Children's home run by Outbound Care

Inspection report for children’s home: 2507889 1 Registered provider: Outbound Care

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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 children’s home is registered to care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

One child has moved out of the home and one child has moved into the home during this inspection period. At the time of the inspection there was one child living in the home, who has lived here for a limited time. The child spoke to the inspector about their experiences living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably experienced and has been in post since November 2023.

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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: 2507889 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2024 Full Good 07/02/2023 Full Outstanding 10/03/2022 Full Good 03/03/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2507889 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create a warm, homely environment with photos on display of staff and the child throughout the home. The child is settling into the home and is beginning to build positive, trusting relationships with the staff team. The child said: ‘Staff really care, and I have not had people really care about me before.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager works with headteachers of virtual schools to find suitable schools for children. When children are not attending school, the manager ensures that creative home education plans are in place in the interim. Plans include tutoring and promote engagement, to aid confidence. This prepares children for the structured routines of school, encourages engagement, and reduces gaps in children’s learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is registered with key healthcare professionals and is attending their appointments. When children refuse to attend health appointments, the staff speak to them about the importance of their health and the consequences of not getting treatment and reassure them they will be there to support them throughout appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager considers the needs of a child moving into the home against the skills and abilities of the staff team. This ensures that staff can meet the needs of the child. When a child moved on from the home, the manager worked with authorities on providing a structured transition. The staff celebrated the child’s time in the home with a meal and thoughtful gifts. This provided the child with a positive ending.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with opportunities for fun activities. Staff encourage hobbies and interests for children, arranging horse riding, nature walks and gym sessions. This helps them learn new skills and form new interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s independent visitor takes the time to build trusting relationships with children. This allows children to have open discussions with them about their care and any concerns they have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s gardens are well maintained, with bedding plants, ornaments, and outside seating. The child is encouraged to get involved in home projects, such as gardening, and is using their home-grown vegetables and herbs in their home cooking. This helps them to learn about healthy foods and provides a sense of achievement.

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

Children identify staff as trusted adults and approach them with their concerns. Staff respond to children’s concerns warmly and sensitively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2507889 4 Managers and staff manage allegations appropriately. Children’s social workers are notified to ensure that children have the right support during the investigation process and referrals are made to professionals to allow for independent oversight. The outcomes of investigations are fed back to children. This reassures children that they are being listened to.

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

Staff know the individual missing plans for the children and follow them. Staff remain in contact with children when they are missing and encourage their return home. Staff look in known areas and check with family and friends. This lets children know that staff care about them. On one occasion, when staff failed to use the safety plans in place, the manager addressed this with staff to enable learning. Children are welcomed warmly when they return home, and staff ensure they are safe and well.

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

Children have access to specialist services for support in areas such as child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation and substance misuse. Staff ensure that services are updated with any relevant information and that multi-agency meetings are held if issues arise. The manager keeps a clear timeline of events, which is shared in meetings to ensure that a complete picture of the complex risks is understood by all involved. This ensures cohesive and proactive multi-agency working. Staff encourage children to engage with specialist professionals. This means children have access to the adults who are most able to help them. From work completed with one child, there has been an identified reduction in risks around child sexual exploitation and a reduction in episodes of going missing.

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

Staff training completed is specific to the identified needs of the children they care for. As a result, staff have a good understanding of children’s risks and how to best respond when they are in crisis. However, safety plans do not always detail full risks for children, triggers, and clear steps for staff to follow should an incident arise, to enable new staff or those providing temporary cover to know all risks and how to respond effectively.

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

Staff use de-escalation effectively when children are in crisis. This means that restraint is not used in the home. Children can discuss incidents with someone who was not part of the incident. The manager reviews incidents to ensure that action taken was reasonable.

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

Consequences are rarely used in the home. When in place, they are restorative and help children to gain an understanding of other people’s experiences through their actions. Some are put in place to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is motivated and ambitious in her vision for the children. She has high expectations of the staff and is committed to improving outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home. All reports and plans have evidence of management oversight. The manager completes monthly audit reports with clear actions Inspection report for children’s home: 2507889 5 for the upcoming month. Checklists are also used weekly to oversee daily tasks. This ensures the home is operating within regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers follow safer recruitment procedures. This confirms that staff are fully checked before being able to provide care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Induction programmes for new starters are in place, ensuring that staff are aware of essential information to fulfil their role. This ensures staff are prepared to support children in the home. New staff are also paired up with the same experienced staff member during their induction. This provides consistency for children and support for new staff members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a strong focus on team development. She uses research to devise training and development to help staff understand the effects of trauma. The manager and staff reflect on research and training in team meetings and supervision sessions. This allows staff to use what they have learned in their discussions with children. Development sessions are also completed with staff to ensure they have a thorough understanding of the home’s policies and protocols and reporting and recording practices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. Supervision sessions have a strong focus on outcomes for children. They are reflective and detailed, with clear actions set. Staff have high praise for the support and development they receive from the manager and enjoy working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals report that they consult on a regular basis with staff and the manager. They say that communication between them and the manager is great, and they work well together to promote positive outcomes for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2507889 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

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))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s risk plans contain all identified risks and clear steps for staff to follow should an incident arise. 24 April 2025

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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: 2507889 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Metropolitan Business Park, Preston New Road, Blackpool FY3 9LT

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Inspector

Renée Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2507889 8 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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