Children's Home run by Exceptional Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2644925 1 Registered provider: Exceptional Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately operated and provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in 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

Date of last inspection: 27 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the inspection on 27 September compliance notices were issued in regulation 12, the protection of children standard and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. These compliances were monitored on the 7 November 2023 where they were judged to have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644925 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/09/2023 Full Inadequate 20/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2644925 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been one child move out of the home since the last inspection. The move was well planned and supported sensitively by both the staff and the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they like living at the home and they have good relationships with the staff and each other. Children have been supported by the management and staff through a difficult time. However, they are now enjoying a period of stability where relationships can be established and built on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with family is supported and encouraged. There are plans in place for children to see their family over Christmas and the staff have good communication with family members. This means that important relationships for children are maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are of an age where their independence and privacy is important. However, staff do not encourage children enough to partake in activities, opportunities and experiences that prevent them spending too much time in their bedrooms or the home. This is a missed opportunity to develop children’s skills and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children currently attend school. The manager and staff work closely with the schools and the children to look at ways to increase their attendance. If children do not attend school, there are plans in place to ensure that children’s days remain structured.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met and staff support the children to engage in services that can help them. This has resulted in one child’s emotional health significantly improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult with children on a daily basis seeking their views, wishes and feelings, which are central to guiding the care provided by the staff. However, not all children have had their statutory reviews in timescale and local authority care plans that inform children’s care are not current.

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

There have been no incidents of children missing from home since the last inspection. This is a good achievement and means that children are happy at the home. Restraint has not been used and incidents are rare. This is due to the relationships that the staff have with children. Staff have the ability to de-escalate situations considering information in the children’s detailed behaviour support guidelines. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644925 4 When there has been an incident children and staff repair their relationships well and move on.

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

There has been one allegation against a staff member made by two of the children. This allegation was managed appropriately. This ensures that children are listened to and kept safe. There have been two complaints made by children. Again, these have been responded to and resolved quickly.

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

The staff understand children’s risks and know the children well. This means they are able to pick up changes in behaviour or presentation and take action to reduce risk. This keeps children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been changes to the senior leadership and management of the home since the previous inspection. A new manager is in post who has stated they are going to apply to register.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a new responsible individual in post who is currently supporting the new manager alongside the regional manager. Together they have worked hard to ensure that there is robust management arrangements and oversight in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported by the manager and there is now more consistency and less chaos which has positively impacted the children. The staff are receiving regular supervision that they say is helpful to them. Team meetings are regular, well attended and detailed. The meetings are opportunities to discuss the children alongside development opportunities for the staff. The staff have attended the training required to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for the children and they speak fondly of her. The manager is confident in addressing issues with other professionals and to escalate these when necessary in the interests of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has remained the same and the manager does not use agency staff. This ensures that there is consistency for the children. This has been important to maintain since the previous inspection and has contributed to the progress made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644925 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home.(Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to ensuring that children’s reviews are taking place in timescale.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that children have current local authority care plans which are needed to inform their care. 2 February 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff seek to identify and provide appropriate opportunities for children to develop themselves in accordance with their wishes and feelings and as part of the home’s plan for their care. Children should be encouraged and engaged in their talents and interests. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.4)

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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: 2644925 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Exceptional Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Exceptional Care Limited, Malthouse Business Centre, Southport Road, Ormskirk L39 1QR

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rachel Springford

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Inspector

Kerri Lynch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2644925 7 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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Inspector

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