Children's Home run by Searchlight Care Services Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2490939 1 Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services Ltd

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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 home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for one child who has had adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who registered with Ofsted in August 2023. The manager is experienced and has an appropriate management qualification.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 29 January 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2490939 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/01/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/02/2023 Full Good 09/11/2021 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2490939 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The same child lives in the home since the last inspection. The child, who has lived there for a year, has built strong relationships with staff who care for them. Staff talk about the child with warmth and relationships between staff and the child are playful and affectionate. The child is positive about the care they receive and say they have special staff they can talk with. As a result of this attuned care, the child feels secure and has made good progress in all areas from their starting point.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to attend specialist appointments when this is necessary. Staff prioritise the child’s emotional health needs. They attend therapy appointments with the child and use recommended strategies to play with the child in a way that helps the child to regulate their emotions. Sensory toys and a weighted blanket, to help with body awareness, have been provided to support the child to self-regulate. This multi- agency approach means that the child’s holistic needs are responded to effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Internal care planning processes are structured and well recorded. Staff complete internal placement plans to a high standard. These plans detail clear targets and enable staff to track children’s progress and achievements. Children’s internal care plans detail longer-term aims and mirror statutory care plans. This promotes good- quality and consistent care. However, staff do not involve the child in planning their care or setting achievable goals. This is a missed opportunity to encourage the child to achieve and to invest in their own progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled at supporting the child to talk about their emotions. Staff have created an emotions wall with pictures of cartoon like characters. They playfully encourage the child to say how they are feeling using the pictures as a prompt. The child responds well to this, and new pictures are added to support the child to explore a range of emotions. The child enjoys this activity which is part of his daily routine. The child is becoming more socially skilled because he is better able to identify his own emotions and those of other people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to create a home that reflects the child’s interests and individuality. Toys, drawings, photographs, and certificates, clearly reflect the individual hobbies, interests, and achievements of the child. However, the home is not well maintained in places. The grass in the front garden is long and needs cutting. The rear garden is uncared for with bark chippings scattered untidily across the garden. The carpet on the upstairs landing needs cleaning and there is a stain on the bathroom floor. Additionally, the child’s toys are stored untidily and without care in the integral garage. This lack of attention to children’s needs risks impacting on their self-esteem and self-worth. Inspection report for children’s home: 2490939 4

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

The manager and staff demonstrate a good understanding of the child’s vulnerabilities and potential risks. The child’s risk management plans include advice from a therapist commissioned by the local authority to work with the child and to guide staff about a more therapeutic approach. Staff talk knowledgeably about the sensory strategies they use to de-escalate the child’s complex behaviours. A member of staff said that the therapist has, ‘given us advice about how to dissipate situations - it’s been totally new -I’ve learned something, and it’s been really good for (name of child)’. As a result of this therapeutic approach, instances when the staff have restrained the child to manage the child’s complex behaviours have reduced.

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

Although the child does not have a known risk of going missing, managers have ensured that there is a relevant risk assessment and that information about the child has been shared with the police.

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

Staff keep the child safe online. All staff have completed relevant training and staff talk knowledgeably about how they support the child to use online devices safely. Additionally, managers have ensured that there are the necessary age-related restrictions. However, the child is curious about the online world and risk assessments do not include educating the child about online risks. This is a missed opportunity to support the child to develop the knowledge and skills to keep themselves safe online in the future.

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

Since the last inspection, the child has made one allegation. Managers informed the child’s social worker and took guidance. However, they did not inform the regulator. This means that the regulator does not have necessary information to effectively monitor safeguarding practice in the home.

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

Processes are in place to ensure that staff are safely recruited. Additionally, managers ensure that the home is safely located and the risks in the local area are fully assessed.

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

Managers ensure that staff carry out regular health and safety checks and fire checks. Additionally, an up-to-date fire risk assessment completed by a competent person has recently been updated. However, managers and staff have not addressed the risks to the child from unsecured and dangling blind cords in the child’s bedroom and the bathroom. Additionally, the protective padding on the child’s trampoline is coming away from the frame and is missing in places and COSHH items are stored in unsecured drawers in the garage. A risk assessment guiding staff about how to manage this risk for the child was put in place by the manager during the inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2490939 5

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good

Since the last inspection the same manager and deputy manager remain in post. The deputy manager has been away from the home for three months due to other operational priorities within the company. The responsible individual acknowledges that this may have affected the effectiveness of some managerial activities.

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good

Requirements from the previous inspection have been largely met. Staff now use approved strategies to de-escalate the child’s complex behaviours. They regularly check the water temperature in the home and fire exits are free from obstructions. Managers are more professionally curious about staff practice when monitoring incidents. However, shortfalls remain in the number of staff who have not completed training specific to the child’s needs and additional issues have been identified regarding health and safety in the home.

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good

Feedback from professionals is mixed. A teacher told the inspector that the child is reaching their targets and is achieving good attendance. However, staff have not always communicated about important changes to the child’s routine and the child is, on occasions, late for school. This upsets the child’s routine which has a negative impact on their behaviour. The child’s social worker praised staff’s communication and said staff are good at involving the child in activities and in creating memories for the child. However, the child has told the social worker that staff do not listen when they say they do not like to be restrained. Also, the social worker has observed staff relating to the child in a way that is not therapeutic, and which has antagonised the child. A meeting between managers and the social worker is scheduled to discuss these concerns.

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good

Manager’s monitoring systems are not consistently effective. Documentation is disorganised and staff are not clear if the most up-to-date documentation is on the child’s file. Managers do not routinely monitor medication and cannot explain how they satisfy themselves that the administration of medication is safe. Managers have failed to monitor staff training and ensure that staff have completed allocated training to meet the child’s needs. Additionally, two staff need to update their face-to-face first aid training and two staff, their behaviour management training.

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good

More positively, managers have invested in face-to-face training in a therapeutic approach, which all staff will attend. Additionally, face-to-face training in trauma- informed care will be delivered to all staff by a manager in the company who has experience in this area.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision and an annual appraisal. New staff receive a well- planned induction that they say helps them prepare them for their role. However, objectives set in supervision and in annual appraisals to support staff development and progression are not specific, measurable, achievable, realistic or timely. Records of supervision are not routinely shared and objectives, such as completing identified Inspection report for children’s home: 2490939 6 training, are not reviewed with staff in monthly supervisions. This limits staff development and their aspiration.

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good

The home is fully staffed. Three staff have achieved a qualification relating to the residential care of children, and one is enrolled. The remaining two staff will be enrolled once they have successfully completed their probationary period. Managers and staff are committed to ensuring that the child receives consistent care. Shortfalls in staffing are covered by existing staff or by staff from other homes in the company who are known to the child. This means that the child experiences consistent care from staff that they know. Inspection report for children’s home: 2490939 7

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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

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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers ensuring that COSHH items are safely stored, that protective padding on the child’s trampoline is replaced and repaired and that blind cords in the child’s bedroom and the bathroom are secured. 16 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers ensuring that the home is clean and generally well maintained, that outside areas are attractive 16 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2490939 8 places for the child to spend time and are well kept. Also, that the child’s possessions are appropriately stored.

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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— 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)(c )(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers ensuring that the child’s most recent documentation and risk management plans are available, that monitoring systems are in place to ensure the safe administration of medication and that staff complete training specific to the child’s needs. 16 June 2024

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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 an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there.

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers ensuring that when the child makes an allegation, they notify the regulator. 16 June 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care… It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide Inspection report for children’s home: 2490939 9 to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2-13.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph

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Recommendations

11.19)  The registered person should ensure that children feel safe and are safe. Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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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: 2490939 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Searchlight Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Marcus House, Parkhall Road, Longton, Stoke on Trent ST3 5XA

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Inspectors

Karen Gillingwater, Social Care Inspector Joanne Hawkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2490939 11 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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