Children's home run by Inspire Children’s Services Limited in St. Helens

Inspection report for children's home: SC422481 1 SC422481 Registered provider: Inspire 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 is a privately owned children’s home. The provider states in the home’s statement of purpose that it provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a registered manager in post. She registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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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 inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 20 November 2020 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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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC422481 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/10/2018 Full Good 25/10/2017 Full Good 17/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC422481 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is one child living at the home. The child has lived at the home for a significant period. He is happy, settled and making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child experiences individualised care. This is a strength of the service. Plans are child-centred. This builds on his confidence and promotes his identity. There has been a focus on enhancing the child’s sensory needs and, by working closely with the occupational therapist, the staff have created bespoke sensory sessions and meaningful direct work. This is helping the child to relax and recognise his own emotions. Consequently, this has led to a reduction in incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is presented to a good standard. This is evident in the decor and very good quality furniture. The staff have worked hard to create a relaxed homely environment suitable to meet the child’s complex needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector observed warm relationships between the child and the staff team. The child benefits from a stable and dedicated staff team that knows him well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is good partnership working in place to ensure the child’s education and health needs are met. Staff attend and participate in all educational meetings and reviews. Feedback from professionals is positive. The staff work collaboratively with health agencies. This means that the child has access to a range of specialist health services within the school environment. As a result, the child’s health needs are met in familiar surroundings, and this helps ease his anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has access to a wide range of enjoyable activities in the local community. Activities are captured in photo albums each year. This gives the child a sense of belonging and supports his life story.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff are not aware of the local offer, which sets out the support available for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This is a missed opportunity to access additional resources for children.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of the child’s vulnerabilities and the potential risks he may be exposed to. Staff understand how to report and respond to any safeguarding concerns.

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

There are effective and robust medication procedures in place to ensure that the child has the appropriate and correct medication that they need to maintain their emotional well-being. Inspection report for children's home: SC422481 4 All staff are trained in e-safety. Safe use of devices is promoted by completing weekly checks. This helps ensure the child is safe online.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are robust. All staff are checked and vetted prior to starting work. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with the child.

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

The child is subject to a court-directed order. However, this has recently expired. Although the court hearing has taken place, the manager is yet to see the updated copy of the order. As a result, it is not clear that all staff fully understood what was expected of them as a team to support and continue to keep the child safe.

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

The staff complete regular fire checks, and the child takes part in drills regularly. However, the registered manager must ensure that the child has a personal emergency plan in place that is reviewed regularly so that the child is fully supported at night in the event of a fire and their safety is not compromised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified. She has been the new manager in place since the last inspection and has made several improvements to the operation of the home. There is a culture of high expectations, and the manager is working with the placing authority to achieve permanence for the child. Staff said, ‘I feel we are well supported by the manager, and we are just like a family.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s internal reviewing and monitoring systems are effective. The manager ensures she has oversight of all documents and ensures that staff have read and understood all the child’s plans. The manager benefits from the external monitoring provided by the independent person and values all recommendations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have been able to grow and develop their practice because of the good- quality support and regular supervision that is provided. The manager ensures that the staff receive annual appraisals. Regular team meetings take place. These are well attended, and staff share information about the child. This supports consistency of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a range of training that staff have completed, which is in line with the child’s complex needs. Staff have good skills and awareness of the child’s alternative methods of communication. These skills help promote the child’s choices. However, the manager and staff would benefit from additional opportunities to increase their knowledge of Picture Exchange Communication System and Social Stories. This would help to build on their existing skills. Inspection report for children's home: SC422481 5

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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 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—

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that she has an up-to-date copy of a child’s court directed order. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 11/03/2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that managers and staff are aware of the local offer setting out the support available for children with SEND. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.4)  The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks of the child and ensure there are arrangements in place to protect them. Specifically, the child should have a personal emergency evacuation plan that provides guidance to staff in the event of a fire. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standard’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: SC422481 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspire Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 3 Craig Court, Standish Street, St Helens, Merseyside WA10 1GJ

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Inspector

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC422481 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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