Children's home run by Crossway Services Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 1 SC064573 Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care for one child. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in May 2016. She has been absent from the home since May 2022.

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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 inadequate

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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: 11 January 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/11/2019 Full Good 09/01/2019 Full Good 22/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 3

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improvement to be good

The child living at the home has experienced inconsistency in their care because of a number of changes to the staff team. Consequently, routines and boundaries are not in place to support the child effectively on a day-to-day basis. Staff do not always know what they are working towards achieving for the child.

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improvement to be good

The inspector observed the child engaging with staff and accepting their support to care for her pets. Staff encourage the child to do the things that she enjoys and to access activities in the local community. The child was supported to attend a local youth club to develop her social networks, however, this has resulted in her being negatively influenced by her peers outside the home.

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improvement to be good

The child has been receiving home tuition, with limited engagement. The registered manager has explored education provisions in the local area and supported the child and their parent to visit possible placements. Informal learning plans have been put in place to support the learning opportunities for the child during school hours, however, the effectiveness of these plans has not been reviewed.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that the child spends time with their family, as they understand that it is important to promote these relationships for the child. Staff communicate regularly with the child’s parent to ensure that they are kept informed of the child’s progress.

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improvement to be good

The child is registered with healthcare professionals and engaged with the nurse for looked after children during the inspection. A referral has been made to specialist services to support the child with concerns around substance misuse. Improvements have been made to the systems for recording the administration of medication. However, the child was without their medication for a period of time as staff failed to ensure that there was a sufficient supply of this at the home.

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improvement to be good

Risk management plans are in place to address identified risks to the child. However, these plans have not been updated to ensure that they contain the most current information. Consequently, the strategies that are in place do not reflect staff practice. This means that staff do not have the written guidance they need in order to keep the child safe from harm.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from the child’s social worker following a recent significant safeguarding incident was positive. Staff notified relevant agencies promptly and supported the child to attend the necessary follow-up appointments with professionals. However, records do not demonstrate further work being undertaken in order to address the risks posed to the child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 4 No sanctions have been used in this home since the last inspection. There has been one incident of physical intervention but there was no record in place to reflect this. While other records indicate that staff acted appropriately in order to ensure that the child was safe, they had not been completed with the detail required by regulation.

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improvement to be good

Staff spoken to were aware of the action to take should the child go missing from the home. When the child has been missing, staff actively search for them and share information with relevant professionals. However, leaders and managers do not ensure that return home interviews take place. Consequently, the reasons for the child going missing have not been explored, to see if learning from this could prevent further incidents occurring.

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improvement to be good

New staff are recruited safely. Staff are vetted before being employed. This means that the child is protected from unsuitable adults being employed to work in the home.

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improvement to be good

Thumb-turn locks have now been fitted to external doors of the home, to ensure that the child can leave the home independently in the event of a fire. However, the quality of the accommodation provided to the child is not of a high standard. The home’s kitchen and bathroom need refurbishment. This work has been requested by the responsible individual, however, there are no timescales set for this work to be carried out.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership and management of this home is inadequate. Due to the registered manager’s absence, the home is currently being overseen by the responsible individual. She had identified some of the concerns raised during this inspection and has recently arranged for managers from the organisation’s other homes to provide additional support to this home. However, these arrangements do not currently provide sufficient day-to-day management oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been changes to the staff team since the last inspection. When new staff join the home, induction activities do not ensure that staff have the knowledge needed to support the child effectively. All staff have safeguarding training, which ensures that they have some basic knowledge of safeguarding practice. However, staff have not received training in relation to the specific individual needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Feedback from staff regarding the support they receive from leaders and managers is variable. There are gaps in staff supervision. This means that staff, including inexperienced staff, do not have opportunities to reflect on how they support the child and on their own learning and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and review systems are ineffective. Leaders and manager do not review incidents thoroughly enough to understanding what can be learned and if any further actions are required. Recording in the home is poor. The home has recently Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 5 implemented an online recording system. However, this is not yet embedded in practice, resulting in records being held on different systems.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is visited by an independent person on a monthly basis. However, the independent person does not share their opinion as to whether the child living in the home is safeguarded effectively at the time of their visit. On one occasion, this report was not sent to Ofsted. This was a requirement at the last inspection and is repeated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

At the last inspection, a requirement was made regarding the home’s review of the quality of care, specifically in relation to the lack of consultation with children, families or external agencies. Ofsted has not received a recent review of the quality of care within timescales required by regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The statement of purpose has not been sent to Ofsted in line with regulation. This means that Ofsted does not have the most up-to-date information about who is working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not met all the requirements from the last inspection and a number of requirements are repeated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 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 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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that routines and boundaries support outcomes for children, that this is included in children’s care plans and follow-up work is undertaken following incidents. 21 July 2022

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if 21 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 7 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that risk management plans are accurate, that strategies in children’s risk management plans are reviewed and evaluated to ensure that they are effective in reducing risk, and the home environment is maintained so as to protect children from harm.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(c)(d)(e)(g)(ii)(h)) 21 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 8 The registered person must ensure that staff have the skills to meet the child’s individual needs. Leaders and managers need to review and evaluate all incidents in the home, to ensure that improvements are made to the care provided for the child and that there are effective monitoring systems in place to ensure that there is oversight of all aspects of the day-to-day running of the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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 (3)(a)(b)) 21 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff receive an appropriate induction to the home and receive regular practice-based supervision. 21 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s case records are kept up to date. This specifically relates to records of incidents of children going missing and restraint. 21 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. 21 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 9 The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the independent person states their opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded, and that reports are sent to HMCI in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality-of-care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must improve the evaluative content of the quality of care review, ensure it is factually accurate and includes the opinions of stakeholders, and is sent to HMCI in a timely manner. 21 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 10 This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘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, 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: SC064573 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspector

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 12 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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