Children's home run by Therapeutic Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2739063 1 Registered provider: Therapeutic Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider and provides care for up to two children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in August 2023. The registered manager has submitted their resignation and will leave on 31 March 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living in the home, though they moved out during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: Not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2739063 2

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improvement to be good

The children currently living at the home have only been there for a short period of time. Therefore, they have not had the opportunity to build trusted and secure relationships with staff. Children moving in and out of the home have not always done so in a planned way.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote children’s education. Staff advocate well for children to ensure that they receive education that suits their needs and abilities. Children who are not attending school are offered formal and informal learning opportunities.

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improvement to be good

Children’s physical and emotional health are promoted. Staff have received specific training to understand children’s individual health needs. This includes anaphylaxis and autism training.

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improvement to be good

Children have the opportunity to take part in activities that they enjoy and also have the opportunity to partake in new activities that they have previously not experienced.

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improvement to be good

The company therapist works with staff to help them understand children’s behaviours. However, due to the short time that children have lived in the home, the impact of this work is yet to be seen.

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improvement to be good

The help that children receive to develop the skills and strategies to regulate their behaviours is not effective. As a result, some children have left the home abruptly and in an unplanned way. This has a significant impact on children’s sense of belonging and stability.

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improvement to be good

Children’s behaviours are not understood by staff, and the strategies used to respond to behaviour are inconsistent. Staff do not work cohesively, and as a result, children’s behaviours have escalated.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not developed secure and stable relationships with children. The lack of confidence and resilience of some staff compromises their ability to offer children a secure base.

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improvement to be good

Holding a child is a last resort, and when this happens, there are detailed records. Children and staff take part in debriefs, which give them the opportunity to reflect and review practice. The manager ensures that any learning from incidents is shared with the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2739063 3 The arrangements for the recruitment of staff are safe. However, not all staff are signed up to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Update Service, despite this being an expectation and part of the manager’s auditing process. This does not demonstrate that leaders and managers are assured that all staff are safe to work with children.

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improvement to be good

Staff working in the home are clear about safeguarding procedures. Safeguarding practice is discussed in team meetings and supervision sessions, which ensures staff are up to date in their knowledge of policies and procedures.

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improvement to be good

The home internally is safe, but it is positioned on the bend of a road. One child with identified risks around road safety moved into the home despite the locality risk assessment stating that referrals for children where the environment would present unacceptable levels of risk would not be placed at the home.

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good

The registered manager and interim manager have been managing the home together recently. Their roles and responsibilities are blurred and unclear.

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good

Decisions about the admission of new children have been made by the interim manager with little oversight by the registered manager. Therefore, children have been admitted to the home without the registered manager considering if the staff have the knowledge, skills and experience to meet their needs. At least one child has moved into the home without full consideration being given to the risks posed by the location of the home to the child.

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good

The staff team is still relatively new, and there is a lack of cohesion in its practice. There has been a degree of instability in the team, with staff leaving as a result of the challenges in the home.

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good

Leaders and managers actively and regularly monitor the quality of care provided. The manager makes use of the visits and recommendations from the independent person and seeks feedback from children, staff and external professionals. He has spent time reflecting on the ending of one child’s placement, but he has not used this to inform the decisions about new children moving into the home.

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good

Supervision does not take place on a regular basis. This means that staff feel unsupported at times. They have not had the opportunity to reflect on children’s behaviours and their practice. Staff did speak positively about the interim manager and the support she has offered on a daily basis practically and emotionally.

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good

All staff have received mandatory training and some training specific to children’s individual needs. However, this has not equipped them with the skills and knowledge to effectively meet the needs of the children in their care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2739063 4

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have relevant information about children to enable them to keep children safe, and this includes all local authority plans.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must consider if the locality of the home could heighten any risks to children and, if so, how these will be managed without restrictions being used. 30 April 2024

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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— 30 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2739063 5 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on; and

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(c)(f)(g)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have the skills and experience to support children living in the home and lead a team to deliver consistent, high-quality care for children.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that practice is informed by research specific to the children living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 30 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2739063 6 full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, in order to safeguard children, the registered person must ensure that all staff working in the home have up-to-date DBS checks.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(iii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that children’s moves into the home are planned and take account of all relevant information and that those leaving have positive endings when they leave the home. 30 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

mutual respect and trust; 30 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2739063 7 an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; and

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children have clear behaviour plans that are understood by staff.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure consistent delivery by staff of strategies outlined in children’s plans.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff understand how children’s behaviours are influenced by their experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2739063 8

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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: 2739063 9

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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

Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2739063 10 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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