Children's Home run by Therapeutic Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2743583 1 Registered provider: Therapeutic Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection. One child had recently moved on.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection. The home and manager have been registered with Ofsted since October 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 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2743583 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved in since the home was registered When children move into the home, the manager works with other professionals to ensure that the most appropriate planning takes place. Staff welcome children to the home sensitively and do all that they can to help to ease any anxieties they may have. Due to unfortunate circumstances outside of the provider’s control, one child has since moved out. The child currently living in the home is settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming and there are a lot of photos of the child around the home. The child has the freedom to personalise their bedroom to their taste. This helps them to develop a sense of permanence and belonging. In discussions with the child they said, ‘Its 10 out of 10 here, it’s the best bedroom I have ever had, and the staff are great.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by an experienced and confident staff team. They are highly attuned to the children’s needs and show great commitment to helping them meet their full potential. The child has developed strong bonds with the manager and staff. This has enabled them to make excellent progress in a short space of time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a therapeutic care and support package. The manager and staff work with a clinical team that provides regular guidance and support. The staff are suitably trained to deliver this specific model of care. As a result, children are being helped to develop skills and strategies to manage their own conflicts and difficult feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have high aspirations for children and encourage them to do well in education. One child had been out of education for some time. Staff researched local provisions identifying one that met the child’s needs. This meant the child then engaged and made progress in their learning as it suited their needs and abilities. When there are barriers to education, the manager advocates strongly for children and works together with other professionals to overcome these.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with opportunities to experience a wide variety of activities inside and outside the home. When children have specific interests, they are supported to take these up as a hobby. One child said, ‘I have been able to continue playing darts, been to crazy golf, and learnt I really enjoy baking and cooking, I may study this at college.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with family and friends are promoted. Children are supported to see their families in line with their plans. Staff recognise that seeing family members can sometimes be difficult for children, so they ensure that children are supported to work through any feelings they may have. Inspection report for children’s home: 2743583 3

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

Children’s safety and well-being are consistently at the centre of staff’s practice. Staff understand the children’s vulnerabilities and respond appropriately to incidents and take action to protect the child.

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

The manager and staff ensure that there robust risk plans that are frequently updated to give clear guidance to staff to ensure that there is a consistent response to the child’s behaviours that challenge. The child is involved in reviewing their risk assessments and staff regularly talk to the child about how to keep safe. However, the risk assessment for one child did not identify a known risk in the car. This prevented staff implementing the necessary actions to prevent incidents from happening again during travel.

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

There is a consequence and reward system in place led by staff. The manager is reflective in his approach when evaluating consequences for children’s unwanted behaviour and their effectiveness. The system promotes and encourages positive behaviour. It is also used to support children to understand how their behaviour can affect others.

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

Positive behaviour is encouraged by staff. Staff use proactive techniques to help children to manage their frustrations and anxieties. Children respond to this approach. There has only been one incident of physical intervention, and this was only used to keep the child and others safe. The manager ensured that the child was spoken to after the incident, so they understood why the hold was necessary.

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

The manager and staff use their skills and experience to manage incidents well. They are confident in setting boundaries and are consistent in their approach. Children have learnt to accept the boundaries due to the skilful approach of the staff. As a result, there is a calm and relaxed atmosphere which provides stability and safety for the child.

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

When children are missing from home, staff take swift action to ensure that children return safely. Staff have a proactive approach to achieve the child’s safe return. However, the manager does not review the return home interviews as part of their evaluation. This means that the managers overall assessment of the incident does not consider all the information available.

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

The manager and staff are clear about their roles in safeguarding children. Thorough recruitment processes are in place to ensure that children are cared for by safe adults. There are good links with relevant safeguarding agencies. Managers are confident about which incidents need reporting to Ofsted. The manager and staff understand all procedures required to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2743583 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced, enthusiastic and child-centred and has good oversight of the day-to-day running of the home. There is a core group of staff in place who provide consistency and stability for the child. They are committed and work well together. Staff said they feel supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a comprehensive induction and training programme in place and staff have completed their mandatory training. The manager ensures that there is specific training completed to meet the child’s needs. The manager has a good overview of the staff’s skills and knowledge. When he identifies a learning opportunity to help improve the quality of care, he ensures that additional training takes place. This enables staff to continue to develop their knowledge and skills to meet the child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One child’s plan has some unhelpful and stigmatising language that is insensitive to the child’s past experiences. Information included is not written in a child friendly and could cause distress now or in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The child enjoys a comfortable, clean, tidy and physically safe living environment. The manager ensures that any damage is quickly repaired. All health and safety checks have been completed and any shortfalls have been rectified. This ensures that the home is a safe place for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team receives regular supervision which is well structured and child focused. They can raise any issues with confidence that they will be listened to. The manager recognises the importance of reflection on practice to help staff to increase their self-awareness regarding their work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are taking place regularly and give the opportunity for staff to share knowledge and experience. Staff reflect in the meetings and play an active part in the development of the home. This gives staff a shared ownership of continually improving practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good relationships with external professionals. The manager advocates well on behalf of children ensuring that their wishes and feelings are part of decision making about their lives. This helps children to feel empowered and understand the processes involved in their care. External professionals speak with enthusiasm about the support provided, one social worker said, ‘The manager and staff always keep in touch with me; communication is excellent.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2743583 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must ensure that updates are provided to risk management plans after incidents, with clear strategies to manage and reduce risk, particularly around safety when travelling in cars. Managers must ensure that staff implement the necessary actions to prevent similar incidents from happening again. 20 May 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that accurate records are kept in relation to return home interviews and considered as part of the manager’s overall Inspection report for children’s home: 2743583 6 evaluation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraphs 9.3).  The registered person should ensure that language used in children’s records is not stigmatising and does not place blame or judgement on a child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraphs 14.4)

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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: 2743583 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Therapeutic Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Therapeutic Care, Errigal House, Avroe Crescent, Blackpool FY4 2DP

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Inspector

Jennifer Quest, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2743583 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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