Children's Home run by Connect Care Solutions Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 1 Registered provider: Connect Care Solutions 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 is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2022.

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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 outstanding

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/04/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Both children have lived at the home since it first opened. Children are happy and comfortable, and they have a sense of belonging. Staff ensure that the home provides a cosy, nurturing space for children. The home has photos of children and staff enjoying activities and holidays together and sharing memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from strong, trusted relationships with staff. Staff know the children well and understand their unique personalities and individual needs. Due to the strong relationships with staff, children make progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home promotes a strong emphasis on education, and staff are ambitious for children to reach their academic potential. Staff have worked closely with the inclusion team at one school to ensure that the child can continue to attend mainstream education. An education professional valued the work of the staff and praised their professionalism and high expectations. Staff and education professionals have devised a bespoke timetable to reduce the child’s barriers to learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is employed locally and is enjoying earning their own money and making new friends. The child also completed The Prince’s Trust programme, which provided opportunities to try new activities and build their confidence. They gave a speech as part of their award ceremony and were extremely proud of their achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with children to ensure that they build important life skills, such as cooking, cleaning, shopping and budgeting. This has helped one child to prepare for a move to a semi-independent placement. Staff have put together a hamper of everyday items and personalised gifts for the child to take with them when they move. Staff have also devised personalised memory books for each child to share special memories of the time they lived in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make sustained progress with their health. Staff have helped children to make improvements in their personal hygiene. Children are supported to attend routine health appointments to maintain their physical health. Staff also provide support for children’s emotional and mental health. One child has attended numerous sessions of therapeutic support, despite not wanting to engage in this previously. Staff found a specific therapist who suited the child’s preferences and who they felt comfortable talking to. This support has improved the child’s understanding of their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The wishes and feelings of children are fundamental to the care being provided in the home. Children contribute to weekly family gatherings and have an opportunity to express their views. Individual discussions with staff also capture children’s wishes Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 4 and views, which are respected and listened to. Children have opportunities to engage in a variety of activities, and one child enjoyed a holiday abroad.

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

Staff know the children well and understand their risks and needs. There are detailed risk management plans in place that reflect the individual risks to each child. The written plans are amended following significant incidents. Staff are clear about the support that children need to stay safe. Staff also educate children on how to help keep themselves safe. There were concerns for one child in relation to keeping themselves safe. Key-work sessions helped to develop the child’s understanding of risk. Robust multi-agency working ensured that the child was safe. Staff practice was so effective, it is used by the police as part of their training in relation to child sexual exploitation.

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

There have been some incidents of children going missing from the home. Clear plans are in place for staff to follow. Staff look for children when they are missing and follow agreed strategies. There are clear records in place that detail the actions of staff. Children are offered the opportunity to talk to someone about what happened when they were away from the home. However, there are several occasions when this was not completed within appropriate timescales. Managers did challenge the placing authority, but issues around the timeliness of the independent return home interviews continued.

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

There have been some incidents of a child returning to the home under the influence of alcohol. Support was provided to the child during this time. Staff did observe the child regularly, including overnight. However, staff failed to contact medical professionals for further assistance or seek medical advice in relation to administering the child’s prescribed medication after using alcohol. This issue was identified by the manager, who has ensured that staff seek medical advice if a child is under the influence of substances.

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

Staff support children to manage their emotions and behaviours. Staff use effective de-escalation and therapeutic parenting techniques. It has not been necessary for staff to hold a child, due to them finding other effective ways to manage behaviour. Staff ensure that they focus on the needs of each child, and they have a good understanding of individual children’s triggers for behaviours.

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

Safer recruitment is effective to ensure that only suitable people work in the home. Recruitment of staff is clear and organised, and verification checks take place before staff begin working with children. The manager has oversight of recruitment processes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager of the home is extremely motivated and ambitious for the children in his care. He is supported by a dedicated deputy manager. The manager ensures that Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 5 children receive high-quality care, and he has strong aspirations for the children to progress and succeed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team is consistent, which has enabled children to build strong, permanent relationships. The staff show a strong commitment to the children, and they speak proudly of their many achievements and progress. There are high expectations of staff, and they are supported to achieve and excel in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are well trained and have received additional training in line with children’s needs. The manager encourages and enables staff to manage incidents with children and make their own decisions effectively. He is committed to developing staff practice. This has been successful, as staff achieve and are promoted to more senior roles. Staff are encouraged to take on more responsibility, which helps to increase their confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular, in-depth supervision. Staff have the opportunity to reflect on their practice and develop their knowledge and skills. Clear actions and targets are provided in supervision sessions to ensure that staff are continually progressing and learning. Children and their needs are the main focus of these supervision sessions. This helps to ensure that the quality of care in the home continually improves. Staff also benefit from appraisals of their performance, which offers further opportunities for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff describe the manager as supportive and approachable, and staff morale is extremely high. The staff value the support from leaders and managers. Team meetings take place regularly, which provide a further opportunity to consider ways to help children progress further and develop the staff team. The manager creates an open, honest and transparent culture in the home. If issues in staff practice are identified, this is quickly addressed with staff to ensure that improvements can be made. There are high expectations of the staff to change and improve the lives of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

When the support offered to children falls short of his high expectations, the manager challenges other agencies. The manager has challenged one child’s placing authority due to shortfalls in care planning. When this has not led to a positive response for the child, the manager understands the need for further escalation or the use of the complaints process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent oversight of the home. There are several audits in place to allow managerial oversight. There is evidence of the manager addressing identified shortfalls in an effective and timely manner. The manager is clear about the strengths of the home and areas where they can progress further. The manager’s oversight of the home ensures that the high-quality provision is maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent close working relationships with partner agencies and schools. This has a positive impact on the progress and safety of children, and these relationships ensure that the best support is available to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 6

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that staff seek professional advice when children are under the influence of substances, including any effect this may have on prescribed medication. 4 October 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there is an effective working relationship with the child’s placing authority. When there are concerns in relation to the practice of the child’s placing authority, effective escalation is required to ensure that these concerns are addressed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3)

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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: 2694539 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Connect Care Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Victoria Road East, Thornton Cleveleys FY5 5HT

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Inspector

Suzanne Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2694539 8 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 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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