Children's Home run by Supporting Futures Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 1 Registered provider: Supporting Futures Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care and accommodation for up to two children who may have social and/or behavioural difficulties. There is an acting manager in post who is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

This is the home’s first inspection since registration. Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 3

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improvement to be good

Experiences and progress of young people have been mixed. The home was closed for a short period and is now under new leadership. The young person who has moved to the home is building relationships and trust in the staff. She is already showing small steps of progress from her starting point, particularly in her independent self-care.

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improvement to be good

The young person’s transition to the home was carefully planned and included meeting the staff and visits to the home before moving in. This helped to reduce any anxieties after leaving her previous long-term placement. The home environment is welcoming and reflects the young person’s presence, with photos and her artwork displayed throughout. Family members report feeling welcome in the home and like the homely feel. They are confident that the staff team keeps them updated with the young person’s progress. There are no plans to admit another young person for the foreseeable future, due to the current young person’s individual needs.

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improvement to be good

Positively, the young person has been able to continue to attend her previous school and has excellent attendance. The home maintains regular communication with the school to enable a consistent approach to supporting the young person’s progress.

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improvement to be good

Under the home’s previous leadership, one young person reintegrated into school; however, he later disengaged, despite being offered a range of alternative options. A second young person refused to attend school. The staff had a timetable to follow to engage the young person in educational activities as an interim measure. However, records do not show that the plan was followed. The staff did not wake the young person at the planned time and they did not encourage him to get up to keep to a routine. They did not challenge him when he left the home independently during school hours. This means that these young people were not encouraged or helped to achieve their academic potential.

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improvement to be good

The staff encourage the young person currently living at the home to follow a healthy diet. Activities involving physical exercise that the young person enjoys, such as horse riding, are being explored. The young person’s emotional well-being is monitored, and the staff team receives guidance from an external clinician. The manager has arranged for specific training for the staff, so that they have the skills to support the young person, while awaiting the outcome of further assessment by the child and adolescent mental health service.

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improvement to be good

The health needs of previous young people were not met well. They did not always attend health appointments and there is limited evidence of actions taken by staff to support young people to overcome barriers to attendance. One young person was regularly away from the home during the day. Records show that his diet at the home was limited in range and lacked nutritional balance. There is evidence that both young people were using cannabis, although one young person had Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 4 experienced a long period of refraining from illegal substances. Therefore, young people’s health has not always been promoted well in the home since it opened.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s placements have not ended in a planned way. One young person’s statutory review included a plan for him to spend more time in his home locality as part of a six-month transition to return there. However, he refused to return to the home after visiting his family. The staff completed welfare calls by telephone and in person until the placing authority decided he should remain at his family home. The other young person’s placement was ended as a result of an increase in his risk- taking and challenging behaviour within the home and the community.

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improvement to be good

The staff have a good understanding of the needs of the young person living at the home. There are appropriately high levels of supervision. The young person always has two members of staff on shift and does not go out independently due to her vulnerability. However, the manager is aware that the young person should be enabled to take age-appropriate risks, such as visiting the local shop on her own, and is discussing how to progress plans with the placing authority. The young person’s risk-management plan needs clarity so that the staff team fully understands current risks and can respond appropriately.

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improvement to be good

In the past, young people’s risks and needs were not assessed fully to ensure their compatibility prior to a second young person being admitted to the home. Not all relevant information had been obtained before accepting the second young person at short notice. Although it was requested, the manager did not escalate concerns about the missing plans to the placing authority. This means that care planning was not effective. There were also incidents when the two young people engaged in negative behaviours and caused damage within the home. The staff called for police intervention to manage young people’s behaviour on at least one occasion.

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improvement to be good

The staff used consequences to address some negative behaviours and encouraged young people to engage in key-work sessions to help them understand the consequences of their behaviour. However, these resulted in limited improvements. Physical intervention was used on one occasion to prevent a young person from hurting himself or others.

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improvement to be good

One young person successfully completed a referral order to the youth offending service. The staff ensured that he attended all of his appointments and completed the necessary work. Another young person engaged with a drug and alcohol misuse worker while living at the home. Young people’s engagement with external services helped them to understand the potential risks and consequences for their actions. The staff completed some additional work with young people to reinforce their progress.

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improvement to be good

Specific risks for young people who lived at the home previously were not always well managed. Some concerns were not included in risk-management plans for the Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 5 staff to understand how they should respond. The staff did not always seek advice when trying to manage prolonged incidents in line with management plans. They did not receive specific training to identify or support young people who were at risk of exploitation. Serious safeguarding concerns, including potential grooming by an adult external to the home and an allegation against a member of staff, were not notified to safeguarding agencies at the time of the incidents. The manager did not ensure that he, or the staff, were following the home’s child protection policy. Safeguarding notifications sent to Ofsted were poorly written and did not include all relevant information.

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improvement to be good

The staff followed procedures when young people went missing from the home. They ensured that young people’s placing authorities offered independent return home interviews. However, young people would not always engage with the interviewer.

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good

The previous registered manager has left the home. No young people were living at the home when he left, and the responsible individual decided to temporarily close it until a new manager was appointed. The responsible individual has undertaken a review into the shortfalls of the previous management of the home and is taking a more proactive leadership role to ensure that the home meets its statement of purpose.

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good

A new manager is now in post and is in the process of applying to register. He is suitably qualified and experienced. He has the knowledge, skills and ability to ensure that the home provides safe care that promotes positive outcomes for young people. In a short time, he has reviewed and revised documents, and has outlined his expectations of staff practice in a team meeting and in individual supervision with staff members. The quality of recording is improving. This ensures that staff provide the young person now living at the home with consistent care to meet her specific needs, as well as providing an accurate record of her time living at the home.

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good

Two members of the original staff team remain at the home. New staff have joined the home or are awaiting final safer recruitment checks. Positively, two staff members from the young person’s previous home are joining the company, providing some continuity. They have visited the young person, chaperoned by existing staff, to maintain their relationships until they are able to commence work. In the interim, the manager is working some shifts and current staff members are working some extra hours. When agency workers are required, the home is using only consistent and named agency workers.

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good

New staff say they feel well supported by the manager and enjoy working at the home. They have undergone induction and are receiving regular supervision in line with the provider’s policy. A training plan is in place for all team members. Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 6 Supervision records and team meeting minutes prior to the new manager’s arrival were not available for review. However, external monitoring of the home had highlighted that some staff had not completed mandatory training in the past. A repeated recommendation in this respect was not escalated to the responsible individual. The responsible individual has now appointed an alternative independent person to complete external monitoring. Reports have improved and clearly evaluate practice in the home.

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good

The previous manager completed the first review of the quality of care provided in the home. The report lacked evaluation of how the staff supported young people to make progress and provided limited information and actions to make improvements for the following six months. The new manager appreciates the expectations of the purpose and content of the report to understand and drive forward continuous improvement. Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 7

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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 notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated;

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Requirement Due date

or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii) and (e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, notifications should be clear and succinct and highlight all concerns. There should be no delay in their submission. 01/05/2020

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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; 01/05/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 8 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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi) and (vii)) 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 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

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)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c) and (f)) 01/05/2020

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 01/05/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 9 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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should seek all relevant information as part of a pre-admission assessment and should ensure that children being considered for admission are compatible with those who already live at the home. 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

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

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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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. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(iii)(iv)(ix) and (x)) 01/05/2020

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b) and (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the staff should work with young people to overcome barriers to attending health appointments. Healthy, nutritious meals should be provided for young people. 01/05/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 10

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must 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)  Where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8) Specifically, the registered person should continue to challenge and escalate when up-to-date relevant plans are not

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Recommendations

provided by the placing authority. Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 11

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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 children’s home: 2509381 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Supporting Futures Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sinclair, 300 St Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

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Inspector

Karen Willson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2509381 13 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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