Children's home run by SBL CARE SERVICES (UK) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2768382 1 Registered provider: SBL CARESERVICES (UK) 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 home registered with Ofsted in December 2023. This is the first inspection since registration.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private provider and provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 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 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: 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: 2768382 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were two children living in the home at the time of this inspection. Children are cared for by a consistent staff team who know the children well. Staff advocate on behalf of children and make sure that their opinions are valued. Children say that they are happy living in the home and can identify staff members who they trust and enjoy spending time with. Positive, warm and nurturing relationships were observed throughout the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are reliably supported to attend education. Managers and staff understand the barriers to learning and advocate for children to access meaningful education. Due to the high levels of support, children have returned to education settings and have made good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consulted about the quality of care that they receive, and their views and wishes are consistently recorded. Children know how to complain and are supported to discuss any worries through meaningful direct sessions. However, complaints are not consistently recorded to show how concerns are managed safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff help children to lead healthy lives. Children are supported to attend routine health appointments and are registered with relevant healthcare services. Children benefit from receiving annual health assessments, and have access to specialist services in line with their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to take risks that are appropriate to their age or level of understanding as part of their development. Children have access to an independent advocate who visits them at home. This is helping children to participate in day-to-day decisions about their lives. Children are helped to understand when it may not be possible to act on their wishes, but clear explanations are provided. This is supporting children to understand how and why decisions are reached.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to explore their individual and shared interests and activities, which benefit their physical and emotional well-being. During this inspection, one child was extremely excited and proud to have achieved his incentive and purchased new football boots. Children enjoy time with their friends within the local community. One child has joined a local gym, and another child is a member of a local football team. This supports children’s self-esteem and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders, managers and staff support children to maintain relationships with their families. Staff understand the importance of family time and are proactive in planning for children to spend time safely with those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff place the well-being of children at the centre of their practice. Children’s achievements are celebrated and appropriately rewarded. Inspection report for children’s home: 2768382 3

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

Staff have access to detailed risk management plans that contain clear actions and strategies for them to follow to keep children safe. Staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe. They understand the specific risks that are relevant for each child and consistently consider and review risk management strategies as risks reduce over time. This shows the progress that children make.

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

Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks and develop their independence skills. Children are encouraged to travel independently and participate with the wider community. Key-work sessions help children to understand the risks they may face and the support systems around them to keep them safe. Children value these discussions. As children’s confidence and self-worth have increased, risks have reduced.

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

Family members and professionals speak positively about the staff team and say that the children are safe and well cared for. Staff make use of their positive relationships with children to help them to understand unsafe behaviours. This takes place through regular informal discussions and key-work sessions.

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

Staff manage children’s behaviours well. The use of consequences is appropriate and tailored to individual children. However, the registered manager does not ensure that a record is maintained or reviewed to ensure that the consequences used are appropriate and effective.

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

Children who go missing experience well-coordinated responses that reduce the risk of harm to them. There are missing-from-care protocols in place for each child. There has been one missing incident recorded. This was well detailed and demonstrates that staff were robust in their actions to support the child to return home safely. However, the registered manager did not ensure that an independent return interview was made available to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is managed by an experienced manager who is child centred. He is supported by a deputy manager who is ambitious for children and shares the same values as the manager. There is a consistent and committed staff team in place. They confirm that they receive extensive support in their roles and value the practical advice and guidance that the managers provide.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular supervision. However, records are variable in quality and do not fully capture the discussions that have taken place or provide appropriate timescales for outstanding tasks to be completed. Team meetings take place monthly and are well attended. Meetings allow staff to share essential information and focus on the outcomes for children. However, outstanding and newly agreed actions are not followed up. This is a missed opportunity to demonstrate the work of the staff team in achieving set targets. Inspection report for children’s home: 2768382 4 The registered manager understands the plans for children. However, children do not consistently benefit from having relevant placing authority documents. The registered manager has not taken effective action to request up-to-date plans that accurately reflect the children’s journey through the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has not consistently recognised, recorded, or responded to complaints in line with the provider’s own policies and procedures. This means that there is ineffective management oversight and understanding of complaints. Furthermore, when serious incidents have occurred the registered manager has not ensured that the regulator is informed without delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager is present in the home. However, rotas do not include the actual hours that he works, as required by regulations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has not developed effective monitoring and review systems to consider the home’s strengths and weaknesses, or to consistently drive improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2768382 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they effectively monitor and review the quality of care being delivered, and demonstrate that they understand the home’s strengths and weaknesses. 28 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2768382 6 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 standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that children benefit from relevant and up-to-date plans to support care planning arrangements. 28 October 2024

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must supply to HMCI, at HMCI’s request, a statement containing a summary of any complaints made during the preceding 12 months and the action that was taken in response to each complaint. (Regulation 39 (1) (3) (5)) 28 October 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

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— 28 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2768382 7 is instigated; or

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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.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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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: 2768382 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SBL CARESERVICES (UK) LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 St Peters Place, Fleetwood, Lancashire, England FY7 6EB

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Inspectors

Nichola Croft, Social Care Inspector Michelle Edge, Senior His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2768382 9 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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