Children's home run by Carehome Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 1 SC044276 Registered provider: Carehome Limited 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 registered with Ofsted in April 2013.

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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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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

Date of last inspection: 24 February 2020

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/02/2020 Full Good 14/11/2018 Full Good 22/11/2017 Full Outstanding 14/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 3

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improvement to be good

Children are cared for by staff who know them well. Children say that they are happy living in the homes and feel that staff care about them.

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improvement to be good

Children are relatively settled and have good routines in place. All children are engaged in full-time education appropriate to their individual needs.

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improvement to be good

The staff make sure that the children are fully prepared for when they move out of the home. The staff are teaching the children some basic skills, for example personal care, helping with the laundry and cleaning their bedrooms. This is an important part of preparing the children for a successful independent life in the future.

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improvement to be good

The children enjoy a wide range of fun activities that reflect their interests and keep them entertained, such as attending local dance clubs and taking part in competitions. These valuable opportunities are increasing the children’s confidence, self-worth and friendships.

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improvement to be good

Areas of the home are looking tired and worn. Some of the furniture and carpeting needs replacing. The manager advised that she is taking steps to address this and is looking to redecorate both homes fully.

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improvement to be good

Areas of care planning require improvement. Care plans for some children did not contain sufficient information about children’s additional needs; for example, a child who had attention deficit disorder and another child with dietary needs.

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improvement to be good

The staff appreciate how important the children’s family and friends are to them, so they make sure that they can meet up with them in a safe and enjoyable way with the support of staff.

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improvement to be good

Risk management requires improvement. Some risks have not been assessed and strategies are not always recorded in children’s files. This impedes staff in their efforts to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding incidents are extremely rare at this home. However, a recent allegation made by an external professional regarding two members of staff from the home was not dealt with effectively. The manager did not follow her own internal child protection procedures. As a result, this means that children have not been consistently safeguarded.

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improvement to be good

The staff are suitably trained in de-escalation and physical intervention. However, there has been an over-reliance on the use of physical intervention for one child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 4 Furthermore, the records of physical interventions and debriefings with children remain an area for improvement. The records do not consistently document that debriefs are taking place for staff and children.

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improvement to be good

Children do not go missing from the home, which is testament to the positive relationships that staff have with children. However, information for staff to follow if children do go missing is too generic and not individualised to each child.

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improvement to be good

At times, consequences are not restorative in nature. This means that children will not always learn how their behaviour can affect themselves and others. Furthermore, behaviour management plans lack strategies for staff to implement.

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improvement to be good

A child’s social worker said that communication needs to improve regarding updates about the child, and at times ‘feels out of the loop’. The manager has taken this on board and will review communication methods.

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improvement to be good

Language in children’s records requires improvement. At times, recordings in paperwork blame children. For example, the responsible individual reviewed a consequence that a child had received and commented that the ‘child needs to stop with the lies’.

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improvement to be good

A number of significant events have not been reported to Ofsted. This reduces the regulator’s oversight.

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good

The manager is a qualified social worker and brings a wealth of experience to her role. She is passionate and wants the best outcomes for all children.

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good

There is a stable staff team that has not changed since the last inspection. This evidences that the manager has created a positive work culture within the home.

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good

The manager has not taken sufficient action to adequately address all the shortfalls raised at the last inspection, which highlights the weaknesses in her monitoring systems. Consequently, continuous improvements have not been achieved in all areas, for example recording of information in children’s files, including risk assessments and debriefs for children and staff.

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good

The manager has not taken sufficient action with regard to an allegation against members of staff made by an external professional about a child from the home. Arrangements to protect the child following the allegation were not sufficient.

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good

The impact risk assessment used by the manager is generic and poorly recorded. Children who live in the home are not always considered when the manager accepts new children to come to live in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 5 Staff supervision is detailed but not reflective in nature. Reflection helps staff to learn and improve practice. The manager is reviewing staff supervision documents and the process to ensure that reflection takes place and is adequately recorded.

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good

Staff are appropriately qualified to care for children or are taking the relevant qualification. This means that children are cared for by suitably qualified staff.

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good

Staff training has improved; however, there has been an over-reliance on online training thus far.

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good

Staff work well with external professionals, including social workers, education providers and the police. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that an explanation is given to each child as soon as reasonably practicable after the child’s arrival about—

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Requirement Due date

how to make a complaint or representations in relation to the home or the care the child receives and how any such complaint or representations will be dealt with; and

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Requirement Due date

what advocacy support or services are available to the child, how the child may access that support or those services and any entitlement the child may have to independent advocacy provision; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the views of each relevant person are taken into account, so far as reasonably practicable, before making a decision about the care or welfare of a child. 2 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 7 (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(iii)(e))

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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

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;

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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 child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d)(e)) 2 January 2022

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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 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 use monitoring and review systems to 2 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 8 make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

serious damage to the property of any person (including the child); or

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Requirement Due date

a child who is accommodated in a secure children’s home from absconding from the home.

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)) 2 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

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 a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of 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)(c)) 2 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 9

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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 for children’s home: SC044276 10

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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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Inspector

Rachel Springford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 11 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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