Children's Home run by Nurture Childcare Services Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 1 Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in August 2020 and is run by a private provider. It offers care for up to three children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The post for a registered manager is currently vacant.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this visit, no children were living at the home.

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This monitoring visit

The home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 30 April and 1 May 2024. Due to the serious and widespread safeguarding failures and poor leadership and management of the home, Ofsted issued a notice suspending the registration of the home.

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This monitoring visit

The suspension notice had immediate effect from 1 May 2024 to 23 July 2024.

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This monitoring visit

This visit was carried out to monitor the provider’s compliance with the suspension notice. The inspector found that the provider has taken sufficient action to manage and reduce the risk of harm to children. Therefore, the suspension notice has been lifted.

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This monitoring visit

A new manager has been appointed, who has experience of managing children’s homes effectively. The manager has submitted their application to register with Ofsted. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 2 Leaders and managers have ensured that their roles and responsibilities are more clearly defined to ensure that decision-making is more effective. The new monitoring and review systems provide clearer management oversight.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have now received training in ligature safety, allegations, safeguarding and child protection to increase their knowledge and understanding of managing risks to children. Staff are now able to identify and respond appropriately if children make complaints about other staff members.

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This monitoring visit

Action has been taken to address the shortfalls in staff recruitment. A new deputy manager has been safely recruited and there are sufficient staff to provide support for up to three children.

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This monitoring visit

The boiler has been repaired and a safety certificate confirms that it is safe.

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This monitoring visit

The responsible individual has recently reviewed and updated the statement of purpose and has a detailed action plan in place to address the requirements and recommendations made at the full inspection. The new manager is dedicated to ensuring that the requirements raised will be addressed.

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This monitoring visit

Improvements have been made in the monitoring and review systems. The responsible individual and operations manager review incidents and day-to-day management through a comprehensive weekly audit.

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This monitoring visit

Revised processes have been implemented to help leaders, managers and staff to consider the known and potential risks and vulnerabilities for new children moving into the home. These strengthened processes also help leaders, managers and staff to consider the risks posed to the children already living in the home.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have analysed and evaluated weaknesses in staff practice. They have reviewed previous shortfalls in how staff have managed safeguarding incidents and have taken action to improve staff practice. Reflective sessions have taken place with staff in team meetings. Staff say that they now feel more confident and that leaders’ and managers’ oversight of safeguarding practice is more robust.

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This monitoring visit

The safety and security features of the home, including door alarms, are now integrated into a single system that provides clear alerts for staff during the night. This allows staff to respond quickly if children attempt to leave the home or if other children enter the home undetected.

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This monitoring visit

The home has undergone a full renovation. However, the carpets require cleaning, a door needs replacing, and work is required to ensure that the garden is safe for children to use.

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This monitoring visit

The requirements raised at the full inspection were not reviewed at this visit. These will be reviewed at the next full inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/04/2024 Full Inadequate 22/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/03/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 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 with 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s needs and risks are assessed before they join the home, the information is assessed and evaluated and the care is amended to manage and mitigate the risks.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that the home is secure to protect children from harm. There must be suitable alerts in place so that staff can respond quickly and safely if children attempt to leave the home or if other children enter the home undetected. 2 September 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; 2 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 5 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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff ensuring that the home is a safe and homely environment. Any repair work must be carried out in a timely and safe manner.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that any safeguarding practices, such as bedroom searches, are carried out and recorded effectively.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that staff are trained and confident to follow safeguarding protocols, such as missing- from-home plans, to avoid children being at risk of further harm.

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Requirement Due date

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 a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children receive appropriate educational provision that includes informal learning opportunities.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 2 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 6 The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s physical and emotional health is assessed and reviewed regularly and that any concerns that arise are managed in a timely way with the aim of reducing the concerns. 2 September 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

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— 2 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 7 that staff—

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 8 have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s emotional and behavioural needs are assessed and evaluated and that there is a plan in place to manage any areas of need that arise.

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (c)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that rooms in the home are not locked unnecessarily or for disproportionate lengths of time.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 2 September 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—

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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

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that all staff are competent in meeting children’s individual needs, for example through undertaking training in ligature 2 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 9 safety and the PACE model of care.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered manager ensuring that: there is sufficient overview of the running of the home; there are processes in place to help understand the changing needs and risks in the home and that there is a swift response to these.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that staff receive regular and effective supervision and that any safeguarding needs are managed and any amendments to protocol or policy are considered.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that children’s needs are shared, discussed and analysed by the whole team so that any changes can be managed consistently and safely.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered manager ensuring that there are enough staff so that full-time staff are not working for significant lengths of time.

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that transitions into and out of the home are planned where possible, safe, and the child has a positive experience.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that children’s needs are identified before making a decision about whether the staff can meet these. The needs of the children and the paperwork completed by the placing authority must be available when decisions are being made. 2 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 10 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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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

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that any allegations children make against staff are reported to the local authority designated officer. Allegations must be recorded, investigated and evaluated effectively. 2 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. 2 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 11 After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, 2 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 12 and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that any incidents of physical restraint are recorded in line with regulation 35. This includes a narrative of antecedents and the steps taken to reduce or de-escalate incidents. Children must be given the opportunity to understand and reflect on why intervention is used and how it impacts on their well-being.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 13

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Seighford Hall, Clanford Road, Seighford, Stafford ST18 9NL

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Inspector

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2591479 14 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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