Children's Home run by Nestlings Care Limited in Bolton

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271581 1 Registered provider: Nestlings Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties, and/or may have a learning disability. The home is registered with Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspections: 12 September 2023 and 29 January 2024

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This monitoring visit

The home was judged requires improvement at the full inspection on the 12 and 13 September 2023. The inspector identified that the home was not yet delivering good help and care for children so that they receive positive experiences and make good progress.

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This monitoring visit

An assurance inspection was completed by inspectors on 19 January 2024. The inspectors identified that there were no serious or widespread failures that resulted in the children’s welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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This monitoring visit

A monitoring visit was carried out on 21 February 2024 by social care regulatory inspector, Dawn Walker and regulatory inspection manager, Amanda Ellis. The purpose of the visit was to monitor safeguarding arrangements. Ofsted had been notified of two safeguarding incidents. These detailed that a child had on two occasions (18 and 19 February 2024) been at risk of significant harm. These incidents required support from paramedics and the police. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271581 2 During the monitoring visit, children told inspectors that they did not feel safe in the home. Children said that staff were not keeping them safe; that they felt at risk in the home and that this was causing them distress. It was alleged that children had made hurtful comments to one another. It was not clear what steps the provider was taking to address children’s concerns or manage this behaviour and the detrimental

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This monitoring visit

impact this was having on children’s emotional health and well-being.

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This monitoring visit

Further to this, children alleged that staff did not respond appropriately to them when they are in distress. One child alleged that a staff member made unhelpful comments during a period of crisis and accused them of “attention seeking.” This fails to demonstrate that staff have the skills, knowledge or understanding to respond effectively to incidents of self-injurious and crisis behaviours to keep children safe.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s emotional health and well-being was a cause for concern during the visit. Incidents of self-injurious behaviours, including ligature usage, self-injury with sharp objects and children threatening to seriously harm themselves were not adequately assessed or managed. Staff had not been provided with a clear plan and strategies to follow to reduce these risks.

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This monitoring visit

Leadership and management arrangements were not effective. The home has not had a registered manager since August 2023. Three managers have left in quick succession. The deputy manager has remained in charge, with support from an operational manager. On the day of the monitoring visit 21 February 2024, staff were not clear about who was the on-call manager and there was no management presence in the home.

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This monitoring visit

The monitoring visit provided an opportunity for the provider, Nestlings care, to reinforce their safeguarding arrangements to prevent risk of significant harm. A safety plan was agreed that included one child having additional support from staff at all times. In Ofsted’s view, the provider had put measures in place which provided reassurance that in the short term the provider could keep the child safe from harm overnight.

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This monitoring visit

Following a case review held on 22 February 2024, further assurances were obtained from the provider that the safety plan would be strengthened to safeguard the child.

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This monitoring visit

Despite these assurances, on 22 February 2024, Ofsted were made aware that the child had evaded staff and had been in a potentially life-threatening situation. Managers had agreed that staff could take the child out for a walk. This contradicted the safety plan provided to Ofsted on 22 February 2024. The safety plan stated that the risks were to be reviewed on a daily basis and if safe to do so the child could access the community with agreed staffing ratios. However, the decision for the child to go out for a walk with staff as made within a couple of hours led to a further serious safeguarding incident. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271581 3 Given the concerns highlighted above, Ofsted took immediate action and suspended the registration of the home.

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This monitoring visit

The requirements from the previous inspection were not reviewed during this monitoring visit. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271581 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/11/2022 Full Good 30/11/2021 Full Good 13/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271581 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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that: children’s individual missing-from-home plans contain relevant information and strategies; when children make allegations about staff, these are shared with the local safeguarding partners; any concerns about staff practice are appropriately addressed, using the correct policies and procedures. 29 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271581 6 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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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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;

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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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(ix)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must: advocate on behalf of children who are not in full-time education, by challenging and escalating concerns with the placing authority and virtual school; ensure that when children are not currently in education, they are provided with suitable, structured activities to help them to sustain or regain their confidence. 29 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271581 7 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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all incidents are evaluated with scrutiny, taking into consideration any learning outcomes that can be implemented in children’s risk management plans, or to support the development of staff. 29 February 2024

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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

a description of the measure and its duration;

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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

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; 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)(iv)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that: when physical intervention has been used, the records contain a full description of the measure used; when conversations take place with children following the use of physical intervention, the use of restraint is explored with the child. 29 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271581 8 The registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI, as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, if any of the following events take place or are expected by the registered person to take place—

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Requirement Due date

a person ceases to carry on or manage the home. (Regulation 49 (b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that the regulator is notified of any changes to the manager of the home. 29 February 2024

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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 registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s plans, including their education, health and care plans and any other relevant plans, are shared with the home and available for staff to refer to. 29 February 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff receive good-quality supervision which gives them opportunities to reflect on their practice and discuss their ongoing development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that there is a clear system in place to record room searches when they occur. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 16, paragraph 3.20) Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271581 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nestlings Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 4, 1 Derby Street, Leigh WN7 4PF

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Anthony Thompson

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Inspectors

Dawn Walker, Social Care Inspector Amanda Ellis, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271581 10 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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