Children's Home run by Apex Children’s Services Ltd in Wirral

Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 1 Registered provider: Apex Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care and support to four children who may have social and emotional needs and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post is vacant.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 28 January 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and/or the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: this is the home’s first full inspection since it was registered in June 2020.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 2 Enforcement action since last inspection: on 14 December 2020, two compliance notices were issued under regulation 12 and 13 following an assurance visit. A monitoring visit was undertaken on 28 January 2021 and the compliance notices had been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 3

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inadequate

The serious shortfalls identified in safeguarding practice and leadership and management are undermining children’s welfare, safety and progress.

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inadequate

Weaknesses in care planning are having a negative impact on children’s experiences and progress. When new children move into the home, the manager does not rigorously assess their needs or the potential impact on other children. Consequently, some children have had to move on from the home in an unplanned way because the staff could not meet their needs and keep all children safe. The home has not provided all children with the stability and a sense of belonging that they need.

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inadequate

Some staff do not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of how children’s past experiences and trauma can have an impact on their emotions and behaviour. Furthermore, some staff use stigmatising language when they record information about children. This lack of empathy and understanding of the children’s needs is undermining the positive relationships between the children and staff.

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inadequate

The staff are not proactive at promoting all areas of the children’s health. For example, opportunities have been missed to broaden children’s understanding of safe sexual relationships. Additionally, the staff do not enable children to take responsibility for their own medication or health appointments when it is safe to do so. This is not helping children to prepare for their move to independence.

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inadequate

The home is well maintained and furnished. The children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their individual interests and personality. However, some communal doors are locked at night unnecessarily. Not only does this restrict the children’s access to all areas of the home, it also undermines the homely and welcoming feeling.

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inadequate

The children are supported to keep in touch with their family, friends and other people who are important to them. Effective joint working with social workers and parents is ensuring that family time is carefully assessed and safely planned.

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

At times, the staff have not had the skills or confidence to intervene and de-escalate aggressive behaviour by children. This is because the staff have felt unsafe and acted to protect themselves, for example locking themselves in the office. During such incidents, the staff failed to seek additional support to manage the situation. As a result, children were left without appropriate support and supervision during times of crisis. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 4 The staff do not always act swiftly when children’s behaviour becomes harmful to themselves and others. For example, the staff have not acted when children have been kept awake by other children living in the home. The staff’s inaction is causing potential conflict between the children.

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

Insufficient staffing levels have compromised children’s welfare and safety. The manager has not considered the potential risks of staff working alone and ensured that suitable staff cover is always available.

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

The manager and staff do not recognise the potential risks of the internet on vulnerable children. Consequently, the children’s internet use is not adequately assessed to ensure that they are safe when they are playing games and accessing social media in the home. The children are not being supported to understand the potential risks of the internet and learn how to keep themselves safe.

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

Additionally, the recording of serious incidents is poor. For example, when a child made an allegation against a member of staff, the record did not provide a clear chronology of the incident. Shortfalls in the staff’s recordings are preventing a rigorous review of the incident and safeguarding practice.

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

Shortfalls in the administration and recording of medication are compromising children’s safety, health and welfare. For example, staff have forgotten to give a child their prescribed medication and they have not always got controlled medication signed for when handed over to a third party.

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

The manager has not undertaken a thorough assessment of the home’s location. Consequently, he cannot be assured that the home is situated in a suitable and safe area.

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

The child protection policy does not provide the staff with clear guidance on how to respond to child protection concerns. The policy does not support staff to undertake their safeguarding duties effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager resigned in August 2021. The deputy manager has been promoted to the manager’s position and he took up post in August 2021. He has applied to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is not being led in a way that promotes children’s welfare, safety and progress. Similar concerns were identified at the assurance visit undertaken in December 2020, which resulted in compliance notices being served under regulations 12 and 13.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager’s monitoring and review systems are ineffective. As a result, he does not have an adequate understanding of the quality of the care and protection provided to children. Consequently, weak practice is not being identified and this is undermining the home’s improvement journey. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 5 The manager’s oversight of serious incidents is unsatisfactory. He does not obtain sufficient information to ensure that his assessment of the incident is robust. Opportunities to identify weaknesses in safeguarding practice are therefore being missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Records at the home vary in quality. For example, the language used in some instances is stigmatising and at times, suggests that children are to blame for their behaviours. This is not helpful to children when they read their records to gain an understanding of their care experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Although the staff feel well supported and have regular supervision, there are gaps in their training, such as attachment and trauma-informed practice, internet safety and managing conflict. The leaders and managers have not ensured that the staff are fully equipped with the knowledge, understanding and skills to undertake their roles effectively. Additionally, there has been a delay in getting all relief staff enrolled onto the relevant qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

As a result of this inspection, three compliance notices were issued under regulation 12 (the help and protection standard); 13 (the leadership and management standard); and 23 (medication). The leaders and managers have therefore failed to sustain the improvements made following the compliance action taken in December 2020. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff not managing unacceptable behaviour, for example children keeping each other awake at night. Additionally, children are not being suitably supported to understand and develop safe sexual relationships. Some staff do not recognise how children’s past experiences and trauma can have an impact on their behaviour. 16 January 2022

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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— 16 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 7 that staff—

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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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the staff’s ineffective management of aggressive behaviour by children; conflict between children; and not assessing the potential risks of the internet.

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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; 16 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 8 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;

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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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the manager’s weak oversight, monitoring and evaluation of the quality of care and protection provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to impact assessments and some children’s negative experience of moving on from the home. 16 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the routine locking of doors in the home. 16 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 9 *The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to shortfalls in administering medication to children and medication records. 16 January 2022

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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). (Regulation 46 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the manager undertaking a thorough and meaningful assessment of the home’s location. 16 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are enabled and supported to take their own medication and make health appointments if they can do so safely. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.16)  The registered person should ensure that the relief staff obtain the relevant qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)  The registered person should ensure that the staff record information about children in a non-stigmatising way. (‘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 it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 10 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Apex Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6 Tower Quays, Tower Road, Birkenhead CH41 1BP

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Inspectors

Marina Tully, Social Care Inspector Rose Maddocks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2592035 12 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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