Children's Home run by Hopscotch Care Limited in Cumberland

Inspection report for children's home: 2741833 1 Registered provider: Hopscotch Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience emotional and social difficulties. At the time of the inspection, no children lived in the home. One child who had recently moved out of the home was spoken with during the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The home and manager were registered with Ofsted in August 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

Date of last inspection: 12 November 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2741833 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/11/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/10/2024 Full Good 24/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2741833 3

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Summary of findings

Three children have moved out of the home since the last full inspection. Children generally make good progress from their starting points and are supported with positive transitions when moving out of the home.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers have made progress, and requirements raised at the last full inspection have been addressed. Improvement has been identified in management oversight, staff's response to safeguarding incidents and the reflective quality of recordings. However, the quality of reflective oversight and recording continues to be inconsistent at times.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers have good oversight and have identified where there are shortfalls in practice. Clear plans are in place for workforce development. The manager ensures that staff receive the relevant training and support to help them understand and fulfil their roles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped by staff to prepare to move on from the home. One child was supported with a successful move into semi-independence. Managers and staff recognise the importance of helping children to maintain family relationships and advocate for this where it is in the best interest of the child. These efforts resulted in increasingly positive family relationships for one child and enabled them to successfully return home to live with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop age-appropriate independence skills. Children learn to cook and to complete household tasks independently. This helps build children's confidence and supports them in their move towards independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to attend important appointments and to engage with external professionals in accordance with their care plans. Staff help children to access a range of appropriate health services, and, when necessary, referrals are made to external agencies to ensure that children's needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child said they enjoyed living in the home and felt supported by staff. They were able to identify a key person who they had a strong relationship with. This demonstrates that children develop trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Age-appropriate boundaries are implemented around children's internet use. These help to encourage children to engage in education. However, staff do not consistently help children to have healthy bedtime routines. This impacts children's motivation to engage in positive activities throughout the day. Inspection report for children's home: 2741833 4

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

When children go missing from home, staff look for them and liaise with the relevant professionals to promote their safe return. Children receive return home interviews from social workers, in addition to being spoken to by staff. This helps staff to understand the reasons for children going missing and to update plans to include children's views. On one occasion when staff did not fully follow the missing-from-home protocol for one child, this was identified through effective manager oversight, and appropriate actions were taken in response.

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

When incidents occur, appropriate measures are put in place to safeguard children and prevent a reoccurrence. Managers also identify any learning that can be taken from them to drive practice improvement. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and are alert to signs that children may be at risk of harm, in particular when there were high contextual safeguarding risks for one child.

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

Risk assessments are updated in line with emerging risks, and behaviour management plans are followed. When staff obtain information that impacts the safety of children, this is swiftly shared with the wider multi-agency team of professionals. This contributes to safe planning for the care of children.

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of risks to children and follow guidance from multi-disciplinary professionals. However, staff lack confidence and have struggled to manage one child's complex behaviours. As such, interventions were unsuccessful. The manager had not fully considered the skills of the staff team, as well as the gender balance, to consider if these were appropriate to meet the needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the home's strengths and weakness and have a clear plan in place to further develop the skills of the staff team. The manager has identified opportunities for learning to take place and has taken action to address previous shortfalls in staff practice. The manager has monitoring systems in place to analyse incidents and children's behaviour. This helps to identify patterns, improving the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers provide good levels of support to staff. The manager ensures that staff access appropriate training, which supports them to have the skills they need t o care for children effectively. Staff also benefit from regular supervision sessions, which help them to reflect on their practice and discuss children's progress. The manager provides opportunities for learning by encouraging staff to complete their own practice-based research and to share this during team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals is positive. They say that communication with staff is timely and effective. Leaders and managers work well with a wide range of professionals Inspection report for children's home: 2741833 5 involved in supporting children. This supports positive working relationships and better care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Consistency in recording fluctuates. Some children's records are detailed and provide reflective insight into staff practice and the reasons for children's behaviours. Other records are less detailed, and this prevents managers and staff from fully understanding the effectiveness of the interventions. The manager has identified some shortfalls in recording and begun to take action to improve this. Inspection report for children's home: 2741833 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 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;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2) (c)(f)) 9 July 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful and clear recording. This specifically relates to ensuring that incident reports contain accurate and consistent information and are subject to effective management oversight to identify inaccuracies. Information about the child should always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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 Inspection report for children's home: 2741833 7 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: 2741833 8

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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

Sarah Adotey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2741833 9 regulates 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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Inspector

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