Children's Home run by PALS Residential Services in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 1 Registered provider: PALS Residential Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

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

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a good home. A consistent staff team, that shares child-centred values, enables children to thrive and develop while living at the home. Consequently, children are settled and happy living here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff maintain detailed placement plans that are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that everyone is clear about the needs of children. The plans clearly outline the steps that staff need to take to manage children’s behaviours and minimise any risks to them. In addition, routine handovers between staff ensure that everyone is kept up to date with any new information regarding the care needs of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and encourage children to keep in touch with those who are important to them. Staff have also developed good relationships with families and carers to promote the importance of contact and help children to experience the benefits of these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and his staff team promote the importance of education, and have worked well with schools and children to promote the education of children and prevent school placement breakdowns. Staff understand the importance of education and work hard with children to share their values about this. If children struggle with attending school, or any aspect of their school attendance, individual incentives are offered to children to improve their participation in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered and encouraged to attend a range of group activities such as meals out, escape rooms, gardening, barbeques and cinema trips, as well as a holiday away together. In addition, children are provided with money so that they can enjoy time with their friends and families away from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff act as positive role models for children. They have worked hard with children to develop strong, reliable relationships that help children to develop positive behaviours.

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

There have been no physical interventions since the last inspection, and similarly children rarely receive consequences for negative behaviours. When this does happen, consequences are restorative in nature and are clearly recorded.

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

Staff use their professional curiosity to safeguard the children in their care. They liaise with relevant professionals, sharing their knowledge and experience to help minimise risks to children. Children say they feel safe at the home and that they feel able to go to staff to share any concerns they may have. A family member of one child said that, ‘He [the child] is safer since he came to live at the home.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 4 Professionals say that ‘Staff go above and beyond to keep the children in their care safe.’

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

Placement plans and impact risk assessments detail all known risks to children, as well as steps for staff to follow to manage and minimise these risks. Serious incidents are minimal, as are incidents of children going missing from the home. When these incidents do occur, staff take appropriate action to safeguard the children and maintain accurate records of the events.

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

At the start of the inspection, the manager shared the detail of an ongoing safeguarding allegation. Safeguarding procedures were followed to protect all involved. The local authority is aware of the situation and is liaising with the home.

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

The home is well maintained both internally and externally, providing a homely and comfortable environment for children to live in. Staff carry out regular health and safety checks to ensure that the home continues to be safe. Staff recruitment checks are thorough and promote the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the statement of purpose for the home has been updated and now includes the skills and experience of the team. The record of physical intervention has also been amended to ensure it meets regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and his deputy lead a team of staff who work to clear goals for children. Staff have high aspirations for the children in their care, and children are clear about what is expected of them in terms of their behaviour and school attendance. One child said that, ‘The home is strict but relaxed, we can’t just get away with everything!’ Staff carry out regular direct work sessions with all children, but the records of these can reflect more of a ‘telling off’ rather than a discussion with children and do not always reflect the views of children. These records do not, however, represent the relationships witnessed between staff and children during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

With the exception of one member of bank staff, staff receive regular supervision. These are reflective sessions that are used to discuss staff’s individual training needs, practice and development, as well as to discuss the children in their care. Staff receive regular training and have received training in radicalisation since the last inspection. The manager is in the process of accessing the services of a ‘training hub’ to meet the needs of the staff team. Staff say that they are supported well by the manager. They reflect that, as well as their regular supervision sessions, the manager is always there to offer guidance and assistance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff rotas show that staffing levels at the home meet the needs of children. However, on the day of inspection, staffing levels were insufficient. This was an isolated incident that did not impact on the care of children. However, the situation did provide potential risk to children and a requirement is therefore made to address this shortfall. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 5 Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 6

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Statutory requirement

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 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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)) 31 July 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the records in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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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: 2634272 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: PALS Residential Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 119 Asser Road, Liverpool L11 8NL

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Inspector

Julia Toller, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 8 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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