Children's home run by Care Assist Children’s Services Limited in West Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC061678 1 SC061678 Registered provider: Care Assist 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 home is operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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: 7 December 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the inadequate inspection in December 2021, two compliance notices were issued in respect of regulation 12 and regulation 13.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the monitoring visit in January 2022, these notices were monitored along with the notice restricting accommodation, which was issued in October 2021. Inspectors found that the compliance notices had not been met.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the monitoring visit in January 2022, a further notice restricting accommodation at the children’s home was issued under section 22B of the Care Inspection report children’s home: SC061678 2 Standards Act 2000. This notice was issued with immediate effect from 14 January 2022 until 6 April 2022.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A notice of proposal to cancel the registration to carry on a children’s home was issued on 9 February 2022. In response to this notice, the registered provider made written representations to Ofsted, which were subsequently upheld. Inspection report children’s home: SC061678 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/12/2021 Full Inadequate 24/08/2021 Full Inadequate 12/12/2019 Full Good 16/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC061678 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the individual needs of the child living at the home. The child is making good progress because of the quality of the individualised care and support that they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been well supported to prepare for the transition to independence. Staff have helped the child to improve their independence skills by following a comprehensive transition plan and by encouraging them to engage with appropriate external agencies to enable a positive transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has built strong relationships with the staff who care for them. Staff are invested in the child’s life and are supportive and encouraging. They are good role models for the child. Staff are aspirational for the child and motivate them to make positive choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been helped to develop employability skills and search for job opportunities. Staff have worked with external agencies to ensure that the child has every opportunity to succeed in gaining employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health needs are well understood by the staff team. The child is supported to attend their routine health appointments and to engage with specialist health services when required. With staff’s encouragement, the child has made significant progress in understanding and addressing their own health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been recent improvements to the home environment. Staff follow good routines to maintain a high standard of cleanliness and take pride in their home.

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

Managers and staff understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping the child safe. Risk assessments provide clarity about the risks for the child and the actions that staff should take to help reduce these risks.

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

Managers and staff work in partnership with relevant agencies. Risks for the child have reduced because staff take swift and effective action to keep the child safe.

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

Staff support the child’s awareness of risks and help them to develop their understanding of how to keep safe. The child is at risk due to smoking. However, the plans to minimise this risk and support the child are robust. Staff are consistent in how they manage this risk. They give appropriate advice to help the child to understand this risk. Inspection report children’s home: SC061678 5 Incidents of the child going missing from the home have reduced. There are clear and individualised plans to support the child and to reduce this risk. Staff follow these plans consistently.

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

There are robust procedures in place for storing and administering the child’s medication, which staff follow consistently. However, the child, who is nearing independence, is not able to self-administer their medication. They have not yet had the opportunity to develop the skills and experience to manage this on their own.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced manager who is in the process of registering with Ofsted. The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and is passionate about driving improvements and inspiring a positive culture in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a low turnover of staff because they feel well supported in their roles. This means that the child is cared for by a consistent team of staff who know them well. Staff say that they can speak to the manager about their concerns and feel supported in their roles. Supervision sessions take place regularly. These are reflective and help staff to develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has built relationships with parents and seeks their involvement in the care of their child. Parents value the support from the manager and staff and praise the progress that their child has made while in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional relationships are a strength at the home. One police officer recently commented on the professionalism of the staff at the home and the support that they have given to the child who lives there.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors the quality of care provided to the child effectively and makes good use of external monitoring. Management oversight of the child’s records is good, and these are updated regularly to reflect significant changes. However, the home’s statement of purpose has not been updated to reflect changes in the staff team. Inspection report children’s home: SC061678 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 must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 24 May 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person must ensure that children’s home staff should take reasonable precautions and make informed professional judgements based on the individual child’s needs and developmental stage about when to allow a child to take a particular risk or follow a particular course of action. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations’, including the quality standards, page 42, paragraph 9.7 )

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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) Inspection report children’s home: SC061678 7 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC061678 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Assist Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 High Barn, Back Lane, Aughton, Ormskirk, Lancashire L39 6SX

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Inspectors

Emma Thornton, Social Care Inspector Julia Toller, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report children’s home: SC061678 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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