Children's Home run by My3 Limited in St Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: 2639083 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 home provides care for up to three children who have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since April 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2639083 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2639083 3

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outstanding

Since the last inspection, two children have lived in this home. One child has recently moved on, leaving one currently living at the home. Both children have made extraordinary progress due to the exceptional care and understanding of staff. Children’s progress is due to the relationships they have with staff and the time that staff take to support children’s developmental and social needs. This includes, in one case, a child who was extremely limited in verbal communication, to use sentences of four or more words in length. This enables him to contribute effectively to the home and reduces his frustration, as he can now express his wants and needs.

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outstanding

Staff go above and beyond to understand each child’s significant and unique needs. They research extensively and share their knowledge to continually learn how best to help each child make progress. One professional who works with a child living in the home said, ‘The place is fabulous. This is just one of the best homes I’ve seen.’

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outstanding

Children’s contributions to the home are highly valued by the whole staff team. Their art and poetry are displayed on the walls and they are supported to give their views on daily routines and all aspects of their care. Children are supported to communicate in a variety of ways which allow them to share their wishes and feelings.

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outstanding

Staff ensure that children receive the support they need. They have successfully managed serious health conditions by imaginatively engaging the child and following rigid routines to meet specific health needs. Staff persistently challenge external services to ensure that children receive clear and positive care for both their physical and mental health.

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outstanding

Staff encourage children to spend time with their family and friends. The manager advocates effectively for children to ensure that they can build and sustain relationships with family members who may have been absent from their lives before they moved into the home. Staff use additional resources to support children to understand their individual journey through care and build an understanding of their own identity.

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outstanding

Staff actively work to support children with their education. One child had not been in education for several years. Staff were creative in their approach and successfully supported her to complete schoolwork daily in the home. This motivated and enabled her to work towards her future goal of achieving GCSEs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2639083 4

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outstanding

Children say they feel safe living in this home. The manager purposefully promotes a therapeutic culture to ensure that children feel safe to express difficult emotions. Staff are immensely strong advocates for the children in their care.

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outstanding

Children have individual support plans with clear steps for staff to follow to ensure that each child’s needs are met. When children struggle, staff evaluate potential triggers and proactively adjust the environment to prevent further difficulties. This diligent work from the staff team to understand reasons for children’s behaviours has quickly resulted in a significant reduction of aggressive behaviours.

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outstanding

Physical interventions are used as a last resort. When staff have had to guide children to keep them safe, this is done for as short a time as possible. After these incidents, staff use versatile and creative methods to help children understand why they have been guided and support children to share their views about this. Restraints for children have decreased significantly since moving to this home because staff have worked hard to understand children’s behaviour.

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outstanding

Children have not gone missing from this home. Children have individualised support plans in case they go missing, to ensure that staff know how best to keep each child safe. Staff are aware of missing-from-home protocols to follow and these procedures have been discussed as a team to ensure that knowledge is relevant and up to date.

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outstanding

There have been no allegations about staff working in the home or with the children. Managers complete thorough checks on all new staff to ensure that they are safe to work with children. Staff are aware of processes they would need to follow if they had any concerns about an adult working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is enthusiastic, experienced and highly qualified for the role. She has a background in art therapy and brings this therapeutic perspective into every aspect of care for the children. She is an inspiring leader and cultivates a culture of curiosity and continual learning for all adults in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and staff are confident and have high aspirations for children. They are committed to helping children strive for more for themselves. Staff help children of all abilities think about their futures and support them in making plans for adulthood. One professional working with a child in the home said, ‘The way the staff have worked with [name of the child] is just phenomenal.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is unreservedly supportive of her staff team, creating a safe space for them to share ideas and enabling their ongoing development. The company invests in the staff team to make sure they are well. One staff member said, ‘Management are very supportive and lead well by example. They are not afraid to try new ideas, Inspection report for children’s home: 2639083 5 being creative with them to ensure that as a company we are sustaining and delivering the highest quality of care to the children.’ All staff take the lead on varied and innovative ideas to contribute to the development of practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff are exceptionally committed and suitably qualified for their roles. Staff reflect on their practice through regular supervision, team meetings and therapeutic consultations. Staff are supported to attend varied training relevant to the needs of individual children. The manager and staff have created a resource library for adults in the home to use with children or to improve their own understanding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Family members and professionals report excellent communication from managers and staff. People who are important to the children are kept fully informed about their progress. Records in the home are child-focused and relevant to what matters most to each child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent monitoring systems in place to ensure that practice is child-centred. She tries different systems to find what works best to oversee the care provided to children. The manager makes good use of internal and external monitoring processes. In addition, she seeks external audits from experienced managers to facilitate best practice to support the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and staff thrive in their roles and have a clear passion for the work they do and the children they care for. One professional said of the staff team, ‘They really do all genuinely have [name of the child’s] best interests at heart.’

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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: 2639083 6

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2639083 7 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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