Children's Home run by Nurture Childcare Services Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1238043 1 Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024.

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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: 3 December 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: 1238043 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/12/2024 Full Good 23/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/10/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 1238043 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children were spoken to as part of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, three children have remained living at the home. Staff have positive relationships with children. They have meaningful conversations with children to explore their wishes and feelings and to help them understand their care. One external professional said that staff ‘nurture a sense of belonging’ for children living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school or college. All children are enrolled at provisions suited to their individual needs, and children say that they enjoy attending. Staff advocate for children to receive additional support to remove barriers to their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. All children have the opportunity to engage with therapeutic support through in-house services. When children do not wish to engage with the service directly, the home’s therapist works with the staff to develop their skills and knowledge of therapeutic parenting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children’s relationships with their families. A child’s family member said that staff are ‘brilliant’, as they support their time as a family, keep them updated and know the children well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to access a range of activities and opportunities. One child said that the activities are what they like most about living at the home. They have been able to participate in go-karting and trampolining, as well as recently joining a local rugby club.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s independence in line with their age. For example, one child is encouraged to budget, shop and cook for themselves. This helps to promote the child’s confidence and to prepare the child for future independent living. However, the systems in place to monitor and review the progress of children’s independence development are not sufficient.

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children.

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

Staff respond well to incidents of self-harm. They provide children with emotional warmth and reassurance. On one occasion, the member of staff’s empathetic and nurturing approach encouraged the child to confide in them, resulting in the child giving staff the item they had used to self-harm.

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

Physical interventions are necessary and a proportionate response to safeguard children. There has been one missed opportunity to physically intervene and prevent a child from Inspection report for children’s home: 1238043 4 causing harm to themselves. The manager identified this shortfall before the inspection and addressed it with staff.

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

Staff work well with other agencies to safeguard children. When children are missing from the home, staff search for them and stay in close contact with the local police to help locate them. The local police community support officer regularly visits the home to speak with children, offer advice and build positive relationships.

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

When there are incidents of children being under the influence of substances, staff ensure their well-being. They seek further medical advice when necessary and carry out regular welfare checks. Staff speak to children about the dangers of misusing substances and explore the reasons behind their behaviour.

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

Staff understand the potential risks posed by children’s access to mobile phones and the internet. There are strategies identified to reduce these risks, such as regular mobile phone checks. However, for one child, these strategies are not sufficiently implemented and reviewed to ensure that they are effective. This means that children are vulnerable to risks presented by internet and mobile phone use.

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

Children’s risk assessments cover all known risks and are personalised for the child. However, there is conflicting information between children’s plans regarding their time in the community. This does not support staff in providing consistent care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager in post. The manager knows the children well and has a good understanding of their individual needs. She prioritises spending time with children to ensure that their views are heard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is effective management oversight of incidents for children. The manager identifies shortfalls in staff practice and addresses this through incident debriefs with staff, regular supervision and team meetings. This helps staff to develop and improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are cared for by a stable staff team. Staff speak positively about working at the home and say that they are well supported by their colleagues. The staff team receives regular supervision. Staff say the manager is approachable and always there to support them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are trained in topics relevant to the children’s needs. Staff take part in bespoke workshops delivered by in-house therapeutic practitioners. This supports them in gaining a better understanding of the children they support and how best to care for them. Inspection report for children’s home: 1238043 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

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

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

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff take effective action to prevent harm to children, including the use of physical intervention when necessary and proportionate.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that strategies in place to safeguard children are effective, particularly regarding the risks of children’s mobile phone use. 28 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans contain accurate and up-to-date information regarding their care. 28 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1238043 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there are effective systems in place to record and review children’s progress in acquiring skills for independence. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, 10.5)

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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: 1238043 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Nurture Childcare Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Calls Wharf, C/o Pebbles Care Ltd, 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspector

Hayley Smith, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1238043 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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