Children's Home run by Cherish Children’s Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2547761 1 Registered provider: Cherish Childrens Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider operates this home. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2023.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Date of last inspection: 24 January 2023

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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: 2547761 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/01/2023 Full Good 17/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2547761 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a management and staff team that knows the children well. Social care and education professionals confirmed that children’s needs are understood and children progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote education in line with children’s interests and abilities. Some children are attending full-time education. However, not all the children access formal education or educational activities in school time. This means that some of the children are missing opportunities to learn and to socialise with peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see their families, in line with their care plans. Staff take the children to see family members. Family time is important for children’s identity and sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and take part in enjoyable activities with the children. Children have been on holidays and day trips. They celebrate special times of the year. Children play with staff and have fun. This helps them to build positive childhood memories and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the individual health needs of children. Some children require medical and specialist dental treatment. Staff ensure that the right treatment plans are in place to meet these health needs. Children are healthy and healthy living is promoted. Staff support children to develop independence skills. They teach children to cook their meals, manage a budget and make their own appointments. This means that children learn skills to care for themselves. The home is warm and welcoming. Children who are new to the home have not decided how their bedrooms will be decorated. This means that their rooms are not yet personalised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One of the children said that they did not know how to make a complaint. This means that if they are unhappy about their care, they do not know how to ask for this to be changed.

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improvement to be good

Following the last inspection, the home went through a period of instability. This is because staff were unable to manage some children’s risk-taking behaviours. This led to several significant safeguarding incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: 2547761 4 Not all safeguarding incidents were reported accurately to the regulator. This does not enable the regulator to have clear oversight of actions to manage safeguarding incidents. Recently, the home has experienced a sustained period of stability. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. This shows that children want to be in the home and with the staff. Behaviour management is good. Staff help children to understand their emotions and manage their behaviours. One social worker said, ‘[Name of child] is much calmer, always in good spirits. He is neat and clean. He is safe and well supervised.’ Safeguarding records are not always clear. There are some inconsistencies in the

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improvement to be good

recording and reporting of incidents. Managers failed to analyse safeguarding incidents. This means that lessons were not learned, and mistakes were repeated. This led to children being at risk of significant harm. Staff complete regular health and safety checks and fire drills. This ensures that the children live in a safe environment. The provider ensures that the recruitment of new staff is rigorous. Vetting and checking the employment history and status of new staff ensure that they are suitable to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has an accurate oversight of the operation of the home. The manager understands each child’s needs and plans. He has worked hard to achieve a calm and settled home that offers supportive care to children. A Senior Residential Childrens Practitioner supports the management of the home. They have a background in psychology. The home’s therapist provides clinical supervision to the them. This means that they have daily support and guidance. This supports the team to put in place the therapeutic approach of the home. Staff said that they enjoy working in the home and they feel supported by the management team. Staff have regular supervision. This enables them to discuss the children in their care. This benefits the children, as staff can reflect on the effectiveness of care provision. Staff access a range of training that gives them the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the children. However, some staff have not received important training,

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

which means that they do not understand the individual behaviours of the children. This fails to ensure consistent team practice. Internal and external monitoring of the home enables the manager to understand the home’s strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the leadership team undertakes regular audits of the home. This supports the manager and staff team to maintain good-quality care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2547761 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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that accurate information is shared with the regulator when there has been a serious incident. 30 November

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)) 30 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2547761 6 In particular, ensure that the children’s individual risk- management plans provide staff with clear strategies to manage and reduce risk.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, ensure that managers and staff follow safeguarding procedures in response to incidents.

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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

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;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure that staff are provided with additional training to meet the individual needs of the children. 30 November

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

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; 30 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2547761 7 understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(v)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that when children are not in education, there is clear structure and routine in place at the home to support independent study.

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that children are aware of the complaints procedure and reminded of this when necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)

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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: 2547761 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cherish Childrens Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8, Skyways Commercial Campus, Amy Johnson Way, Blackpool FY4 3RS

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2547761 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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