Children's Home run by Liverpool City Council in Liverpool

Inspection report for children's home: SC035969 1 SC035969 Registered provider: Liverpool City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides short breaks for up to seven children with physical and/or learning disabilities at any one time.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been absent from work for over two years.

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Information about this children’s home

A second manager, appointed to cover the long-term absence of the original manager, is preparing her application to register with Ofsted. This manager is experienced and is undertaking the relevant qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended 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 outstanding

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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: 5 December 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC035969 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2019 Full Good 09/08/2018 Full Outstanding 10/05/2017 Full Good 23/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC035969 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities and have experiences they may not have at home. Staff encourage children to access a variety of enriching opportunities. These include meals out, trips to the beach and trips to a specialist play park designed for disabled children. Children enjoy their breaks and have fun. These varied opportunities help to improve children’s confidence and support them to develop social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic. To help ensure everyone’s safety, the home limited the number of children it was able to accommodate. However, it continued to operate at a reduced capacity, enabling it to provide a service to the families that needed it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a clear focus from the staff on supporting children to have enjoyable experiences, develop skills and reach their individual goals. Children are supported through individualised plans to make progress. Some individual goals are in need of review to ensure they remain current. In addition, many children’s education, health and care plans (EHC plans) are out of date and require updating. The manager has been proactive in contacting stakeholders to request this and has escalated it upwards within her own authority. Staff should use up-to-date targets to ensure the care they offer children meets their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are dedicated to the children in their care. They know children very well and are skilled at interpreting their needs. Staff ensure children’s voices are heard in a meaningful way, starting with a children’s meeting at the start of every stay where children have the chance to choose the activities they would like to take part in. Staff show great affection and pride for the children and are focused on their welfare. They use their knowledge, skills and experience to meet the needs of the children in a nurturing way. Staff are skilled at supporting children to form trusting relationships with the adults who care for them and making children feel welcome when they come to the home for their short breaks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a high standard. Soft furnishings and mural decorations create a warm and inviting home. Children have the option to choose their favoured bedroom each time they stay for a break. This provides each child with an increased sense of belonging and familiarity. The well-equipped garden area has play equipment as well as space to sit and relax. During COVID-19 restrictions, children were still able to be active in the garden and the local park.

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

Children’s safeguarding and protection needs are a priority for staff and managers. Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe. They work in conjunction with partner agencies and share information. Staff ensure that there Inspection report for children's home: SC035969 4 is good coordination of services to keep children safe. They monitor children’s welfare closely.

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

Risk assessments and support plans for children are detailed. Staff use these plans, together with their in-depth understanding of children, to ensure children’s safety during stays. Documentation relating to children’s needs is comprehensive and contains information to help staff understand how to keep children safe. Information in one risk assessment was identified as not being specific enough about the regularity of checks at night-time. This should be amended to ensure staff understand their responsibilities at night-time. In addition, for their safety at night, some children have audio monitors in their room. Although permission has been sought for their use, their use is not subject to regular review and there is no policy in place outlining how and why the monitors are used.

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

Incidents of concerning and worrying behaviour are extremely rare, and there has been no use of physical intervention since the last inspection. This has been achieved due to staff’s in-depth knowledge of children’s needs, high levels of skilled staffing, the ample space in the home available for children and skilful placement matching.

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

The health and safety of children, staff and visitors is a priority. Fire safety checks are regular; however, two fire doors were identified as not closing properly. In the event of a fire, this limits the effectiveness of fire safety measures. Managers acted on this shortfall immediately, and both doors were adjusted during the inspection.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of safeguarding processes and understand their duties in keeping children safe. If any concerns are raised, they are managed well, and the appropriate referrals are made to outside agencies. Where shortfalls in staff practice are identified, appropriate steps are taken to ensure lessons are learned, and the staff member has the support they need to improve.

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

Some young people have specialist equipment, and the manager ensures this equipment is fit for purpose and regularly checked. However, a mobility chair brought in by one child from home has not been assessed. Therefore, it is unclear if the buggy is fit for purpose or suitable for the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The interim manager has high aspirations for the service. She has utilised her knowledge, skills and experience to promote positive outcomes for children. She takes brave decisions in the best interests of children and leads a strong and dedicated staff team. Staff have high morale and enjoy coming to work. The manager constantly reflects on the strengths and areas for further development in her service and is eager to make the home the best it can be. She listens to feedback from children, stakeholders, parents and carers, and she is constantly striving to achieve more for children and the staff team. As a result, she is a highly valued manager. Inspection report for children's home: SC035969 5 The management team is currently made up of the acting manager and a senior practitioner. They lead by example and are rightly proud of their achievements over the last two years, especially in decreasing incidents and behaviours that are difficult

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

to manage. Stakeholder feedback is positive, with one social worker describing the service as ‘brilliant’. Management monitoring systems are comprehensive and support the manager to identify shortfalls and areas for improvement. The manager is proactive in challenging and chasing up stakeholders to ensure children’s needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All requirements and recommendations from the last inspection have been met:  Advice is promptly sought from health professionals in the event of concerns about children’s well-being.  The manager receives regular practice-related supervision from the home’s responsible individual.  Visitors to the home are advised of fire procedures on their arrival.  Ofsted has been formally informed of the absence of the registered manager.  The manager’s review of care now captures plans for the improvement of the service in the future.  A workforce development plan is in place which identifies and records staff professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and staff are strong advocates for children. A staff member said, ‘We are striving to act on the voice of the children. I think we do this really well. We have a real pride and focus on each child as an individual.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The established and stable staff team receives regular, good-quality supervision and training opportunities. There is a focus on developing the skills of the team members and giving them confidence in their abilities. Staff say they feel well supported and have good relationships with the management team. Staff have trust and confidence in the manager and senior practitioner. There is positive regard for each other and the children. Inspection report for children's home: SC035969 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 registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure there is a policy in place for the use of audio monitors and that their use is regularly reviewed. 22/04/2022

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring fire doors are fit for purpose. 15/03/2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. This relates to ensuring the wording of risk assessments is more specific about children’s needs Inspection report for children's home: SC035969 7 at night-time. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and well- being needs are met. This relates to ensuring expert advice is sought from health professionals about any equipment brought in from home. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff are aware of whether a child has an EHC plan and the information in it. An EHC plan details the education, health and social care support that is to be provided to a child or young person who has

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Recommendations

special educational needs and/or a disability. This relates to ensuring EHC plans are reviewed and updated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.4)

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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: SC035969 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider name: Liverpool City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Director of Children and Young Persons Services, 5th Floor, Cunard Building, Water Street, Liverpool L3 1AH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Angela D’Annunzio

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Inspector

Catherine Honey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC035969 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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