Children's home run by Care Afloat Ltd in West Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC006010 1 SC006010 Registered provider: Care Afloat Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company operates the home. The home provides care for one child with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2019.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC006010 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/05/2022 Full Good 06/05/2021 Full Good 30/01/2020 Full Good 22/08/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC006010 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff put the well-being of the child at the centre of their practice. The child told the inspector that if they have any worries or problems, they can speak to the staff and they will listen.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the child to spend time with their family, in line with their plans. This means that they can maintain relationships that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure that the child can take part in activities and hobbies they are interested in. They can choose to take part in activities with staff but they also have the opportunity to enjoy time on their own to explore the community. The child said how much they had enjoyed a recent trip to London and going skydiving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child’s health and well-being. The manager makes referrals to specialist health professionals when required. This ensures that the child can access services such as the forensic autism service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff drive the child to sixth form college each day. This has enabled the child to have excellent attendance and they are making progress with their education, in line with their set targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to develop their independence, in line with their age and individual needs. This includes them using public transport, which enables them to access the wider community. This targeted work helps to prepare them for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a child moved into the home, staff made them feel welcome. This was well planned and took into account the child’s individual circumstances. However, the referral process and assessment did not consider whether staff had the skills and experience needed to meet the child’s complex needs.

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

Behaviour support plans and risk assessments are robust documents. They are updated regularly and give clear strategies and guidance to staff. Staff understand these documents and put guidance into practice.

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

When children go missing from the home, there are clear and comprehensive plans in place for staff to follow. The manager and staff work with external professionals, such as the local police and health services. This ensures well-coordinated responses when children go missing from the home.

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

Staff manage safeguarding incidents effectively. Safeguarding records are clear. The manager has good oversight of each incident and has added her evaluation to each Inspection report for children’s home: SC006010 4 report. However, the manager’s oversight does not reflect on staff practice or identify any lessons learned.

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

There has been one occasion when it was necessary for staff to physically hold a child to keep them safe. The report is detailed and all relevant professionals were notified. The manager has evaluated the report and the child was given the opportunity for a debrief after the hold was used. However, this focused on the child’s behaviour and did not ensure that the child understood the reason that a hold was necessary. In addition to this, there is no recorded debrief for staff to show that they were spoken to following the use of restraint.

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

Staff take time to talk with the child. They routinely talk through a range of different important topics, with further discussion when needed. They cover topics relevant to the child’s individual needs, such as understanding risk and learning independence. External professionals deliver some more complex sessions. The manager and staff support these sessions and ensure that relevant information is shared with these professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a qualified and experienced manager in post. The manager knows the children well. She has an ambitious vision for the development of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are procedures in place for the monitoring and review of the home. The manager makes effective use of internal and external monitoring systems. These ensure that she has oversight and can identify and address any issues. However, the quality of care review does not evaluate the impact of the care on the child. The review does not identify clear and measurable actions to ensure continuous improvement to the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work proactively and positively with other agencies and professionals. This includes working with the counter terrorism team, youth offending team and the placing authority. They seek to build effective working relationships to secure positive outcomes for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a consistent staff team in place. This ensures that the child is looked after by staff who know them. Staff are qualified and have mandatory and additional training to meet the child’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes staff appraisals annually, ensuring staff are suitable for their role. Supervisions take place monthly but are not practice related. They do not enable staff to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children. This is a missed individual learning opportunity for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended and are held monthly. They cover topics which are relevant to the current matters arising in the home. The manager uses this meeting as a learning and development opportunity for staff. Meetings are sometimes Inspection report for children’s home: SC006010 5 attended by the child’s allocated therapist. This means staff benefit from training on child-specific issues. Inspection report for children’s home: SC006010 6

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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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children receive a debrief following a restraint so they understand why a hold was used. In addition to this, staff must also have the opportunity to discuss the hold, and its effectiveness should be evaluated. 28 September

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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

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (2)(a)(x)) 28 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC006010 7 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that there is a clear action plan to improve or maintain the quality of care provided and that the report is evaluative. 28 September

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure there are procedures in place for welcoming and introducing each child to the home, and that they are sensitive to the needs of the child at the time of arrival. This should include a plan to identify if the staff team has the skills and experience to meet that child’s individual needs, before the child moves into the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.7)

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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: SC006010 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Afloat Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 158-160 Birkrig, Digmoor Parade, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN8 9HP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Fletcher

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Inspector

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC006010 9 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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