Children's home run by New Start in Sefton

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC409738 1 SC409738

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New Start

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children who are unable to live at home due to emotional and behavioural needs or a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post is currently vacant.

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This monitoring visit

This home was judged as inadequate at the full inspection on 14 and 15 July 2021. Compliance notices were issued in relation to safeguarding, risk management and leadership. As a result, this monitoring visit was conducted on 06 September 2021 to review progress with the notices. This monitoring visit identified that insufficient action has been taken by the provider to meet the notices.

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This monitoring visit

During this visit, continued shortfalls in risk management were identified. Risk management plans remained unclear, lacking clear instructions for staff to follow to minimise risk to children. For example, one child’s record lacked information relating to a safeguarding concern. This demonstrated that staff were unclear aboutwhat action to take to safeguard children. Failure to develop clear risk management guidance or to ensure that staff follow such guidance when it is in place, means that children are not protected from harm.

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This monitoring visit

There are insufficient experienced and suitably skilled staff working in this home. Staff vacancies are compounded by absences due to other issues, such as sickness. This leaves a lot of new and inexperienced staff who do not have the skills, knowledge or experience to understand how to care for children in the home. This places children at potential risk of harm and children, therefore, remain without a stable, consistent staff team. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC409738 2 Managers and staff continue to fail to recognise when children’s care is being compromised. For example, one child should not travel to their hometown, due to the serious concerns in relation to child sexual exploitation. Staff failed to follow the child’s risk management plans and placing authority care plans and took the child, along with other children, to an activity in the child’s hometown. As a result, this

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This monitoring visit

placed the children at significant risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

The quality of management oversight and monitoring at the home has not improved. The interim manager has resigned from her post, and the operational manager has been placed at the home to provide additional management oversight. Despite this, managers continue to fail to identify and address shortfalls and make improvements. This is evident in the serious concerns that have been identified and have resulted in further compliance notices being issued. Issues identified as shortfalls at the last inspection are recurring and, in some areas, quality is deteriorating further.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of the monitoring visit, Ofsted have taken further compliance action to help to ensure that children are provided with safe, effective care. This includes serving a restriction of accommodation notice that restricts the provider from admitting any additional children to the home.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted will continue to monitor the provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 14/07/2021 Full Inadequate 10/10/2019 Full Good 15/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC409738 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each 17 October 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC409738 4 child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d))

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(h)) 17 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 17 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. 17 October 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC409738 5 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that rotas include the full names of all staff who work in the home and the actual hours worked.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 17 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC409738 6

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 179 Townsend Lane, Clubmoor, Liverpool L13 9DY

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Inspector

Rachel Springford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC409738 7 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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