Children's home run by Applecast Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2632727 1 Registered provider: Applecast 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 privately owned home provides care for two children. The home provides short-term emergency, respite and bridging placements to allow the local authority time to decide on the most appropriate long-term provision for children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2021.

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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

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2024

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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: 2632727 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2024 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 22/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2632727 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is currently living at the home. The child has been living in the home for three weeks. Since the last inspection, three children have left the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to supporting children to spend time with people they are close to. They take them to visit family and friends as they recognise the importance of children being supported to maintain relationships that are important to them. Staff have built effective relationships with children’s friends and family. One family member said, ‘They communicate well. They support us. I cannot fault them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move on from the home, staff work alongside a range of key professionals, carers and family members to ensure that the child has a positive ending and can move into their new surroundings in a planned way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has been proactive in securing appropriate health appointments and medication reviews for children with long-standing medical conditions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children face barriers to education, the manager liaises with education professionals, advocating on the child’s behalf to ensure that plans are in line with the child’s needs and ability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The location of the home provides the child with ample opportunities to explore nature and farm animals, learn new skills and be involved in local community events. Staff encourage children to try new activities to ensure that they are able to access a range of experiences. For example, one child helped staff to look after the farm animals and adopted a pet chicken, which they took with them when they moved to their new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Advocacy is important to the manager and the staff team. Children are encouraged to participate in meetings and engage with professionals when decisions are being made about their lives. The manager has developed effective working relationships with a range of professionals to ensure that care planning is effective.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted and encouraged. Staff help and support children to recognise their feelings and manage their behaviour safely. Staff respond to children in a caring way that helps create safe boundaries.

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

Risk management plans are clear and easy to follow and consider the strategies staff need to follow when a serious incident takes place. However, not all staff have signed the risk management plan document. This does not demonstrate that all staff have understood the child’s risks and needs and know what to do should a serious incident arise. Inspection report for children's home: 2632727 4 There has been one incident of physical intervention since the last inspection. The reason for the intervention was reasonable and proportionate, and there was satisfactory management oversight, including individual debriefs and discussions in team meetings.

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

When children go missing from home, staff are rigorous in their attempts to locate the child. They follow the protocol and report the child as missing in a timely manner. Staff communicate effectively with external professionals, family and friends to coordinate the child’s return safely. Follow-up visits are arranged by the missing persons intervention team to explore the reasons why the child may be going missing from home.

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

Regular key-worker discussions take place with children. These discussions are meaningful and help children to gain an understanding of the topics that impact on their lives, such as promoting positive sexual health, the consequences of drug and alcohol misuse and keeping safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a manager who is experienced and has developed effective working relationships with commissioners, social workers and education professionals. The manager is supported by an experienced deputy who assists with the monitoring systems in place, such as weekly and monthly audits.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No changes have been made to the workforce since the last inspection. Staffing is stable and consistent. Staff say that they are happy working at the home and receive support from a stable management team. One member of staff who is currently completing their diploma has recently been nominated for student of the year.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and handovers take place regularly to ensure that all staff receive information about the current risks to children. This ensures that risk management is central to care practices. Staff are supported to develop their skills and knowledge around caring for children. Leaders and managers ensure that staff have access to relevant training to assist them in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home and its surroundings provide a welcoming, nurturing environment for children. The child’s bedroom is well furnished, clean and tidy and is personalised to the child’s specific taste. The deputy manager checks the health and safety of the home on a regular basis to ensure that the environment is safe for children to live in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. The record of supervision includes discussions about care practice, debriefs, performance and areas for development. However, not all staff have signed their supervision record. Therefore, it is unclear if they agree with the final content. A recommendation has been raised about this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly. These are well attended and provide the staff team with the opportunity to reflect on practice, consider new ways of working, share ideas and make suggestions. This practice leads to positive staff morale and effective teamwork. Inspection report for children's home: 2632727 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 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)) 12 February 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff supervision enables staff to reflect and act on how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. In particular, ensure that all supervision documents are agreed and signed by the member of staff whom the document relates to. (‘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: 2632727 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Eco Centre, Cobbs Brow Lane, Newburgh, Wigan WN8 7SF

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Inspector

Michelle Greenhalgh, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2632727 7 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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