Children's home run by Continuum Support - Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2593261 1 Registered provider: Continuum Support - Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to care for up to two children who may experience social and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2021.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 10 March 2021 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 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

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: 2593261 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children's home: 2593261 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of inspection, there was one child living in the home. The child receives good-quality care from adults who understand her needs. Staff are caring and nurturing and this supports the child’s well-being and has helped her to settle quickly into her new home. When asked about the care provided, an external professional said, ‘The staff provide an excellent standard of care.’ Because of this support, the child is making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and maintained to a high standard. The child has had the opportunity to choose a favourite wallpaper for her new bedroom and one of the communal rooms has been transformed into a play area with a piano, a play kitchen and princess dressing-up outfits. The staff in the home are passionate about seeing the child have fun and feel relaxed. This supportive environment has enabled the child to feel comfortable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. When the child experiences difficulties in regulating her emotions at school, the staff work with the education staff to create alternative strategies and increase support. This helps to ensure a shared approach when responding to learning needs. As a result, the child is making positive progress with her learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is registered with local health services and attends routine appointments. In addition, the child is supported to attend specialist health services, and sessions are well planned and suited to the wishes of the child. Consequently, the child’s physical and emotional well-being have improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child takes part in a range of activities in the community. This includes swimming, horse riding, going to youth club and trips to the park and cinema. In addition, staff are arranging a birthday party for the child so that she can celebrate with her friends. This ensures that the child maintains and develops friendships and makes long-lasting memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of the child spending time with loved ones. The staff support time spent with family and friends in the community and on video calls. This is important for the child’s emotional well-being and their sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the child’s needs. The child’s documents have been created to encourage the child to read and understand her plans, with lots of pictures and short sentences. In addition, one-to-one sessions with staff are well planned and provide an opportunity for staff to offer support and guidance. For example, in a recent session, staff demonstrated to the child how she would keep herself safe when using her scooter. This gives the child the opportunity to understand her plans, and how staff are supporting her to achieve her goals. Inspection report for children's home: 2593261 4

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

Staff understand the child’s known risks and what actions they are expected to take to keep the child safe. The risk assessments provide clear guidance for staff about how they should respond to known risks and behaviours. In addition, when appropriate, the manager seeks the views of external professionals to ensure that staff are responding to risk appropriately. This means that staff are informed and consistent when responding to risk.

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

Staff have a good, consistent behaviour management strategy. Staff have created detailed behavioural support plans which include the child’s difficulties and triggers, and the proactive and reactive strategies that staff should use. This practice has been successful in helping the child build good relationships with the staff.

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

Staff respond to challenging behaviour appropriately. They physically intervene when necessary to keep everyone safe. The manager ensures that the child is supported following an incident and that staff receive a debrief to reflect on practice. In addition, the manager completes regular analyses of incidents to identify behavioural patterns, which then inform practice. For example, the manager identified that night-time was difficult for the child living in the home. In response, a plan was implemented whereby the child’s bedtime was changed and settling time was increased. This practice has improved the quality of care provided and the child’s behaviour has significantly improved.

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

The registered manager ensures that staff who are recruited to the home are subject to all necessary checks. This ensures that staff who work at the home are safe to do so.

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

Alarms have been used on the child’s bedroom door. The manager had not undertaken an assessment of the child’s needs to support this measure. In addition, the home’s statement of purpose states that no alarms are used in the home. This was addressed during this inspection and the manager removed the door alarm. However, this demonstrates that the alarms were used unnecessarily. This detracts from the homely environment and places unnecessary restrictions on the child.

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good

The manager is suitably experienced and child-focused. She holds the relevant qualification in leadership and management. The manager is highly regarded by the staff team.

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good

The manager understands the importance of a skilled workforce. All staff are up to date with mandatory training. In addition, training has been sourced to help the staff understand the specific needs of the child. This learning has been implemented in staff’s day-to-day practice and supports continuous professional development. Inspection report for children's home: 2593261 5 Staff receive regular supervisions, and these consider how staff are working and any improvements that can be made. However, when staff are subject to a period of probation, supervisions are not provided in line with the home’s workforce development plan and statement of purpose. This is a missed opportunity to reflect on practice and development needs.

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good

Management oversight requires improvement. Monitoring and reviewing systems have not identified shortfalls in carrying out fire safety tests. The child living in the home has a hearing impairment and her fire evacuation plan stipulates weekly fire tests. While this has not had any serious consequences so far, it has the potential to do so.

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good

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that allegations made about staff by children are responded to appropriately. In one instance, the manager did not speak to the child or the staff member involved, and there was no record of the allegation being investigated. In addition, the child was not made aware of any outcome of the allegation. This practice does not follow the company’s own policy and procedure. This is a failure to follow safeguarding procedures and has the potential to affect the child’s ability to raise future concerns.

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good

An allegation made by a child had not been reported to Ofsted. A failure to share information compromises the safety and welfare of the child. Furthermore, this means that the regulator is unable to carry out its monitoring function to ensure that appropriate action is taken by the provider to safeguard the child living in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2593261 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 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered manager ensuring that action is taken in relation to allegations of abuse against members of staff. 23 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that all staff receive supervision in line with the home’s statement of 23 April 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2593261 7 purpose. In addition, the manager should ensure that monitoring systems are in place to evaluate the care provided and respond appropriately to shortfalls.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must ensure that notifications of allegations of abuse against the home or a person working there are made to the regulator accurately and in a timely manner. 23 April 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any monitoring equipment should have a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home, in accordance with regulation 24. The registered person should ensure that the home obtains consent to any monitoring or surveillance from the placing authority in writing at the time of placement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)

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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: 2593261 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Continuum Support - Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sinclair, 300 St Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

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Inspector

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2593261 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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