Children's home run by Tab Care and Support Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1270731 1 Registered provider: Tab Care and Support Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since September 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to Covid-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the secretary of state, Ofsted suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1270731 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/05/2019 Full Good 03/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1270731 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a caring and nurturing environment in which they receive care and support that bring stability to their lives. They receive the help that they need to recover from harmful experiences and to move forward in their lives. A social worker said that their child talks about the staff as ‘if they are a family’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children told the inspector that they are happy here and have people around them that they trust. Staff build warm, consistent and positive relationships with children. They show children that they care about them and know what is important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen carefully to what children have to say and help them to be involved in making decisions about their lives. For example, the manager created three plans for one child to consider about their future and where they wanted to be. The child has chosen the path they want to take and feels fully included in the decisions being made about their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of recording in children’s records and documentation is improving. However, there are some issues with their healthcare plans, due to a lack of information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, staff were observed taking children’s medication out of the pharmaceutical box and placing it in a bag. This was to be given to a parent to administer to their child later in the day. This does not provide transparency regarding the medication being administered and places children at risk of harm. This practice ceased immediately when the inspector pointed it out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are strong supporters of children’s education. All children are in school and are doing very well. This is evident from their school reports and progress. Staff were swift to respond to two incidents that occurred in school during the inspection, ensuring that the children were safe and advocating well on their behalf. A social worker said that the staff were ‘amazing’, and it is partly due to their tenacity that their child has not been permanently excluded and can now take their exams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of self-chosen activities. They enjoy spending time with one another and the staff, for example hunting for Pokémon. This is not only a fun activity but encourages children to be active.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been able to keep in touch with family and friends during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are pleased that restrictions are lifting, meaning that they can safely see more people. A parent said that their child receives good care and support and he is doing well here. Inspection report children’s home: 1270731 4

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

The manager and staff have created a safe home environment that protects children from harm. Children feel safe and have a strong sense of belonging. They know that they can talk to staff about their worries and that the staff will help them to be safe. Children are now safer from the risks of abuse and going missing from home. Police support officers are complimentary about the staff and how they educate children on topics such as county lines.

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

Staff are trained in safeguarding and understand the risks around child sexual exploitation, county lines and knife crime. Consequently, staff have the skills and knowledge to observe, identify any potential concerns and act to protect the children.

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

Staff are inventive in helping children to resolve conflicts and reflect upon their behaviour. They make effective use of online training materials around the use of weapons and bullying to help children consider their actions and how they can do things differently. Consequently, children are more able to reflect on and manage their behaviour. This has significantly reduced incidents in the home.

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

There have been some complaints from children and their neighbours regarding anti-social behaviour. Although these concerns have been investigated and resolved, they have not been recorded in the complaint book. This was rectified during the inspection.

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

External doors and internal kitchen doors are locked with keys at night, restricting children’s movement around their home. The practice of locking doors also means that the home is not following its own fire-safety procedures, as children are unable to exit the home without the assistance of staff.

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

Children live in a warm, welcoming and homely environment. Their bedrooms reflect their individual tastes and interests, in particular their favourite football teams.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and qualified registered manager. She works in partnership with the deputy manager to ensure that the children and staff are fully supported, and their individual needs are met. Together, they are creating an environment that is changing children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective staffing arrangements ensure that there are enough suitable, experienced, and qualified staff available to meet the children’s needs. Staff work together cohesively and receive good levels of support and supervision in their day-to-day care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have worked tirelessly during the pandemic to ensure that the children have been cared for by people they know and trust. This has included the responsible individual completing shifts to support the children and staff. Inspection report children’s home: 1270731 5 The home’s workforce development plan needs updating. This is because it does not contain information on the timescales for staff to achieve induction, the frequency of staff supervision, staff training or how poor behaviour is to be managed. These are recording issues and do not impact upon the care of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records are not yet maintained to a consistently good standard. Some records only refer to the children by their initials and do not fully tell the child’s story. The registered manager is aware of this and work is ongoing through team meetings and individual staff supervisions to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development, although their monitoring reports would benefit from more analysis and evaluation of the care practice. Monitoring by the independent person is beneficial and is helping the home to progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers are complimentary about the setting and the progress that their children are making. Inspection report children’s home: 1270731 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, 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 health and well-being standard is that— 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child's relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)) 9 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children's home. (Regulation 23 (1)) 9 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must— provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(b)) In particular the locking of the kitchen door at night. 9 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 9 July 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should: – detail the necessary management and staffing structure (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose Inspection report children’s home: 1270731 7 – detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications) – detail the process for managing and improving poor performance – detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33 (4) (b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home.

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Recommendations

The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training 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)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. 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)  Regulation 45 sets out requirements for the registered person to have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in the regulation at least once every six months; also see regulation 13(2)(h) (the leadership and

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Recommendations

management standard). The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. Reviews should be underpinned by the Quality Standards as described in regulations 5 to 14. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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: 1270731 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Tab Care and Support Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 34 Castle Street, Liverpool L2 0NR

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Anthony Willmore

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Inspector

Chris Scully, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1270731 9 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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