Children's Home run by Contemporary Concept Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2639649 1 Registered provider: Contemporary Concept Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to two children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a registered manager in post. She registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2639649 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/01/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2639649 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, three children have moved into the home and two children has moved out of the home. Staff visit children before they move into the home, and when they have moved in, staff help the children feel welcome. One child said, ‘They came to visit me; this helped as I knew the staff before I arrived. I was able to see my bedroom, and they asked if there was anything I wanted.’

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with relevant health services. Staff support children with their individual health needs. However, when a child refused to take medication, staff did not educate the child about the potential dangers of missing medication and the impact this could have on their health.

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improvement to be good

Children make variable progress with their education. One child is attending school three days a week and is making progress. A child who recently left the home was not in full-time education. Recording in one child’s education plan is unclear about any alternative plans for the child when the child does not attend school on a full- time basis.

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improvement to be good

Children living in the home feel able to talk to staff about any worries they have. Both children know how to make a complaint. Staff speak highly of children and offer them a nurturing home environment. One professional stated, ‘Staff work hard to develop positive and trusting relationships. Staff maintain clear and consistent boundaries.’ This helps children feel settled.

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improvement to be good

Children engage in activities with staff. One child has a keen interest in roller-skating and enjoys going to the local roller rink each week.

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improvement to be good

Children are not receiving good enough help and protection, but there are no serious failures that leave them either being harmed or at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff who were spoken to were unable to identify children’s vulnerabilities. This does not help staff to support children and help them to stay safe. Children’s risk assessments are in place, which identify actions that staff need to take. However, when risk assessments are updated, there are no clear processes in place to inform staff. This limits the effectiveness of safeguarding practices in the home.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing from home are rare. However, responses from staff need to improve to ensure that there is a consistent response to protect children when they are missing from the home. One child has been missing from home on two occasions, and the response from staff was inconsistent. On the Inspection report for children’s home: 2639649 4 second occasion, staff did not report the child as missing from home in line with procedures. Therefore, the child was at risk of potential harm in the community.

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improvement to be good

Inspectors identified inaccuracies in two records of safeguarding incidents. Records in relation to one incident did not include that a child made an allegation against a member of staff. However, records do demonstrate what action was taken although inaccuracies in the detail limits the manager’s ability to evaluate the incident effectively so the manager and staff can review what happened to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Incidents in relation to one child have reduced. This is positive progress and demonstrates that the support from staff has helped the child make significant progress. The child stated, ‘It’s the best home I’ve ever lived; staff are supporting me.’

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good

There is a registered manager in post. The manager and staff are aspirational for children and want to help children make progress from their individual starting points.

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good

Staff report they feel supported by the manager and enjoy working in the home. Supervision is held on a regular basis, and staff report that this is helpful. However, records from one member of staff’s supervision do not demonstrate clear actions to improve areas of practice.

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good

Staff complete a range of online training. However, one member of staff completed 12 training courses on the same day. This is not effective and does not give the member of staff the opportunity to reflect on any learning. Staff told inspectors that they would benefit from face-to-face training to support their development.

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good

Monitoring and review systems are not robust. For example, reports completed by the independent visitor are not consistently sent to the regulator. Reports provide insufficient detail to help to develop practice in the home. Consequently, the quality of care provided for children is not reviewed effectively.

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good

Staff rosters demonstrate that appropriate staffing levels are in place to support children’s individual needs. However, rosters do not demonstrate a clear record of all staff working at the home.

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good

Some of the doors in the home are locked at certain times to comply with a court- directed order. The home’s evacuation plan has not been updated to consider this sufficiently and any impact on the other children living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2639649 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

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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from 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)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d)) 14 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2639649 6 This relates to the registered person ensuring that staff follow the procedures that are in place for each child. Staff should be clear about the vulnerabilities of children. Staff should access training that is fit for purpose to provide them with the required skills to identify signs that a child may be at risk of harm. Staff should support children to understand risks following incidents and when they refuse medication.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This is a repeat requirement. 14 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response;

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Requirement Due date

describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

describe how and to whom staff are to report, without delay, any concern about abuse or neglect of a child.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 34 (1)(b)(d)(e)(f) 14 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2639649 7 In particular the registered person should ensure that any allegations made by children are recorded. The registered person should ensure that staff understand what to do if a child makes an allegation.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that any allegations made by children are recorded. The registered person should ensure that staff understand what to do if a child makes an allegation.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(b)) 14 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that rotas include the full names of all staff, including agency staff, and actual hours worked. 14 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (5) (7)(a)) 14 September 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children have accesses to full-time education. When children are on a reduced timetable, staff should ensure that they are supported to access educational activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15) Inspection report for children’s home: 2639649 8 Inspection report for children’s home: 2639649 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: 2639649 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Contemporary Concept Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7 Wyndham Close, Eastham, Wirral CH62 0DH

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Inspectors

Kayleigh Treanor, Social Care Inspector Mandy Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2639649 11 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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