Children's Home run by Thunderbolt Mobile Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 1 SC055153 Registered provider: Thunderbolt Mobile 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 service is owned by a private organisation that provides activity-based intervention for up to three children who may be experiencing a period of difficulty or crisis.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were accessing the service using a broad beam boat, a house, and also a short-term accommodation house.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who has been registered since August 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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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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: SC055153 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2024 Full Good 07/03/2023 Full Good 17/11/2021 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff document the children’s journeys. This demonstrates the positive impact that living at the home has had on individual children’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive and trusting relationships with staff, who are positive role models. Children feel listened to, and staff ensure that children know how to raise a concern or complaint. Children said that if they had any worries or concerns, they could talk to staff and they would help them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress with their individual education plans. One child has started college after completing their exams. Two children who did not attend school before living at the home now have good attendance and are engaging positively with their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with those who are important to them in line with their agreed plans. Staff support family time by taking children to see their family or by supporting children’s families to visit them at their home. This ensures that children can maintain relationships with those who may live some distance away.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to take part in meaningful activities which enhance their skills and resilience as well as providing them with new opportunities and hobbies. Children are supported to build age-appropriate friendships, and this helps to give them a sense of identity and allows them to spend time with peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend routine health appointments and specialist well-being support is sourced from the internal therapy team, when needed. The therapist also attends team meetings to share information and guidance with staff to help them support children’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are new to the home they are supported to move into the home as sensitively as possible, taking into consideration their individual circumstances. The manager and staff complete suitability assessments before children move into the home to make sure the home and staff team can meet their needs. This means there is a child-centred approach to deciding whether the home is suitable for the child.

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

There have been no safeguarding concerns or worries since the last inspection. Staff spoken to were able to accurately explain the action they would take should they be alerted to an allegation or witness a concern of abuse. Staff are suitably trained in safeguarding. Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 4 Plans and assessments are robust and detailed documents which are regularly updated and provide clear guidance and strategies for staff to follow to provide consistency of care to children and to help reduce the risk of harm.

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

There has been no occasion when physical intervention has been required. This demonstrates that behaviour support strategies and training are effective alongside the respectful relationships that staff and children share.

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

Staff take suitable action when children have been missing from the home. Staff work with external agencies and families to support children to return home quickly and safely. Children receive a return home interview from an independent person following their return and the manager completes an evaluation of each incident.

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

Staff conduct regular direct work sessions with children. These are often planned around key topics but are also completed reactively when needed in response to incidents, behaviours or relevant events. These support children to have the skills and knowledge to keep themselves safe and to explore their emotions safely.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely through the staff team and the therapy team. Staff understand children’s experiences, respond with appropriate boundaries and seek to understand triggers for behaviour. One parent said: ‘My child is thriving since living at the home. They can now manage their emotions and are finding their own identity.’

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

Due to the nature of the service, children often move around and stay in different types of accommodation. However, one child has been settled in a house for over a year and they take pride in their home. There has been significant damage caused by damp in the house. The issue causing the damp has now been rectified; however, the damaged area has not been suitably redecorated.

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

The manager has not ensured that there are suitable processes in place to assess the suitability of the location of short-term accommodation for children. In addition, there is no evidence to confirm that the properties used for short-term accommodation factor in health and safety requirements such as annual electricity checks and gas safety checks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced manager in post who is supported by a deputy manager. Staff spoken to describe the management team as supportive and always available for advice and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use internal and external monitoring of the home effectively and have an ambitious vision of the development they want to achieve, alongside an understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. This enables them to take effective action when required. However, the quality of care review is not always completed within timescales and does not include the feedback and opinions of children Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 5 about the home, its facilities and the care they receive. In addition, some records are handwritten and illegible, which means that it is not always possible to monitor these records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children well and acts as an advocate to ensure that the child’s voice is heard and that decisions made by the placing authority regarding children’s care and their futures are in their best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable and consistent staff team whose members support children to feel a sense of belonging and permanence. They work well with external professionals, such as the placing authority, therapy team and school to ensure that there is a wraparound approach to support the best outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended, and staff understand the value of these meetings. They are an opportunity for the team to meet and share information, review support strategies for children and to use the knowledge of the therapy team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have their fitness to complete the role appraised every year. They also take part in regular supervision sessions; however, supervision sessions are mainly used to share information about children, the team and training rather than focusing on specific areas of staff practice and reflecting how staff are influencing the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 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 registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they complete a review of the suitability of premises used for children. In addition, they must also have suitable arrangements in place to ensure they are satisfied with the health and safety requirements of the properties. 7 March 2025

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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 7 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 7 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

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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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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)(a)(b)(vii)(c )(i)(ii)) 7 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 8 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the home is decorated and maintained to an acceptable standard and that any damage or wear and tear is quickly addressed and rectified.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful and clear recording, ensuring that handwritten records are legible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered manager should ensure that staff supervision sessions are practice- related and focus on supporting staff to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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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: SC055153 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Thunderbolt Mobile Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 158/160 Birkrig, Digmoor Parade, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN8 9HP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Fletcher

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Inspector

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC055153 10 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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