Children's Home run by Quality Protects Children Ltd in Knowsley

Inspection report for children’s home: SC405448 1 SC405448 Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. This post has been vacant since April 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 15 February 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A compliance notice under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, was issued following an inspection on 15 February 2022, during which serious shortfalls were identified in relation to safeguarding practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC405448 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2022 Full Inadequate 26/11/2019 Full Outstanding 26/09/2018 Full Outstanding 24/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC405448 3

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improvement to be good

Since the previous inspection, two children have moved out and one child has remained living at this children’s home. Staff have worked hard to improve the quality of care provided and the child has made some progress since the previous inspection. For example, the child is attending school. Consequently, her educational outcomes have improved and she recently passed a functional skills exam.

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improvement to be good

The child told the inspector that since the previous inspection things have been better. She said that she likes living at the home and that she has staff that she can talk to. Observations of the child with staff are positive and staff have maintained a warm and nurturing relationship with the child.

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improvement to be good

The child’s plans are individualised. Staff spend time talking to the child about things that are important to her. This includes discussions about how she manages her feelings, and conversations about her family and education. These discussions are supporting the child to make progress.

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improvement to be good

There are opportunities for the child to engage in activities, which staff and the child say is helping her emotional well-being. The child has a robust activity planner and staff say that this has helped the child settle because she is frequently occupied.

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improvement to be good

The child’s social worker told the inspector that the child is ‘a lot more settled’. He was positive about the support that staff provide for the child. He said that staff know the child well and communication is good.

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improvement to be good

Staff know the child’s vulnerabilities and how to manage risks to her safety.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s approach to risk management has improved. There is a multi-agency approach to managing risk. This includes the local missing-from-home liaison officer and child and adolescent mental health services. Staff seek to understand triggers to the child’s behaviour and clinicians from the provider’s therapeutic service work with staff to help them understand the child’s behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Staff are working at helping the child manage her feelings safely. Staff have worked hard to implement consistent routines and boundaries. This is reducing the number of times that the child is in crisis. Consequently, this has resulted in a reduction in safeguarding incidents.

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improvement to be good

Records demonstrate that incidents of going missing have reduced. The missing- from-home liaison officer told the inspector that the child’s missing-from-home Inspection report for children’s home: SC405448 4 incidents have ‘significantly decreased’. She was positive about communication from the staff team and said that staff keep her updated about relevant incidents. When the child does go missing from home, staff follow her missing-from-home plan and support her to return home safely. However, leaders and managers need to ensure that all such incidents are robustly evaluated to ensure that strategies to reduce risk are frequently reviewed and updated.

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improvement to be good

The child told the inspector that she trusts staff. She said that she can talk to staff and that they keep her safe.

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good

The home has not had a registered manager since April 2021. This lack of a permanent manager has had an impact on staff’s ability to provide children with consistent care. The previous registered manager was reappointed in January 2022 although she subsequently withdrew her application. Another manager was appointed in March 2022. He has submitted his application to register with Ofsted.

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good

Therefore, since the previous inspection, there has been a period of transition and both managers have shared management responsibilities. The current manager is child-focused and he is in the process of getting to know the staff team and how best they can support the child. He recognises that there are areas that need to improve, and he is intent on making these improvements.

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good

There are some shortfalls in respect of the manager’s monitoring and review systems. The manager needs to ensure that all incidents are robustly evaluated and that control measures in the child’s risk assessments are consistently reviewed to ensure that they are current and reduce the risk of harm to the child.

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good

An investigation was recently undertaken in relation to a member of staff. Leaders and managers managed this appropriately and the local authority designated officer was involved. An action plan was subsequently implemented in respect of this member of staff. However, the current manager is not fully aware of this plan. Furthermore, leaders and managers could not demonstrate that sufficient action had been taken to address all the issues identified in this plan.

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good

Since the previous inspection, staff have attended team meetings and workshops to enhance their practice, for example, training in safeguarding, professional boundaries and risk management, and risk reduction workshops. Staff spoken to say that this has been helpful and that it helps to refresh their practice.

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good

Leaders and managers have met the requirements from the previous inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC405448 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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to ensuring that all incidents are robustly reviewed and evaluated so the child’s risk assessments and plans address all known vulnerabilities and support staff to keep the child safe and help her progress to her full potential.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers need to ensure that all actions in respect of staff practice are robustly monitored and reviewed to continue to improve the quality of care that staff provide. 6 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. The registered person must— maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The provider needs to show on rosters all the hours worked by all staff, including the registered manager. 6 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC405448 6

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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: SC405448 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hill House, Archway Road, Huyton, Liverpool L36 9XB

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Inspector

Catherine Fargin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC405448 8 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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