Children's home run by Inspire Children’s Services Limited in St. Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 1 Registered provider: Inspire Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children. The home specialises in caring for children who may have experienced emotional and/or social difficulties. There is a registered manager in post. He registered with Ofsted in November 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 24 March 2021 to carry out 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 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: 12 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At a monitoring visit that took place on 3 February 2021, serious shortfalls were identified at this children’s home. Following the inspection, two compliance notices Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 2 were issued: under regulation 12, the protection of children, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At a monitoring visit on 21 March 21, inspectors found that the registered manager had taken the required action to address the shortfalls identified in the compliance notices. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/11/2019 Full Good 19/06/2018 Full Good 04/10/2017 Full Good 01/12/2016 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently three children living in the home. Since the monitoring visit in March 2021, four children have moved on from the home. The three children living in the home have moved in after the monitoring visit.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and have built up positive relationships with the children. Positive interactions were observed between all in the home. Staff spoke warmly and knowledgably about the children living in the home. Consequently, children feel welcomed to the home and well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children living in the home are attending education. Staff celebrate children’s educational achievements and progress. Staff are involved in plans for children’s education and attend all relevant meetings. This results in children making good progress in their education and recognising its importance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s health and well-being. Children are registered with health providers and attend appointments. Medication is stored safely; records are clear and managers complete regular audits. Therefore, children develop an understanding of the importance of maintaining good health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive relationships are encouraged between the children living in the home. Children engage in activities together such as bowling and attending the cinema. The children enjoy spending time together within the home. As a result, children feel settled and enjoy time with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment presents as tired and in need of maintenance. There were marks on the stair and landing walls and damage to some internal doors. Furthermore, there was mould in both bathrooms and shower trays were not sealed. Consequently, children are not supported to live in a well presented, comfortable and healthy home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make complaints and these are recorded. Historically not all complaints have been concluded and recordings lack evidence of an outcome for the child. As a result, children may not have felt listened to or believed. However, there have been improvements made by the current manager and the same inconsistencies are no longer evident.

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

The home has a clear and consistent approach to risk management. There are individualised risk assessments in place for children. The registered manager regularly reviews risk assessments and staff are knowledgeable about the strategies within them. The children living in the home are kept safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 5 Staff are proactive when children go missing from home. There are clear missing- from-home support plans in place and staff know what to do if children go missing. However, there have been occasions where independent return home interviews are not taking place. This removes the opportunity for children to discuss episodes independently and reduces the manager’s ability to effectively evaluate incidents.

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

Staff complete in-depth key work sessions with the children. An example of this is a session with a child around their feelings and emotions. Together, staff and the child have developed a behaviour management plan with agreed strategies. As a result of this, there has been a significant reduction in incidents for this child.

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

Children are supported to take age-appropriate risks. Risk assessments are completed for children to self-administer their medication where appropriate. Children complete direct work sessions to build their knowledge and understanding. This allows for children to develop their independence skills and creates a shared trusting relationship between staff and children.

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

Historically, physical interventions have not been recorded appropriately. There have been periods where a significant number of physical interventions have taken place. The recording of some physical interventions from that time lack evidence of de- brief with children and the staff involved. As a result, the manager has not evidenced that children were being effectively supported and there was limited evaluation. There has been significant improvement evidenced in this area following the appointment of the current manager.

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

Investigations of allegations were thorough, however the recording of them was poor. There were occasions when children made allegations, however, there was no evidence within records of the outcome and investigation of the allegations. Other professionals confirmed that the manager had appropriately investigated the allegations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a qualified and passionate manager who is child-centred and wants the best for the children living in this home. He is supported by a deputy manager who shares his ethos and holds high aspirations for children. This supports positive outcomes for children because they will be supported to have high aspirations for themselves.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight and evaluation is a particular strength within this home. The manager is aware of the historical failings with regards to providing good quality care for children. He has put into place monitoring and evaluation tools to ensure that good quality care is now provided for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are clear care plans in place for children. The plans accurately reflect the children’s needs and the plans of the local authority. The manager regularly reviews the care plans and they include input from children and involved professionals. This results in the manager being able to evidence children’s progress effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 6 The registered manager ensures that staff access training which is bespoke to the identified needs of the children. The knowledge that staff members gain from training is revisited in both supervision sessions and team meetings to ensure that training is effective. As a result, staff have a good knowledge and skill base to safeguard the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team and the manager benefit from regular supervision sessions. These are structured and demonstrate room for reflection. Supervisions are also utilised as a space to revisit training and staff’s knowledge. As a result, staff feel supported and leaders have a good oversight of staff’s strengths and areas for improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been one occasion where a previous manager has not notified relevant authorities that an allegation has been made by a child. The current manager was able to identify this and acknowledged that this was a downfall. All subsequent serious incidents have been notified and this is not a shortfall for the current manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 7

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)) 5 May 2022

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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

the name of the child; details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 5 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 8 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 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation.

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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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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care, they have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45 paragraph 9.30)

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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, Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 9 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: 1240801 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspire Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 3 Craig Court, Standish Street, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 1GJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Bradshaw

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Inspectors

Rose Maddocks, Social Care Inspector Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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