Children's home run by Exceptional Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2627967 1 Registered provider: Exceptional Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. An interim manager is currently managing the home.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2627967 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2627967 3

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improvement to be good

There are two children living in the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home and one child has moved out.

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improvement to be good

Children are settled and are building positive relationships with staff. When children come to live at the home, matching is carefully considered. As a result of this, the children living in the home get on well together. One parent said this is ‘the most settled’ their child has been in a home.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children to maintain good physical and emotional health. Children have good routines with their medication and attend all their health appointments. This has resulted in improved dental health for one child. Therapeutic support is provided to staff to help them meet the children’s individual needs. There have been no physical interventions and de-escalation techniques are effective.

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improvement to be good

Children are engaging in education. Staff have supported the children to access learning and alternative education provision. There is good communication between the staff and education providers. This has helped one child experience a positive transition to a new school.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children to learn informally and have new experiences. Children enjoy trampolining, going to the beach, gardening and volunteering. Staff have encouraged the children’s individual interests in horse riding and motocross biking. This is supporting the children to learn new skills and develop their self-esteem and confidence.

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improvement to be good

Children have completed individual sessions with the staff on important issues. However, some records indicate that the discussions have been brief. They do not always demonstrate the children’s views, their understanding of the topics and how the sessions will help them.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not have copies of all the children’s relevant plans, including the placing authority’s care plan, the education, health and care plan, and the personal education plan. Managers and staff have not escalated things effectively to make sure that they receive the plans. Therefore, staff do not have access to up-to-date information about the children. This limits the staff’s ability to support the children and their development and measure their children’s progress accurately from when they moved in. Inspection report for children’s home: 2627967 4

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improvement to be good

Children currently living in the home say that they feel safe. They can talk to staff about any worries they have. They understand that the boundaries put in place for them are there to protect them.

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improvement to be good

Assessments of risk are in place and are updated regularly after any incidents. There are clear strategies in place to protect children from harm. This has helped reduce the number of missing-from-home episodes and lower the staffing ratios for one child.

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improvement to be good

The staff do not always act in accordance with the child protection procedures. Staff did not seek medical attention or advice when a child said that they had been in a serious accident and presented with injuries to their head. This left a child at risk of significant physical harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always followed the missing-from-home procedures. There were two incidents when staff have not actively looked for a child when they have been missing. Records of the action taken by staff when a child goes missing from home are disjointed. In one case, although the staff said that they took action to keep the child safe, it is difficult to clearly understand the chronology of events.

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good

The manager is new to the role. He is suitably qualified and has applied to Ofsted for registration. He is aware of the strengths of the home and has already begun taking steps to address any shortfalls.

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good

There has been a high turnover of staff since the last inspection. While staff work hard to cover the gaps, this has had an impact on the continuity of staffing for one child.

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good

Staff are not receiving regular supervision. The records do not consistently demonstrate that staff have had the opportunity to reflect individually on their practice and the needs of the children in their care.

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good

Managers and staff use training to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and meet children’s individual needs. However, only one staff member has completed substance misuse training. New staff coming into the home have received an appropriate induction.

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good

Investigations and complaints have been managed well. The records detail the actions taken and areas for learning.

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good

Effective monitoring and review systems are not yet in place. Management oversight of safeguarding concerns, difficult situations and children’s views, wishes and Inspection report for children’s home: 2627967 5 feelings are not always evident. This means that the manager and staff do not always identify and act on shortfalls to improve the quality of care that children receive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2627967 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person escalating concerns if the provider does not have all the relevant local authority documentation. 22 December

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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

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)(iv)) 22 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2627967 7 This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that children’s relevant plans are obtained from the placing authority to inform care planning, to meet the children’s needs.

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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 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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(i)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person needing to ensure that safeguarding policies and procedures are followed consistently by staff to protect a child from harm and ensure their physical and emotional well-being. 22 December

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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— 22 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2627967 8 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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

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)(e)(f)(g)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered manager ensuring they have robust systems in place to monitor and review the children’s plans and their progress in accordance with their relevant plans.

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to staff receiving regular supervision, as set out in the statement of purpose. 22 December

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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; 22 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2627967 9 are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered manager having up- to-date copies of the children’s care plan prepared by the placing authority, and their education, health and care plan, personal education plan and placement plan.

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Recommendation

 Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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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: 2627967 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Exceptional Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Exceptional Care Limited, Malthouse Business Centre, Southport Road, Ormskirk L39 1QR

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Inspectors

Natalie Bennett, Social Care Inspector Dawn Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2627967 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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