Children's Home run by Safe Base Care Limited in Wirral

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 1 SC480075 Registered provider: Safe Base Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. The home is privately owned and managed.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since March 2020.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 8 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2022 Full Good 06/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/07/2019 Full Good 20/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children live in the home. The children are settled and building positive relationships with staff. Children say they feel listened to. One social worker said that the home is a ‘lovely place for the children to live’ and the staff are ‘very child- centred’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children are engaging in education and making progress. Staff are ambitious for children and support them to attend and do well in their education. One teacher said that the communication is ‘excellent’. Staff support one child, who does not have a school place, to engage in educational activity throughout the day. The staff are advocating for the child to start school as soon as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to maintain good physical health. Children are encouraged to eat healthily and attend all their health appointments. This has resulted in improved dental health for one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to carry out daily tasks independently in line with their individual needs, for example personal care, cooking and using public transport. This is helping the children to prepare for adult life. The children receive incentives for completing tasks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities such as go-karting, bowling, football and indoor sky diving. One child goes to a youth centre twice a week. This is helping the children to learn new skills and build resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Reflective sessions are completed with children on important issues such as education, healthy sexual relationships, savings, sleep patterns and free time. The records include the children’s views and their understanding of the issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff respect and promote the children’s cultural needs. One child’s records are translated into their first language. This supports the children’s sense of belonging and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to see their family, and friends are welcome in the home. This helps the children to maintain their identity and continue to see the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is welcoming and there are photos of the children displayed in the lounge. However, the decoration, carpets and furniture need to be refreshed in parts of the home to ensure that it is a pleasant and homely environment for the children to live in. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 4

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

Children currently living in the home say that they feel safe. They can talk to staff about any worries they have.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff provide the children with clear and consistent boundaries. The children understand that the boundaries put in place for them are there to protect them.

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

The manager and staff have a good understanding of safeguarding. They respond appropriately to any serious safeguarding concerns. They work with other agencies to keep children safe, especially when a child goes missing from the home.

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

Assessments of risk are in place and updated regularly. There are strategies in place to protect children from harm. This means that the children are safeguarded effectively because of the care that they experience.

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

Staff use effective de-escalation techniques, and physical intervention is used as a last resort. The number of incidents has significantly reduced, and physical intervention has not been used for many months. However, staff and children do not always receive a debrief following a significant incident in a timely manner.

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

Proactive and effective working relationships with the police help to support and protect the children. The Children’s Care Home Liaison Officer said that they had a ‘very good relationship’ with the staff and children. Staff support the children to engage in activities organised by the police. For example, the children engaged in a talk about the dangers of gang involvement, child exploitation and county lines.

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

There is CCTV on the outside of the home. This is used to support the safety and well-being of the children and staff. However, the manager needs to ensure that there is an up-to-date CCTV policy in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The manager is child-centred and passionate about obtaining positive outcomes for the children. The manager knows the children well and is a positive role model for both staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is adequately staffed for the children currently living in the home. There is a stable core staff team in place, which helps ensure consistency for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective monitoring and review systems are in place. The manager has a good understanding of what is working well for the children. The manager took appropriate action to review a child’s plan with a local authority when it became apparent that the child’s needs could not be met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 5 The manager and staff are strong advocates for the children. The manager will actively challenge others for what is in the children’s best interests. This helped two children move into their own accommodation in a planned and positive way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes a strong learning culture in the home. Staff receive training to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and meet the children’s individual needs. For example, staff have completed training in depression and anxiety, childhood in the digital age, participation, mental health, and conflict management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff describe the manager as being supportive, and say that they enjoy working in the home. Team meetings take place regularly which allow for feedback and discussion. Staff have regular supervision, and records demonstrate that supervision is of good quality and gives staff an opportunity to reflect on their practice. This helps the manager to gain a clear understanding of staff strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person carrying out the external monitoring of the home does not always speak to the children to get their views about living at the home and the care they receive. This limits the independent person’s ability to understand the children’s lived experience and the impact of the quality of care provided to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children live in a home that is homely, and decorated and furnished to a good standard throughout. This needs to be consistently maintained and all maintenance work to be completed without any unnecessary delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that the children and staff have a debrief following a significant incident and that this takes place in a timely way. The debrief should be completed by someone who is not involved in the incident. Evidence of the debriefs should be detailed within the records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)  The registered person should ensure that there is a written policy for the use of CCTV. The policy should describe how the CCTV will support the safeguarding and

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Recommendations

well-being of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is updated to reflect the CCTV policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person has an opportunity to speak to the children when completing each regulation 44 visit. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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: SC480075 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Safe Base Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Tapton Way, Whitfield Accounting & Integrated Services Ltd, Liverpool L13 1DA

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Inspector

Dawn Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 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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