle to support the child to keep their bedroom clean and tidy. This detracts from the home being a nurturing environment for the child.

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

Managers recently simplified the child’s risk assessment so that it was easier to understand. This ensures that staff know the risks associated with the child and how to keep them safe. Staff also talk to the child about specific dangers, such as online harms. This helps the child to identify dangers in their life and reduce the risk of harm.

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

Managers do not consistently report serious incidents to Ofsted within the required timescale. This means the regulator has no initial oversight of what action staff take to keep the child safe.

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

Staff are trained to de-escalate incidents, and to only use physical intervention as a last resort. As a result, staff have not used any physical interventions. This helps staff to maintain a safe and positive relationship with the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An interim manager was appointed to the home in January 2023. They continue to review care practices with the responsible individual. The improvements made since the last inspection were noticeable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff now receive regular supervision and feel fully supported in their roles. However, staff supervision minutes do not provide evidence that staff reflect on their practice or the needs of the child. Staff also receive an annual appraisal; however, this does not include the views of the child or external professionals. This limits staff’s progress and may affect the quality of care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular team meetings to share good practice. One member of staff said, ‘As a team we work well together and we are good at talking to each other. Handovers are now much better.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend training to develop their skills and knowledge. This helps them to understand the child’s needs and to provide better care for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the responsible individual has introduced a new monitoring and audit system. However, there is no evidence that the manager has used this or completed monthly audits. This limits the interim manager’s oversight of the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff know how to whistle-blow if they have concerns regarding adults working with the child. This helps senior managers to respond swiftly to investigate allegations against staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2642400 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, 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 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

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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that staff help the child to maintain their bedroom so that it is a safe and healthy environment for them to live in. 6 July 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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(e)) 6 July 2023

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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 6 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2642400 6 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff receive supervision which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the child assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals include the views of the child living in the home, and the views of external professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: 2642400 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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Inspectors

Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2642400 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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