Children's home run by Carehome Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report children‟s home: SC044276 1 SC044276 Registered provider: Carehome Limited

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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 privately owned home is registered to care for up to four children in the main house. Additionally, a satellite house provides accommodation for up to two children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in April 2013.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 November 2018

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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: 22 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/11/2017 Full Outstanding 14/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC044276 2 01/11/2016 Full Outstanding 29/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC044276 3

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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, 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 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(5)). In particular, provide accurate details on the home‟s therapeutic input, and staff‟s experience. 28/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children‟s safety. The requirements are that 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)) 28/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that: 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 the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; 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”), has spoken to the user about the measure; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(vi)(vii)(b)(c)) 28/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children‟s home at least once in each calendar year, taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46(1)(2)) 28/12/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about their care and are actively involved in devising their placement plans and risk assessments. Inspection report children‟s home: SC044276 4 („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 22, paragraph 4.12)  Ensure that the home‟s workforce plan is updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home‟s manager. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  Ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.11). In particular, training should cover child

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Recommendations

criminal and sexual exploitation, missing from home, and radicalisation.  Staff‟s annual appraisals must take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of the children and other professionals, when reviewing the performance of each member of staff. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  Ensure that any person appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous assessment of the home‟s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting children‟s welfare, and includes the views of parents and other stakeholders. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a welcoming, homely and safe environment. The home is well resourced and well maintained. Children feel valued and they know that the staff genuinely care about them. This is reflected in a child‟s comments: „My time being in (X) has been a delight, with all staff helping me to get through some pretty tough times. All members of staff are amazing.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

An experienced and dedicated team nurtures warm and trusting relationships with the children. Staff understand the children‟s needs well, and invest time in supporting them to reach their full potential. This is particularly evident in children‟s educational achievements. Children‟s school attendance and engagement with their education are excellent. As a result, the children make sustained progress in their education from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team makes sure that the children have access to a good range of activities, including attending local clubs, swimming lessons and cadets. Furthermore, children‟s interests and hobbies are encouraged. A child proudly presented his collection of crystals and explained how the staff help him to obtain them and keep them safe. Children are benefiting from having increased confidence and self-esteem. Inspection report children‟s home: SC044276 5 Staff have a good understanding of the children‟s health needs and when required they quickly link them with specialist services, such as child and adolescent mental health services. This helps to ensure that the children‟s emotional health is appropriately assessed and supported by relevant professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Comprehensive placement plans support the children‟s progress and help staff to provide consistent care. Children‟s case records demonstrate the child‟s journey, and their strengths, needs and vulnerabilities. The manager acknowledged that these plans could be strengthened further by ensuring that the children‟s views, wishes and feelings are clearly reflected in these documents and all the home‟s records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide excellent support for children when they move into and on from the home. Staff fully understand how such significant changes in a child‟s life can influence the child‟s care experience and future. When children move in or out of the home, their transitions are well planned and well supported. As a result of this, transitions are positive experiences for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The team is committed to providing children with stability, good routines and fair and consistent boundaries. Consequently, children feel safe and secure and they thrive.

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

Safeguarding of children is of paramount concern to the manager and staff. Staff are alert and responsive to safeguarding issues. As a result, children do not present with high-risk behaviours. Furthermore, children‟s emotional well-being and resilience improve as they develop the skills to manage their feelings constructively.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks to each child in their care and they manage and reduce these risks well. However, staff are not sufficiently equipped and skilled to identify and manage high-risk behaviours such as missing from home and substance misuse, or hazards such as child exploitation, should these arise.

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

Behaviour management is good and promotes positive behaviour from children. Rewards and incentives improve and encourage children‟s behaviour and emotional development. Sanctions are fair and help children to change negative and unsafe behaviour for the better. There are a high number of physical interventions used with the children; these help to keep them safe from harm. However, on one occasion, the use of physical intervention could have been avoided if alternative, positive de-escalation techniques had been implemented. Furthermore, records relating to sanctions and physical intervention do not sufficiently document children‟s views, staff debriefs, any injuries sustained by children or evaluation of the effectiveness of the interventions.

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

Safer recruitment practice needs to be strengthened at the home. A new member of staff started to work at the home prior to satisfactory recruitment checks being complete. Furthermore, gaps in employment history for staff and the reason why they left previous employment are not always explored. The shortfalls in safer recruitment do Inspection report children‟s home: SC044276 6 not ensure that only the most suitable staff work at the home.

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

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the local area and have up-to-date information from the police about crime and risks in the community. However, the home does not have its own location review on the appropriateness and suitability of the home‟s location, as required by regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager. An experienced and hands-on deputy supports the smooth running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team is skilled at developing long-lasting relationships with the children in its care. Some children who have moved on from the home keep in touch with the team. A consistent, stable and caring staff team makes this possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although staff have regular professional supervision and team meetings, they do not always benefit from in-depth discussions on their work or training needs. The workforce development plan can improve to ensure that it provides an accurate and current reflection of the staff‟s training and the staff‟s learning and development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A recommendation made at the last inspection is repeated as the manager still does not consider the views of the children, and of other professionals, on each member of staff when reviewing their performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team is settled and most team members have worked at the home for many years. This shows their dedication and commitment to the children and the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes sure that there are always a sufficient number of staff members on duty to provide children with the care, support and supervision that they need. This is making sure that the children are cared for well and kept safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent monitoring of the home can be improved by increasing consultation with external professionals and the children‟s parents and relatives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose does not provide an accurate account of the service, and needs to be updated. Although staff have had some training on attachment, and work closely with the child and adolescent mental health team, they are not qualified to deliver the therapeutic practices that are outlined in the statement of purpose.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children Inspection report children‟s home: SC044276 7 and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children‟s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 children‟s home: SC044276 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hanover Buildings, 11–13 Hanover street, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 3DN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Minogue

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Inspectors

Lisa Mulcahy: social care inspector Marina Tully: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC044276 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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