Children's home run by Exceptional Care Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2627967 1 Registered provider: Exceptional Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2021 and is currently on extended leave from work. An interim manager is managing the home in the manager’s absence.

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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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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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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 children’s home: 2627967 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are enabled to build trusting and secure relationships with adults. Staff pay attention to the detail of each child’s individual needs and spend time getting to know them. Children are supported to have positive experiences and they progress well. This builds children’s confidence and feelings of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child is offered a weekly meeting with staff where they are consulted about day-to-day choices, such as their meals, clothes and the activities they would like to take part in. When children do not want to participate in a formal meeting, staff find different ways of communicating with them. Children make choices about how their rooms are decorated and furnished. This helps children feel listened to and empowered to make positive decisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making positive progress from their starting points. Staff encourage and support children’s attendance and engagement with education. Staff liaise well with education providers through weekly updates. This has resulted in children having an improved attitude towards education and actively wanting to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain good physical and emotional health. Staff are aware of children’s individual needs and work hard to ensure that those needs are met. Therapeutic support is offered to staff who implement the advice and guidance from professionals. As a result, children are physically healthy and supported emotionally.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help and encourage children to develop their independence skills. Children are prepared practically and emotionally for their next steps.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain contact with their family where this is appropriate. One parent told the inspector, ‘They [the staff] have turned his life around. They communicate well and have supported us too.’ Managers and staff acknowledge the importance of supporting children to maintain family relationships, which helps children to retain a sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a lack of evidence about how children’s transitions into and out of the home are managed. Children would benefit from having clear child-focused plans to welcome them into the home and to help them plan their transitions out of the home.

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

Each child has individualised up-to-date risk management plans. Known risks are identified and strategies to prevent harm to children are in place. Staff understand Inspection report children’s home: 2627967 3 children’s safety plans and follow the individual plans. Children are aware of their boundaries and are kept safe.

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

Staff work hard to build relationships with children to help them feel secure and that they have trusted adults who they can rely on. Children identify the staff who they have made a connection with, and it is ensured that they can spend time with that staff member. This increases children’s sense of security and safety and builds their confidence.

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

Staff rarely intervene with physical restraint to help keep children safe. When this has happened, staff and children are encouraged to debrief with the manager. This helps staff and children understand how to prevent future incidents and reduces the need for them to occur.

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

Children’s behaviour is analysed and managed well. Staff take the time to understand what the children need individually and put measures in place to support their positive behaviours. There are clear routines and boundaries, and children are encouraged to behave well. They receive incentives for good behaviour. Children learn that behaving well is beneficial to them and that they will receive positive rewards for good behaviour.

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

Staff are aware of how to manage safeguarding issues and they communicate well with each other. They are clear about the whistle-blowing policy and what actions they should take if they have any concerns.

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

The number of incidents of children going missing from home is low. Staff are aware of the statutory guidance for children who are missing and take the appropriate steps to escalate their concerns. Each child has an individual plan, should they go missing, and staff are aware of these plans. Staff search for children when they are missing and ensure that the parents and appropriate partner agencies are informed. This means that if children are missing, staff do all they can to support children to return home safely.

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good

An interim manager is currently in place. The acting manager is enthusiastic about providing good care to the children. She knows the children and staff well. The interim manager can demonstrate that the children are making good progress from their starting points.

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good

There are shortfalls in supervision records. Some of these records are brief in nature and are not kept confidential. Staff who qualify for an annual appraisal have not had one. When managers are on leave, detailed handovers are not completed. This means that staff are not supported to offer the best care they can to the children. Inspection report children’s home: 2627967 4 Safer recruitment practices are in place, together with an induction programme. These measures ensure that the staff are suitably checked and are safe to work with children. That they are supported to be prepared to work with the children.

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good

Staff have regular training. The manager identifies the individual issues that affect the children and ensures that training is on offer for those issues. This helps staff to understand children’s individual risks.

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good

External monitoring is in place. The independent visitor attends the home monthly. The visitor provides an account of progress and identifies any shortfalls in the home. The interim manager acts to address any concerns raised in the independent visitor’s report. Inspection report children’s home: 2627967 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 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. ( Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff receive regular and confidential supervision that supports them to meet the needs of the children and that staff who qualify have an annual appraisal. 8 April 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure children are supported and prepared for any moves into or out of the home. Transitions should be planned and they should be communicated to children in a child-centred way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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 children’s home: 2627967 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Exceptional Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malthouse Business Centre, Southport Road, Ormskirk L39 1QR

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2627967 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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