Children's home run by Hopscotch Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 1 Registered provider: Hopscotch Care 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 children’s home is operated by a private organisation and is registered to provide care for one child. The home provides care to children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in June 2019, and the manager registered in December 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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: 2528141 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/05/2023 Full Good 12/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/02/2022 Full Inadequate 05/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s recent transition into the home was well planned. Staff were provided with a clear understanding of the child’s care needs and wishes and feelings. The child said that this made them feel heard and understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is furnished to a good standard and feels comfortable and friendly. There are photos displayed around the home of the staff when they were children. Staff have also made a book with stories about their lives and interests for children to access. The child said that they found this interesting and it helped to make them feel welcomed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the child’s cultural beliefs by helping them to prepare and engage in the traditions of their faith. They purchased the child traditional clothing and decorated the home accordingly. The staff have also looked at changing their working patterns to be more available for the child during religious festivals, which will have an impact on the child’s daily routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff work closely with education professionals to secure the best education options for the child. The child is currently being educated by a tutor and has a personalised timetable. The child is making good progress in education. Managers and staff understand the child’s barrier to learning, and they support the child’s wish for education to remain at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to attend routine health appointments. The manager and staff work with the company’s therapist and external agencies to support the child’s emotional health and well-being. Staff are currently advocating for the child’s education, health and care plan to be confirmed and processed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff are building positive relationships with the child. This means that they can support, guide and advise them, to enhance their development. The child has the opportunity to share their views and have input into decisions made about their life. This supports the child to feel listened to, valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has a good routine and structure in place, and is supported to develop their independence skills in line with their age and individual needs. This supports the child to develop necessary skills in preparation for adulthood.

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. They are aware of the child’s individual risks and vulnerabilities, and know how best to manage and respond to these to ensure that the child remains safe. However, the child’s risk assessment states that their mobile phone and laptop should be handed to staff at bedtime, which is not completed. This is a missed opportunity to manage and reduce Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 4 potential risk. Staff provide clear and consistent practice and boundaries. This creates stability for the child and helps them to understand what is expected of them. Staff use rewards and incentives to encourage positive choices, which enable the child to take responsibility for their own behaviours.

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

Staff are trained in physical intervention and de-escalation. However, they have not had to use physical intervention to keep the child safe. This is due to the positive relationships that staff have built with the child, which allow the staff to successfully de- escalate situations and support the child to regulate their emotions.

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

Staff help the child to understand risks and develop strategies to manage difficult feelings safely. This teaches them life skills for their future. Staff receive training in child protection and safeguarding practices. They also receive tailored training on topics that are relevant to the child’s individual needs. Staff have access to a specialist adviser to support them.

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

Staff have started learning about the child’s culture and encourage the child to teach them about their religion, food and language. The child said, ‘I like it when they try to talk to me about the Quran; they get it wrong but it’s funny.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development of the home. However, this could be strengthened by having more rigorous and impartial reports from the independent person that include external feedback.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are recruited safely. They have a detailed induction plan that includes undertaking the relevant training for their role. The staff are given opportunities to develop and progress in the organisation if they choose to. Staff working towards their required qualifications are supported, and timescales are monitored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions, team meetings, training and a planned yearly assessment of their performance. This provides the manager with information for her to remain confident in the abilities of the staff team to meet the needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has formed positive working relationships with professionals. Feedback from professionals is positive. The manager appropriately challenges professionals when they do not take effective action to meet the child’s needs. This ensures that any delays for the child are resolved quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of incidents and acts appropriately when serious incidents occur. The manager regularly reviews the home’s physical environment to ensure that it is safe and secure. However, the child has refused to engage in fire evacuations several times and action has not been taken to address this. The manager acted swiftly to address this shortfall when it was identified during the inspection. The child acted as the lead person in the fire evacuation that day, and direct work was done about the risks of fire. Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. Specifically, ensure, where possible, that feedback is obtained from children and stakeholders. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. In particular, they should ensure the safe use of mobile devices. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home. Children should engage in fire evacuation drills and understand the importance of doing so. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9).

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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: 2528141 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hopscotch Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 19 Lancaster Road, Carnforth, Lancashire LA5 9LD

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Inspector

Deborah Turner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2528141 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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