Children's Home run by Considerate Care Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC059261 1 SC059261 Registered provider: Considerate Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a private children’s home registered for up to four children. The home’s statement of purpose states that children living in this home may have a range of social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2016.

p.1

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.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 12 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 22 October 2019

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC059261 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2019 Full Good 13/12/2018 Full Good 23/08/2017 Full Good 13/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC059261 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive and respectful relationships with the staff team, and because of this, they feel well cared for and are happy at the home. Children are listened to. They are involved in decisions about their care and planning for their future. The staff team understands and responds to children appropriately. One social worker said: ‘The staff team has done some amazing work with my child. I couldn’t ask for more.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress while living in the home, for example in improving their confidence by engaging in hobbies, building trusting relationships and developing aspirations for their future. When children come to live at the home, matching is carefully considered. When children move out of the home, they have had planned transitions to semi-independence or they have returned to their families. One child said: ‘I was lucky to have lived at the home. Living there helped me with self- discovery and helped me to love myself again.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Health passports provide detailed overviews of children’s health needs and intervention required to support their emotional well-being. This means that children’s health is monitored well by the staff team. However, on one occasion, a child alleged that they had been in a serious accident. They had no visible injuries and refused medical treatment. The staff monitored the child throughout the night, but they failed to seek appropriate advice from a trained medical professional.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly. Children waiting for a school placement to be identified are in a structured routine and engage well with the staff team during educational hours. Rewards systems are effective in promoting positive engagement with education and developing independence skills. Children are encouraged to earn their own money and gain work experience. Consequently, one child has successfully obtained a part-time job.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team works hard to promote children’s family time and rebuild family relationships. The staff team maintains regular communication with parents and families. Children have frequent overnight stays with family as part of planned transitions back home and families are welcomed to the home for tea with their child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key-work sessions are purposeful and educational. They are focused and specific to children’s needs. They engage children well, by using visuals and photos to evidence their achievements and journeys.

p.3

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

Children reported that they feel safe at the home. The staff team educates children to make safer choices and to keep themselves safe. Consequently, risks have Inspection report for children’s home: SC059261 4 reduced for children since arriving at the home. Children complete accredited courses relating to exploitation, knife crime and social networking safety to help them understand potential risks in the community.

p.3

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

Staff have a good understanding of the procedures they should follow to keep children safe. This is because risk assessments are robust. They are regularly updated and provide the staff team with clear direction relating to de-escalation strategies and control measures to safeguard children. Furthermore, restraint is not used in the home.

p.4

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

Staff act swiftly to follow clear protocols when children are missing from the home. Additionally, staff have positive working relationships with the missing-from-home police coordinator and the ‘Prevent’ team to try to reduce children’s risk-taking behaviour. Return home interviews with an independent person do not consistently take place. This is a missed opportunity to obtain further information about the child’s whereabouts and prevent further incidents of going missing.

p.4

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

Serious incidents are managed promptly and effectively when a child’s safety is compromised. The staff team responds sensitively to maintain children’s dignity and they communicate with appropriate professionals to address any safeguarding issues. Direct sessions demonstrate that follow-up work is completed with children to ensure that they are supported by staff and their views considered throughout an incident.

p.4

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

Controlled medication has not been appropriately stored. Furthermore, there is no evidence that two staff members consistently witness controlled medication being administered and that they both sign the medication record. During the inspection, the manager took appropriate steps to amend the storage of medication. There has been no impact on children’s safety because of this shortfall.

p.4

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

There have been no complaints made by children, which shows that children can talk to staff and raise any concerns informally. Children reported that bullying is not an issue in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes a nurturing environment and is passionate about obtaining positive outcomes for the children. She knows the children well and advocates on their behalf to obtain positive and realistic changes to children’s care plans. She is a positive role model for both staff and children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the home’s strengths and any areas for improvement. Some staff vacancies mean the manager has not admitted additional children to the home until suitable numbers of staff have been recruited. The manager has updated the statement of purpose to reflect amendments to policies and the changes to the staff team. However, she has failed to send the reviewed document to Ofsted in line with regulation. Inspection report for children’s home: SC059261 5 Staff enjoy their roles and team morale is positive. Staff feel supported and appreciated by the management team. Staff are provided with regular practice- related supervisions, which allows the opportunity for reflective practice. Team meetings are child-focused and address current issues affecting the children or the staff team. The staff team’s views are listened to, and their ideas considered to support ongoing improvements in practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff are appropriately qualified for their role. Mandatory training is completed as part of the staff induction programme, and refresher training is allocated for staff when required. However, not all staff have not been provided with training that is specific to children’s needs, such as bereavement, attachment and trauma training.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s oversight of safer recruitment procedures is not consistent. For one staff member, some gaps in employment and reasons for leaving previous care roles prior to their employment have not been addressed. During the inspection, the manager acted to ensure that the checks could be completed within minimum timescales, therefore children’s safety has not been compromised.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes monthly audits to ensure that she has regular oversight of all records. This is in addition to her six-monthly review of the quality of care report, which provides a good account of the progress that children make. Regular feedback is obtained from children, families, staff and social workers about their experiences of the home. However, this is not always included in the independent visitor and quality of care review reports to evidence full scrutiny or a full evaluation of the quality of the service provided. Inspection report for children’s home: SC059261 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have sufficient understanding of relevant health services. They should support children to navigate these services, advocating on their behalf where necessary and appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.8)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. Staff should be

p.6

Recommendations

provided with training that is specific to the needs of the children, such as attachment, trauma and bereavement training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring Inspection report for children’s home: SC059261 7 (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. Specifically, any feedback obtained from children, their families, staff and professionals should be evidenced in the independent visitor and review of quality of care reports. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  As set out in regulations 31–33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. Specifically, evidence of an employee’s

p.6

Recommendations

reasons for leaving previous roles and gaps in employment should be accounted for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

p.7

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: SC059261 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Considerate Care Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 64 Derby Lane, Liverpool L13 3DN

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: William Aspinall

p.8

Inspector

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC059261 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9