Children's Home run by Eastfield Group in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC064663 1 SC064663 Registered provider: Eastfield Group Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to seven children with social, emotional and mental health needs.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since 18 June 2022.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC064663 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2022 Full Good 26/10/2021 Full Inadequate 09/04/2019 Full Good 12/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC064663 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that their home is very homely and they enjoy living there. They also say that they feel supported by the staff team and feel safe in the area. One social worker said: ‘[Name of child] is doing the best she has ever done, anywhere. She has really settled in and is now opening up.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in different activities, including day trips to local resorts. One child is an active member of her Children in Care Council. This enables her to talk about her experiences of being in care and improve services at a wider level. As a result, she is developing her confidence and social skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build secure relationships with staff at the home. This promotes their emotional well-being and helps them to talk openly with staff. This means that children are more confident in sharing their thoughts and feelings.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been a relatively high turnover of staff in recent months. However, children feel that they have good relationships with all members of staff. One child said, ‘The staff have been the same most of the time, so I have got to know them well. There’s always someone to talk to.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in education and they are generally making good progress. Children have up-to-date education plans that staff review regularly. The staff team maintains good links with local schools and this supports children’s learning.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to manage their health needs. Children register with doctors and dentists and access support from a wide range of other services. This means that children’s routine appointments and checks are up to date.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff do not encourage children to access and contribute to their records. This means that some children may not understand their plans or agree with them. This is a missed opportunity for children to reflect on and understand their history.

p.3

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

The home is spacious and welcoming and provides a good environment for children. Pictures of children adorn the walls throughout the communal areas. The home has a calm and relaxed atmosphere that helps children to feel safe and secure.

p.3

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

Children attend regular key-work sessions with staff. The staff use a range of resources to help children to reflect on their behaviours and actions. This helps children to become more aware of risks, such as online harm.

p.3

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

Staff use de-escalation techniques to help children to manage their behaviour. This ensures that physical interventions are rarely required. This means that staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC064663 4 maintain positive working relationships with children. One child said, ‘The staff have to be professional but they’re also like your family.’

p.3

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

The manager actively pursues a multi-agency response to safeguarding concerns. She challenges the wider workforce if responses are not satisfactory. This promotes information-sharing and reduces drift and delay.

p.4

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

Managers are improving risk management processes and communication. However, plans do not consistently include clear strategies for staff to follow. As a result, this can lead to inconsistent responses to children’s needs.

p.4

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

Strategies for responding to incidents when children are missing from home are clear and robust. This means that staff are clear about the expectations of them if a child is missing. This helps to reduce the number of missing-from-home incidents.

p.4

good

The position of registered manager is currently vacant. At the time of the inspection, the responsible individual was not available due to being on annual leave. The deputy manager and senior support worker supported this visit.

p.4

good

Staff feel supported by the current management team. They attend regular team meetings and supervision sessions, which help them to reflect on their performance and to identify training to meet children’s needs. This also keeps staff focused and motivated in their roles. One member of staff said, ‘I enjoy working here. It has made me grow as a person.’

p.4

good

Managers’ oversight of children’s records is good. As a result, the staff team’s quality of practice is improving. This also means that children make good progress.

p.4

good

Managers ensure that there are suitable levels of staffing in the home. However, the manager does not consistently record the names of staff on the duty rosters. This is not safe practice for children, as there is no clear record of who was working with children at any given time.

p.4

good

Managers generally report serious incidents to Ofsted on time. However, there have been delays in reporting some incidents to the regulator. This delays the regulator’s oversight of the incident and affects children’s safety.

p.4

good

The manager completes a quality of care review every six months. However, this fails to include the views of children, parents and external stakeholders, to inform the manager’s evaluation. This does not support improvement in the home as it does not provide a clear insight into the quality of care.

p.4

good

Care planning for some children is hampered when they are admitted to the home as the placing authorities do not consistently provide children’s relevant plans within Inspection report for children’s home: SC064663 5 the agreed timescales. This means that children’s needs may not be fully known when they move into the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064663 6

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, the 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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children’s safety plans and the need for clear strategies for keeping children safe when a risk arises. 16 September

p.6

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.6

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the 16 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC064663 7 records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the provider only accepting placements for children when they are satisfied that they can meet the child’s needs as detailed in their relevant plans.

p.7

Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, staff rosters should detail the names of all staff who are working on each day and be kept up to date. 16 September

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.7

Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

p.7

Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

p.7

Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

p.7

Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 16 September

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children; 31 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC064663 8 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

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 (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

p.8

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the workforce plan contains the necessary staffing structure and the details for managing poor performance. The plan should meet the requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

p.8

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: SC064663 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Eastfield Group, 6d Reyground House, 6b Ryeground Lane, Formby, Merseyside L37 7EQ

p.9

Inspector

Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC064663 10 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10