Children's home run by SBL CARE SERVICES (UK) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2702084 1 Registered provider: SBL Care Services (UK) 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 is registered to care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a registered manager who has been in post since the home opened in November 2022. This is the first inspection of the home.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The child spoke with the inspector about their experience of living at the home.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2702084 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have good relationships with the child. Staff know the child well, listen to their views and promote their welfare. The staff promote a range of activities and experiences in line with the child’s individual interests. This means the child has enjoyed experiences such as snowboarding, swimming, guitar club and trips to museums and aquariums. These activities include opportunities to meet and mix with peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff maintain a homely environment. The child has personalised their bedroom and other areas of the home, as well as having built and painted planters for the garden. This has allowed the child to make the home their own.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health needs are well met. The staff understand the range of presenting health needs and there is a clear plan to meet them. The child’s routine and specialist health appointments are supported by the staff team. Staff provide support to the child to understand the importance of going to these appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child regularly sees their family. Staff help to arrange extended time with family for special occasions. The manager and staff have good relationships with the child’s family and communicate regularly with them. Staff ensure that family members are aware of the child’s progress and any developments at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is learning and making good progress with their education. When a school place has not been available, staff have ensured that education remains a priority by arranging tutoring in the home. The manager and staff liaised effectively with all relevant education professionals and ensured that an appropriate school place was identified, just before the start of the summer holidays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff implement clear and fair boundaries for the child. When boundaries do not have a positive impact on behaviour, the staff team reflects and makes changes in line with the individual needs of the child. This has resulted in a reduction in the number of incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the child well. They are aware of the situations in which the child may need additional support and know how to help the child deal with some challenging emotions. Staff support the child to manage their feelings and provide time and support for them to reflect on how they feel after any incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff teach the child about risks in the community and how to keep themselves safe. However, the child does not have opportunities to use these skills in practice and to develop their own independence. Therefore, a requirement has been made in relation to this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2702084 3

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

Staff understand the risks to the child. Risk management plans are clear and contains positive strategies for staff to use.

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

The staff team promotes positive behaviour consistently. Their approach is underpinned by clear planning and guidance, regular team discussions and robust handover processes. This helps the child to feel safe and secure in the home and with the staff responses to any situation. Staff respond to incidents well. The staff record the incidents clearly and there is the opportunity for staff and the child to reflect afterwards.

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

Staff have addressed key concerns, such as online safety and vulnerability to exploitation. Staff complete work with the child so that they understand the concerns, which has increased the child’s knowledge of how to keep themselves safe.

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

There have been no missing-from-home episodes. There is a clear policy in place to ensure that an episode of the child going missing would be appropriately managed. Staff know where to locate this guidance in the home.

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

There have not been any physical interventions. Staff are appropriately trained in the event these are necessary. Staff carry out room searches sensitively, with the child being present while searches are carried out.

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

The home environment is safe. The manager uses a number of systems to identify any concerns arising in the home, which are responded to promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high expectations for the child and the standards of care expected for the child. The manager ensures that staff record even relatively minor incidents, so they can be used as opportunities to learn. This ensures that there is continual improvement in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The child feels safe to challenge staff and leaders. When asked what they would do if they wished to complain about the manager, the child said, ‘I would tell him to his face. He would do something about it.’ The child has confidence that their concerns would be listened to and responded to by the manager. The child is aware of other ways to make a complaint if the manager is not available.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides a supportive environment for the staff team. Supervision is regular and reflective. Staff say they feel supported by the manager. The manager is available to staff and flexible to support the staff team . Staff appraisals are undertaken every six months, during which staff and the manager reflect on progress and identify any support and development needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2702084 4 Staff are well trained to meet the needs of the child. They have completed all mandatory training. The manager has identified additional training for staff to meet the individual needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional relationships between the manager and external professionals are good. External professionals report that the staff are organised, communicative and welcoming. The manager regularly seeks feedback from external professionals and uses this feedback to make improvements in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home. There are a number of monitoring systems in place to prevent shortfalls and allow for the manager to take effective action. An independent person visits the home regularly. The manager reviews the independent person’s report and shares this with the staff in team meetings. This allows the staff team as a whole to understand any required action.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes their own review of the quality of care, which includes external feedback. However, the review does not include the views of the staff. A recommendation has been made in relation to this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2702084 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who —

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the child is learning skills to prepare them for independence. 28 September

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Recommendation

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. Specifically, the manager should ensure that they capture the views of the staff team. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children’s home: 2702084 6

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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: 2702084 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SBL Care Services (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Jones Harris Limited, 17 St Peters Place, Fleetwood FY7 6EB

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Inspector

Sarah Huntbatch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2702084 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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