Children's home run by Hopscotch Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 1 Registered provider: Hopscotch Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The previous manager left the home in January 2025. The current manager is due to leave the organisation soon and has not applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, no children were living at the home.

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This monitoring visit

The home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 11 June 2025. Due to the serious and widespread safeguarding failures and poor leadership and management of the home, Ofsted issued a restriction of accommodation notice and two compliance notices under regulations 12, the protection of children standard and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard.

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This monitoring visit

The restriction of accommodation notice had immediate effect from 12 June 2025 to 2 September 2025.

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This monitoring visit

This visit was carried out to monitor the provider’s compliance with the restriction of accommodation notice and the action taken to address the compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has complied with the restriction of accommodation notice.

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This monitoring visit

The responsible individual and acting manager have started reviewing processes and procedures. This review is in its early stages and requires further development to ensure that new processes are effective. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 2 Since the last inspection, there was an alleged incident of poor staff practice. The responsible individual and acting manager have not taken sufficient action to address the concern and follow safeguarding processes. This potentially leaves children at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, a further three staff have left the home. The acting manager was also leaving the week after this visit. This leaves the complement of staff very low. Two staff spoken to said staff morale is low. They were worried that sufficient changes that are needed will not take place. The responsible individual said they are in the process of recruiting new staff. He envisaged that the home will be fully staffed by September 2025.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have received training in safeguarding practices and in areas to meet specific needs of children. This helps staff to develop their knowledge and skills to support children and keep them safe.

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This monitoring visit

The acting manager has started to review the competency and learning of staff from their recent training. However, this requires more time and scrutiny for the manager to gain a full understanding about staff knowledge and skills to identify any further support.

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This monitoring visit

Since the full inspection, one child living in the home has moved to a new home. Clear plans were implemented in collaboration with the placing local authority, ensuring that the child’s move was managed safely and in line with their individual needs. This ensured that the child had a positive ending to their time living in the home.

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This monitoring visit

Other requirements made at the last inspection are outside the scope of this visit. However, one requirement under regulation 21 was met. The other requirements will be reviewed at the next inspection.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has not taken sufficient action to meet the steps outlined in the compliance notices. Compliance notices have been issued under regulation 12, the protection of children standard and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/06/2025 Full Inadequate 29/10/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/08/2023 Full Good 25/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 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 with 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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)) 21 September

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and 21 September Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 5 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 21 September Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(e)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; 21 September Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 7 encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 21 September Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 8 Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that when a manager is managing the home they submit an SC2 application to register with Ofsted in six weeks of commencing employment in the manager role.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that when a child has been given a consequence or has been restrained, that the user of the measure is sufficiently spoken to and debriefed and the person carrying out the independent scrutiny signs the record. 21 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs.

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Requirement Due date

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff do not lone work if they have not got a suitable first-aid qualification. 21 September

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 9 seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5 (a)(b))

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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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

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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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; and (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(viii)(x)) 21 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. 21 September Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 10 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject of a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 11

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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

Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2638535 12 and inspects to 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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