Children's Home run by My3 Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2636919 1 Registered provider: My3 Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The provider states in their statement of purpose that the service provides care and support for children aged eight to 17 who have a primary diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The home is registered to care for up to three children. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The children are supported by an experienced registered manager.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2636919 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2636919 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children live in a welcoming and spacious home. It has a happy and relaxed atmosphere, which helps the children to maintain a sense of calm and security. The home is designed to meet the needs of the children and includes a fully equipped sensory room, and extensive indoor and outdoor play areas. There is also a range of helpful pictorial information, including daily plans and menus, and which staff are on duty.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Placement planning is good, accurately identifying the individual needs of the children and the resources required to meet their needs. The collective approach to the children’s care means that families and professionals work together to provide a consistent wraparound support package for the children. A parent said, ‘I was unsure if I wanted my child to be accommodated, but now I can see that this has been the best thing for her. She is making fantastic progress.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive regular sessions with their key worker and the company psychologist. These sessions specifically target areas for development, such as developing a varied diet, increasing mobility and developing skills for independence. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘In the short time the child has lived at this home she had made significant progress. I am impressed with the level of care and support the child is afforded.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, children’s health is suitably managed. Where children previously had extreme difficulty in attending appointments, such as opticians and dentists, the staff have successfully enabled children to have all the relevant checks and treatment. However, some health records are not up to date, and therefore can be misinterpreted and/or misleading.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensure that children’s views, wishes and feelings are fully taken into account. Each child has a pictorial guide that helps them to understand their plans for each day, including mealtimes, staffing and activities. Children are provided with pictorial aids to help them communicate difficult emotions and feelings. A staff member said, ‘Sometimes the children can’t find the words to explain how they feel. The pictorial aids are essential for them to feel listened to.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s educational attendance and attainment are varied. One child has made a successful move to a new school and is making exceptional progress. However, difficulties with one placing authority have resulted in one child not receiving suitable formal education. The registered manager has taken steps to escalate this matter and provide interim in-house education until a resolution is reached. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636919 4 The children are encouraged and supported to try out a range of activities without limitations. As a result, children’s health, mobility and social engagement are significantly improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some items in the home are damaged, such as mattress protection covers and bedroom blinds.

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

The safety of children is prioritised in this home. The children receive a high level of consistent, individual support in accordance with their individually assessed risks. Plans clearly set out the children’s risks and how they are to be managed. As a result, risks are managed effectively in this home.

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

The staff are trained in de-escalation techniques and the use of physical intervention. They have formed positive and trusting relationships with the children and this enables them to successfully manage episodes of emotional dysregulation.

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

When a physical intervention has proved necessary to safeguard a child, the intervention is brief and considers the strategies agreed in the child’s plans. Incidents of physical interventions are well documented and records show a full verbal and pictorial debrief with the child. A parent said, ‘My child’s behaviour has improved so much since living in this home. I feel like I am getting my daughter back.’

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

The high level of individual support ensures that children are kept safe at all times. There are no episodes of children going missing or being absent from the home.

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good

The home is managed by an experienced and qualified manager. Staff feel fully supported in their roles and enjoy working at the home. One member of staff said, ‘When I arrived, I knew this was going to be a great place to work, and I am not wrong. The children are the centre of everything. I love it.’

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good

The children’s home welcomed its first child in March 2022. At that time, a full staff team had not yet been secured, as staff had been used to cover shortfalls in other homes. A second child was admitted in May 2022. Each child requires a high level of individual support. Consequently, there is an over-reliance on the use of the organisation’s bank staff and staff from other children’s homes to meet the ratio of staff required. At the time of this inspection, several new staff are waiting for checks to be completed before joining the team on a permanent basis.

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good

Independent visitor’s reports have not been consistently received. Although the home was registered in November 2021, reports were not received until April 2022. The delay in receiving these reports means that Ofsted was not alerted to the staff deficit in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636919 5 The review of the quality of care for the first period since registration has not been received by Ofsted. This means that the progress and development of the children, staff and home has not been assessed or evaluated by the registered manager.

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good

A range of records relating to the children are kept electronically on the home’s laptops. However, records are not suitably protected to ensure they cannot be tampered with or amended after the record has been completed.

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good

Additional records, such as the assessment that considered the impact of the second child being admitted to the home, are incomplete. This means that not all risks have been considered or evaluated as part of the referral and admission process.

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good

Managers and leaders have a thorough knowledge of the children at the home. They listen to children’s views and consider their wishes and feelings. This promotes children’s development and progress.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision. This helps them to reflect on their performance and to set targets for the year ahead. This ensures that staff continue to develop and improve the quality of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636919 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii)) 29 August 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. (Regulation 44 (1)) 29 August 2022

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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. (Regulation 45 (1)) 29 August 2022

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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;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a) (2)(a)) 29 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2636919 7 The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs. (Regulation 31 (1)) 29 August 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records that are kept electronically (regulation 38) can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view them and, if required, be produced in a legible form. Electronic records should be held at the individual home in accordance with data protection principles. IT systems should ensure the safe storage of these records and business continuity planning should be in place to prevent loss or damage to them. The electronic system should identify when records have been amended, and who by. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)  The registered person should ensure that items that are damaged, such as mattress protectors and window coverings in children’s bedrooms, are replaced as soon as possible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that case records, including impact risk assessments and healthcare plans (including information about children’s allergies), must be kept up to date, and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 2636919 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2636919 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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