Children's Home run by Supporting Futures Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2509381 1 Registered provider: Supporting Futures 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 up to two children. 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 has been registered with Ofsted since 2020.

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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: 16 February 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: 2509381 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/03/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2509381 3

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improvement to be good

There is currently one child living in this home. She has lived there for over two years. The inspector observed positive relationships between the child and staff during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, progress has been made in relation to the child’s outstanding health needs. This will help to ensure that the child receives the right support when they move on from this home.

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improvement to be good

The child is not currently engaging in any form of education or learning. Staff have tried to engage the child in courses they feel are of interest to her. They continue to promote the importance of education and further learning.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to spend time with the people who are important to them. The child has been supported to develop these relationships safely and has been able to have friends stay at their home. This has helped the child to develop her social networks, in readiness for when she moves on from this home.

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improvement to be good

Healthy daily routines 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. Opportunities to help the child to develop the skills they need when they move on from the home have been missed. This does not help the child to achieve their full potential.

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improvement to be good

The home is bright and welcoming. However, discarded items and rubbish were seen in the home’s garden during the inspection. The home’s internal doors also have locks on them, which detracts from the otherwise domestic feel of the home.

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improvement to be good

Risk management plans are not in place for all identified risks. For example, risks have been identified regarding alcohol use, however, there was no written guidance in place detailing the action staff should take to manage this risk. Furthermore, risk management plans have not been updated with recent information.

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improvement to be good

There have been no restraints since the last inspection. Sanctions are used sparingly in this home. While this is positive, there is currently no central record to evidence when sanctions are used, their duration or that the child has been consulted. Sanctions are not reviewed for effectiveness in order to ensure that the measures are having the required effect on the child’s behaviour. For example, the child asked when the television in the home’s lounge would be replaced, after they had Inspection report for children’s home: 2509381 4 damaged it. At the time of the inspection, there was no clear timescale in place for the television to be replaced, despite the child paying reparations towards this.

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improvement to be good

There have been no instances of the child going missing from the home. One member of staff spoken to during the inspection was clear on the action they would take should the child go missing.

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls were identified in relation to the safe recruitment of staff. The reason previous employment has ended has not always been explored and relevant checks have not taken place. This does not ensure that the suitability of all staff working at the home has been thoroughly checked to ensure children’s safety.

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good

The home is managed by an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager.

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good

Staff describe a supportive environment. They said that they feel supported by the home’s manager. New staff coming to the home have received an appropriate induction. When additional staff are required, an agency worker who has worked in the home before is used, which helps to ensure consistency for the child.

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good

The registered manager has sourced training specific to the individual needs of the child and further relevant training has been arranged. However, the registered manager does not have sufficient oversight of staff training. For example, he has not assured himself that when agency staff are used, at least one member of staff working at the home has a relevant first-aid qualification. The registered manager took action to rectify this during the inspection.

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good

Effective monitoring and review systems are not yet in place. Not all incidents have been reviewed thoroughly enough to understand what can be learned and identify any further actions that are required. Some records, including incident records, are poorly written and contain inappropriate comments. This is not helpful for the child to understand their journey in the home. Monitoring systems have not highlighted when risk assessments are to be updated. This was a requirement at the last inspection and is repeated.

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good

The home’s duty roster now includes the actual hours worked by the registered manager. This was a requirement at the last inspection.

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good

The statement of purpose has been sent to Ofsted as required by regulation. This was a requirement at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509381 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 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

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that day-to-day arrangements promote the child’s independence. 29 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 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 29 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2509381 6 The registered person must ensure that all known risks are assessed, and that plans are kept up to date and include clear strategies for staff to follow in order to reduce risk.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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)(a)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that effective monitoring systems are 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. 29 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. 29 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2509381 7 (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children have access to all areas of their home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that relevant checks are undertaken prior to staff working in the home, in order to ensure children’s safety. 29 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; 29 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2509381 8 the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (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 there are records for all measures of discipline and control and that these are evaluated for effectiveness.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their children, and is a homely, domestic environment. The registered person should ensure that discarded items are disposed of appropriately. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2509381 9

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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: 2509381 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Supporting Futures Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sinclair, 300 St Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

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Inspector

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2509381 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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