Children's Home run by PALS Residential Services in Liverpool

Inspection report for children's home: 2634272 1 Registered provider: PALS Residential Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who registered with Ofsted in September 2021.

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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: Not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2634272 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children's home: 2634272 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress because of the quality of the individualised care that they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff set high expectations for children around education. Children are supported and encouraged to develop good routines which help them to engage positively with schools and colleges. One child missed some time at college. The staff team worked with the child and college to help them catch up so that they could progress on to the next stage of their course with their peer group.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between children and staff are a strength in the home. Children are listened to and so they feel able to confidently express their wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s health needs. They work effectively with primary healthcare services, and specialist agencies when needed, to ensure that children’s health needs are met. Children are given age-appropriate advice about health matters, which supports their understanding and enables them to make informed choices in relation to their own health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take part in activities that they enjoy, including baking and arts and crafts. Children also have opportunities to attend activities outside of the home, such as attending concerts and accessing the many local amenities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote positive time between children and their families. One family member praised the staff team and said, ‘I love going to the home to see (child). They make me feel so welcome, and I know that this is really important for (child).’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children appreciate their home, which staff make sure is always clean and homely for them. One child said, ‘The staff are kind, and our house is pretty.’ Staff model high standards in the home and support children to reflect this standard in their own bedrooms.

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

Staff take effective action in response to safeguarding incidents. Risks for one child have required a multi-agency response to keep them safe. The home has worked effectively with other agencies to support the child and reduce these risks. Staff know the child well and respond sensitively to any changes or signs which may indicate imminent changes to the level of risk for the child.

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

Records of significant events are completed in a timely manner and shared with relevant professionals. However, the records are not always sufficiently clear about what has happened or what staff must do to prevent incidents from reoccurring. Furthermore, risk assessments for children are not always updated immediately Inspection report for children's home: 2634272 4 following incidents. This means that risk assessments lack the clarity around the risks to children and what actions staff must take to reduce the risks. This is a matter of poor recording and has not had an impact on the safety of children currently living in the home.

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

There has only been one occasion, since the home’s registration, when staff have been required to use physical restraints. This indicates that staff can de-escalate challenging situations and help children manage their emotions. The incident was documented; however, the record of this incident was not sufficiently clear and did not contain the detail that is required by regulation.

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

Staff rarely use sanctions and prefer to use positive reinforcements to support children’s behavioural development. When sanctions have been used, such as supervised spending, staff have not recorded these in line with regulation. This means that sanctions have not been reviewed for effectiveness or to ensure that they are restorative and proportionate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The manager is exceptionally organised and has high hopes and expectations for all children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and responsible individual share the ethos and values for the home. They are an effective team and ensure high standards of care for children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals praise the communication from the manager. The manager attends all significant meetings for children and has built effective working relationships with parents, social workers and other agencies involved in children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is well supported through effective induction and good-quality supervision, which is regular and enables the development of good practice. The manager ensures that staff are up to date with mandatory training. The manager also identifies and addresses further training needs on subjects that are relevant to the children living in the home. This means that staff have a greater understanding of children’s needs and how to address them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are vacancies within the staff team and recruitment is ongoing. The manager has used agency staff in the home with regularity; however, they have ensured that the same small number of agency staff are used. This ensures continuity of care for children and means that children are always cared for by staff that they know.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although the manager has reviewed records of significant events, they have failed to identify shortfalls in the detail of these recordings. The manager has recognised the need for more effective scrutiny of records to ensure that these are not only compliant with regulation but also to ensure that the quality of care for children is regularly monitored. Inspection report for children's home: 2634272 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)) 13 April 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—

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 13 April 2022

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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. (Regulation 16 (1)) 13 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and 13 April 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2634272 6 the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

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 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) Inspection report for children's home: 2634272 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. 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’, paragraph 14.4, page 62)  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, paragraph

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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: 2634272 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: PALS Residential Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 119 Asser Road, Liverpool, L11 8NL

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Inspector

Emma Thornton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2634272 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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