Children's Home run by Residential Child Care Community (North West) Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2766141 1 Registered provider: Residential Child Care Community (Town Hall) 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 owned and managed by a private provider. The home provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, the home was providing care for three children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2024.

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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 requires improvement to be 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 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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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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2766141 2

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improvement to be good

Children are beginning to develop trusting relationships with their core staff team. Children have made some progress, but further support is required to ensure that children’s needs are consistently promoted.

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improvement to be good

Children in the home are not currently engaged in education. When the registered manager has identified barriers to learning, she has sought to provide children with alternative options to meet their individual needs. However, children are not consistently encouraged to engage in an effective routine when not attending education.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with appropriate medical professionals to meet their health needs. For one child, who has a specific health need, staff have supported their symptoms. However, they have not further explored additional specialist support in a timely manner.

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improvement to be good

The home provides children with a warm and welcoming environment that offers a cosy atmosphere and is furnished to a high standard. Despite this, the registered manager has not identified ligature risks due to unsecured blinds in the home. Actions have been identified to address this by the registered manager.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to develop their relationships with others, both inside and outside of the home. Staff encourage socially acceptable behaviours for children through direct discussion. However, the impact of this work is not consistently reviewed for children, to support their continued development.

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improvement to be good

Regular time with family members and those who are important to children is actively promoted and supported by staff. This ensures that children maintain and further develop their relationships. Staff have offered support to children when they have faced challenges in their relationships. This means that children’s time with family and friends is positive and promotes children’s best interests.

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improvement to be good

Children have individualised assessments that identify known risks. However, staff’s recording of new and emerging risks is not clear and does not always reflect the registered manager’s evaluation of the impact these risks have on children.

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improvement to be good

For one child, there has been a high number of incidents where they have been missing from the home. Staff have followed a clear procedure to ensure that the child’s safety is promoted. However, follow-up work with the child fails to effectively Inspection report for children’s home: 2766141 3 explore the reasons for their incidents of going missing. Therefore, this does not support a positive change in behaviours or develop the child’s understanding of keeping themself safe.

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improvement to be good

Children engage in direct-work sessions with staff that gather their wishes and feelings. However, children’s needs have not been explored effectively to identify clear areas of support. Staff have provided one child with advice and subject-specific training in fire safety. Subsequently, there has been a missed opportunity for staff to revisit and further explore this area when the child has engaged in another incident of risk-taking with fire. In addition, two new staff members have not engaged in a fire drill within a reasonable time of starting work in the home. As a result, this leaves both staff and children vulnerable in the event of a fire.

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improvement to be good

Children understand how to make a complaint. Children say they feel confident that they will be listened to and that staff will act on concerns they raise. This ensures that children believe their voices are heard and valued.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have identified shortfalls in practice, which has resulted in two members of staff no longer working in the home. The registered manager is keen to develop staff’s knowledge and experience to ensure that children are cared for by the most appropriate staff team.

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good

A suitably qualified registered manager leads the home. The manager accepts that there are shortfalls in staff practice and management oversight that need to be addressed to ensure that children consistently receive good-quality care.

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good

The recently established team has experienced a number of staffing changes since registration. These staff changes have not been consistently reflected in the home’s statement of purpose. Although the staff team comes to the home with a range of transferable skills, for several members of the staff team, this is their first residential care role. Owing to staff members’ inexperience, there are instances when their practice and recordings have been inconsistent.

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good

Audits completed by the registered manager do not always consider the quality and content of records or identify areas for development. Consequently, the lack of monitoring results in inconsistent practice not being addressed effectively.

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good

Supervision of staff takes place regularly, although the quality of the records of these sessions is not consistent. The records do not always reflect that staff have had an opportunity to discuss children during sessions or identify development opportunities. Staff feel supported by the registered manager and say that the new staff team is working hard to develop a secure and consistent approach for children.

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good

The registered manager has developed good relationships with external professionals working with children. One care professional credits staff’s attempt to develop Inspection report for children’s home: 2766141 4 relationships with a child who has previously faced challenges in this area. The registered manager has worked hard to develop the culture of requesting that children formally agree to a move to the home before this takes place. Professionals have reported that this has created a solid foundation for children moving in. Inspection report for children’s home: 2766141 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)) 31 October

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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

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all incidents are evaluated, taking into consideration any possible learning outcomes that can be implemented into children’s risk management plans, or to support the development of staff. The registered person must also ensure that there are clear systems in place in the home to support and develop management oversight. 31 October Inspection report for children’s home: 2766141 6 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 each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(viii)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children are not attending an education setting, they are actively encouraged to engage in a structured routine which is regularly reviewed for effectiveness. 31 October

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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—

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Requirement Due date

that staff— 31 October Inspection report for children’s home: 2766141 7 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; and

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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

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that each child is provided with proactive key-work sessions that are planned based on children’s presenting needs and feelings. The registered person must ensure that incidents of children going missing from home, racism or antisocial behaviours are followed up with targeted direct work which is evaluated to review the impact on the child.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all new staff members participate in fire evacuation drills as soon as practical. 31 October Inspection report for children’s home: 2766141 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when the statement of purpose has been reviewed, a copy of this is shared with the regulating body. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that the home environment complies with relevant health and safety legislations, including the securing of any ligature points. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s health needs are explored effectively and understood by staff in liaison with external health professionals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11)

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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: 2766141 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Residential Child Care Community (Town Hall) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 843 Finchley Road, London NW11 8NA

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Inspector

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2766141 10 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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