Children's Home run by Prosperity Children’s Services Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2701412 1 Registered provider: Prosperity Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and run, and it provides care for up to two children. The home provides care for children with social and emotional needs.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child lived at the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2023, when the home was registered.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2701412 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home and one child had moved out. The child in the home was spoken to by the inspectors and said that they are happy. They had only moved into the home the day before but was observed to positively engage with staff.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care from a stable and committed staff team. They are supported to build trusting relationships with staff, who care about them. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging, which underpins the progress they make.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make some progress with regard to accessing education, engagement with staff and accessing positive activities. However, progress for children is limited due to the length of time they have spent at the home.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain positive relationships with their families and friends. Consequently, children maintain their family identity and are able to have relationships with people who are important to them.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have access to education. Where children are not accessing formal learning in school, staff provide a tutor. This helps prevent children missing out on education.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals are positive about the support children get to develop their independence skills. One social worker told inspectors that they were impressed with support received in relation to money management and shopping.

p.2

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

When children have been missing from home, there is a well-coordinated response from staff to try and ensure that children return to the home safely. Staff actively look for children in the local community, and contact their relatives, social worker and police.

p.2

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

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They know what to do in a range of different safeguarding scenarios and know how to keep children safe. When concerns are raised, staff undertake direct work with children to help them understand the risks posed to them.

p.2

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

One child spoken to has talked about how their first impressions of the home have been positive. Staff have made the child feel welcomed. This means that the child’s initial experiences of being in care have been positive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2701412 3 Staff record information about children that details their experiences of living in the home. However, some children’s records are not clear. A recommendation is made to address this.

p.2

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

Staff are trained to meet the needs of children and to keep children safe. When risks change, staff are supported to access additional training. This means that children are cared for by staff who are trained to keep them safe.

p.3

good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. The manager is committed to improving outcomes for children in his care. However, the manager has submitted his resignation. Despite this, senior leaders have plans in place for the home to have management oversight in place until a new permanent manager is recruited.

p.3

good

Staff report that they feel supported by the manager, that they have regular supervision and that they find this to be beneficial. In relation to how they are supported by the manager, one staff member said, ‘He is ace – really approachable; and you can ask him anything.’

p.3

good

Since the home opened, the manager has only had one supervision. This falls outside of the homes statement of purpose with regard to how often staff are provided with formal supervision. A requirement is made to address this.

p.3

good

One child’s placing authority has given the home notice and the child has moved out. Another child has moved into the home during this notice period. This has an impact on the contingency planning for the child who moved out of the home. This means that leaders and managers have not fully considered the children’s individual care plans.

p.3

good

When complaints have been made, there has been a prompt and detailed response from the manager. The manager has provided written responses to complaints, which include any action taken by him to resolve the complaint. This means that issues that arise are quickly addressed.

p.3

good

Where concerns for children are raised, the manager has informed Ofsted. However, there were significant delays in Ofsted being informed about an allegation made against a staff member. This limits the regulators oversight of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2701412 4

p.3

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.

p.4

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.4

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.4

Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(c))

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that clear contingency plans are in place for children when notice has been served. 21 September 2023

p.4

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—

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.4

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a))

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the registered manager receives regular supervision from the responsible individual. 21 September 2023

p.4

Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— 21 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2701412 5 seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (1)(a))

p.4

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that each child’s placing authority is informed when a child moves into the home.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.5

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 21 September 2023

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.5

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: 2701412 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Prosperity Children’s Services Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 8 Venus House, Altham Business Park, Altham, Accrington BB5 5BY

p.6

Inspectors

Helen Fee, Social Care Inspector Rob Neild, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2701412 7 regulates 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.

p.6

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7