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

Inspection report for children's home: 2685151 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 operated by a private provider. It provides care and support for one child who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties and/or have learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has recently registered with Ofsted.

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 good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 28 February 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2685151 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/11/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2685151 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is currently one child living at the home. The child has made good progress in many aspects of their life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have supported the child’s love for music. The child started learning to play two musical instruments at the start of the year and their ability to play both has improved greatly. This is something the child is extremely proud of. During the inspection, the child was heard practising and was praised for their talent by staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child with their health needs. Staff took action when the child told them they had previously been diagnosed with a lifelong medical condition. This was not documented in the records from the child’s placing authority. Appropriate action was taken by staff and the child is now accessing the correct medication and the risks associated with the condition are reduced.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have carried out work with the child concerning their use of vapes. The child has reduced their use and understands the risks associated with vaping. At the time of the inspection, staff had not considered accessing support from wider agencies to further support the child’s progress to stop vaping.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of the child spending time with family and promote this. For example, the child recently enjoyed a sleepover with their sister.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys a range of fun activities, such as going to trampoline parks, and they recently went to a concert. During the inspection, the child enjoyed putting up Halloween decorations and pumpkin carving.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a good standard. The child has chosen vinyl records to decorate the living room walls. The child’s bedroom was clean and personalised, however, the mattress on the bed was too small for the bedframe. Action was taken during inspection to purchase the correct size mattress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is not currently accessing full-time education. The alternative education provision currently being offered to the child is not sufficient. Although the manager is working with relevant professionals to address this, efforts have not yet been effective. There are several factors that are contributing to this. In the interim, staff have not always been proactive in promoting the child’s educational needs. For example, staff have not accessed educational resources recommended by the school the child is enrolled at. Inspection report for children's home: 2685151 4

p.3

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

Staff take effective action to safeguard the child. Risks to the child are known and understood by staff caring for them. Risk assessments are clear and include all known vulnerabilities for the child. These set out actions staff should take to manage risk and these are regularly reviewed to reflect the current needs of the child. This has supported staff to take appropriate action to keep the child safe when they have been missing from home.

p.4

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

The child has trusted staff they can talk to about worries or concerns. The child has discussed concerns around internet safety with staff. Staff have supported them in learning how to keep themselves safe online.

p.4

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

Staff understand the risks of child sexual exploitation. Managers ensure they review the risk of child sexual exploitation on a regular basis. This means the child is supported to develop their independence in a safe way. When concerns have been raised, staff have sought support from wider agencies to reduce risk and ensure the child is safeguarded.

p.4

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

Staff have carried out work with the child around positive and safe relationships and linked this with discussions on sexual health and consent. This means the child was able to make an informed decision around their sexual health needs.

p.4

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

Positive behaviour is promoted and the child enjoys the rewards systems used in the home. When the child becomes emotionally heightened, staff use effective de- escalation techniques and reflected on how training on this has improved their practice. Managers have taken action to ensure one staff member receives additional training, as their skills need further developing.

p.4

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

The child is supported to discuss their experiences, which has helped staff to understand the child’s triggers for behaviour. This means there has only been one incident when restrictive practice has been used to ensure the child was kept safe.

p.4

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

Managers have not ensured that all steps have been taken to follow statutory guidance on safer recruitment. Records show that attempts have not been made to verify one staff member’s references.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, a new manager has been appointed, who was recently registered with Ofsted. The manager has relevant experience and knowledge. They are supported by an enthusiastic, competent and caring deputy manager.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers provide staff with regular supervisions which are focused on children’s experiences, needs and plans. Supervisions have allowed staff to reflect on their areas for development. When areas for development have been identified, managers have been able to improve staff skills with development sessions. Inspection report for children's home: 2685151 5 Managers have good oversight of the home. This ensures they have been able to update risk assessments following incidents or changes in the child’s needs. This strengthens the safety plans in place to keep the child safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that additional training has been identified when this would benefit staff in meeting the needs of the child. For example, staff have completed additional training to support the child when they self-harm. Inspection report for children's home: 2685151 6

p.5

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.6

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

p.6

Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

p.6

Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

p.6

Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1)(a)(ii)(iii)(vi)(vii)(b)) 22 November 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2685151 7

p.6

Recommendations

◼ The registered person should ensure that when a person is employed who has previously worked in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults, they verify, so far as reasonably practicable, the reason why the employment or position ended. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) ◼ The registered person should ensure that staff access advice and support from the designated nurse for looked after children regarding the child’s use of vapes. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.8)

p.7

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: 2685151 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Prosperity Children’s Services Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Alexandra Pearson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2685151 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9