Children's Home run by The Rubix Care Group Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2785104 1 Registered provider: The Rubix Care Group Ltd

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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 home is privately operated. It provides care for 1 child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post is currently vacant.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 1 child was living in the home. The inspector spoke with the child.

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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 February 2025

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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: 2785104 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/02/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2785104 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives good care from the staff in the home, who are committed in their roles. Staff promote the child’s individual needs, and the child is making good progress. The child living in the home says that they are happy and feel settled due to the care provided by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and well maintained and staff ensure that the environment replicates a family home. The child’s bedroom is personalised to their tastes, and the child chooses what they would like their rooms and the home to look like.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the child well, advocate on their behalf and work hard to build positive, trusting relationships with them. The child, their family and professionals are positive about the relationships that they have with the staff. One parent said that they feel confident in the staff’s ability to care for their child and that they go above and beyond to help the whole family to feel comfortable and involved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s views are well represented and respected by staff. The child says that they feel heard and are confident that their views will be acted on. The child said that they feel comfortable going to speak with staff and they all help and support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently encourage the child to attend health appointments, and staff promote education and are proactive in seeking the right provisions. Where there are challenges with school attendance, staff use praise to encourage the child to attend and reward them for doing so. As a result, the child has made good progress in their school attendance and attainment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with the child to have conversations about their day-to-day arrangements, education, and independence. This leads to the child being engaged in activities of their choice and being encouraged to try out new activities and interests. They also do independence work and explore work experience and options for the child’s future skills and employment.

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

Staff are confident in helping children manage risks, including supporting them in taking age-appropriate risks. Staff work with other agencies to reduce risks to the child in the local community. Professionals say that the staff’s approach to safeguarding has been effective in reducing the risks associated with offending behaviours.

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

The child’s behaviour management plans detail how staff should support them when they are angry or upset. Staff are skilled in helping the child to understand their thoughts and feelings and how they can affect their choices. Staff carry out key-work sessions and support sessions with the child to provide them with tools to help them Inspection report for children’s home: 2785104 4 manage their emotions appropriately. This is effective in reducing the number of incidents in the home and has meant that physical interventions are not required.

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

There have been no missing-from-care episodes, despite this being an area of high risk for the child. The staff have ensured that the home is a positive environment that the child likes spending time in, resulting in reducing risks.

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

Staff manage situations and behaviours well, showing an understanding of trauma-based behaviours. The child is given clear and consistent boundaries and says that they know what to expect and staff are consistent. This has led to a feeling of stability and security for the child.

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

On one occasion, a child who previously lived in the home shared a concern about a staff member. Some safeguarding actions took place to ensure the child’s immediate safety. However, there was a lack of professional curiosity shown about all elements of the concern raised. This resulted in there being a missed opportunity to ensure a cohesive safeguarding approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager post is vacant and there is an interim manager currently in place. There is a stable team of staff who are enthusiastic and motivated to provide the child with good standards of care. Staff morale is high, and other professionals have said they feel it is a warm and welcoming environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the child well, has a clear understanding of the progress that they are making and is ambitious for their future. The manager and staff celebrate all the child’s achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has strong systems in place to ensure that he has effective oversight of the home. This includes monthly monitoring forms that are provided to the responsible individual to ensure that they are appraised of the progress in the home. The manager can highlight if there are any areas for improvement, and what is going well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has built strong and effective working relationships with professionals involved in caring for the child. This is achieved through good communication, a particular strength of the home. Professionals speak highly of the manager and staff, with one professional describing the communication with the home as ‘always excellent.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Where the manager has found responses from the placing local authority to be ineffective, managers have shown tenacity in escalating and challenging this where required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff development is a priority for the manager. He ensures that staff have access to training to upskill them in areas specific to the child’s needs. Tailored training helps to ensure that the standards of care provided to the child consistently meets their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2785104 5 The statement of purpose has not been revised and refreshed where necessary, nor provided to HMCI in line with regulations. The manager accepts this and is working to amend the statement of purpose to meet requirements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The review of quality-of-care report contains limited feedback from others and does not include any actions, as required. The manager accepts that this was an error and will be addressed within future reviews. Inspection report for children’s home: 2785104 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should develop and keep under review a "Statement of Purpose" (regulation 16 and schedule 1). The home’s Statement of Purpose should be child-focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to meet the Quality Standards for the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in regulation 45, at least once every six months. In particular, the report should clearly identify any actions required for the next 6 months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should build a strong safeguarding culture in the home where children are listened to and respected. In particular, when children raise concerns,

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Recommendations

staff should show professional curiosity following all potential safeguarding concerns. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 43, paragraph 9.8)

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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: 2785104 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Rubix Care Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 1 Cottam Lane Business Centre Cottam Lane, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, Lancashire PR2 1JR

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Inspector

Dawn McCluskey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2785104 8 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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