Children's Home run by Guidance Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2808740 1 Registered provider: Guidance Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in November 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be 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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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2808740 2

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improvement to be good

Staff support children who are new to the home to build trusting relationships. There are suitable arrangements in place to ensure that children can express their views, wishes and feelings and be involved in decisions about their day-to-day care. Staff encourage children to be involved in meetings about their current and future care needs.

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improvement to be good

Children are not attending education. Staff have worked with the school and placing authority to identify a suitable alternative education provision for a child. They also support home education. However, one child is not engaging in education, training or employment. Staff are not taking appropriate action to help children understand the importance of education or to identify a suitable provision for them.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with their families in line with their agreed plans. Children visit family where appropriate and remain in contact with them if they wish to do so. This helps children to maintain relationships that are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Children are offered opportunities to participate in activities that align with their hobbies and interests. Staff acknowledge that as children mature, they often prefer to spend time with their friends in the community rather than spending time with staff. However, this reduces the opportunity to engage children in meaningful discussions and to help them develop a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to move into the home as sensitively as possible, taking into account their individual circumstances and the needs of other children in the home. Before children move into the home, assessments are carried out that factor in all relevant and necessary information. However, there are occasions when children have moved into the home in an emergency, with little or no planning.

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improvement to be good

One child wishes to move on to semi-independent living. The manager and staff are working with the placing authority and the child to support this plan.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are regularly updated and include guidance and strategies to inform staff of relevant risks. These detailed documents support staff in providing consistent care for children. However, missing-from-home protocols do not provide staff with specific, individual time frames for reporting children missing to the police.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out individual work sessions with children about topics that are relevant to their lives. However, these are not always documented, and there are limited sessions to Inspection report for children’s home: 2808740 3 help one child understand the importance of education, training or employment or to educate children about the risks of substance misuse.

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improvement to be good

There are processes in place for the safer recruitment of staff. However, gaps in employment history are not always fully explored.

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improvement to be good

When it has been necessary to physically hold a child, it has been reasonable and proportionate and for the least amount of time necessary to keep the child and others safe. Children and staff are supported to reflect on the hold and the reason for it.

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improvement to be good

There have been no safeguarding concerns or allegations since the home opened. There are systems in place to ensure that staff are suitably trained in safeguarding matters. On one occasion, a staff member did not follow safeguarding reporting procedures. The manager took suitable action in response to this, and the child’s welfare was prioritised throughout.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has submitted his resignation after a short time in the role and is due to leave the home. Recruitment is ongoing to appoint a new manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are processes in place for the manager to have oversight of the home. Leaders and the manager are aware of areas for development and have plans in place to address these, but these plans are not yet effective. Furthermore, during the manager’s absence, there has been a shortfall in oversight of significant events.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been instabilities in the staff team since the home registered, with several staff leaving and recruitment ongoing. This means that the ethos and objectives of the home are not yet demonstrated in practice. The manager works with other homes in the company to provide familiar staff who support children while recruitment is ongoing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are not receiving monthly supervision sessions in line with the home’s statement of purpose. When sessions take place, they are not practice related and do not focus on the impact staff have on the progress and outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by the team. However, the meetings focus on operational activity, and there are limited discussions about children. This is a missed opportunity for staff to reflect and to share information about children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive training on relevant topics to meet the children’s specific needs. However, staff are not trained in the model of care used in children’s positive behaviour support plans and risk assessments. Furthermore, not all staff have undertaken refresher training within the required time frames. Inspection report for children’s home: 2808740 4

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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 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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(iv)(v)(ix)(x)) 28 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

engage with them; and 28 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2808740 5 take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff discuss the importance of engaging in education, employment and training with children. Furthermore, staff should evidence that discussions take place with children about how to manage risks and keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 28 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d)) 28 May 2025

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that staff are trained in the model of care used in the home. Furthermore, 28 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2808740 6 staff must complete refresher training in relevant subjects in a timely manner.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and to review the effectiveness of the measures used. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and when staff should report this to the police. The home’s procedures must consider the views of appropriate local services and have regard to police and local authority protocols for responding to missing person incidents in the area where the home is located. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraphs 9.28 and 9.29)

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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: 2808740 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Guidance Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Guidance Care Limited, Unit 8, Sovereign Court, Wyrefields, Poulton Industrial Estate, Poulton-le-Fylde FY6 8JX

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Inspector

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2808740 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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