Children's Home run by My3 Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2508601 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 provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 2 April 2019.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2508601 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/04/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2508601 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children told the inspector that they are happy and settled living in the home. They said that they have a good relationship with the staff and that they can speak to them if they are worried. The staff are skilled communicators who understand the individual communication style of the children. They engage with the children positively, which helps children to feel safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social workers said that they ‘cannot sing the praises of the staff enough’. They said that, because of the support provided, the children are much more confident and amenable to trying new things. This provides the children with new opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aspirational for children. They said that ‘there is no such word as can’t’, and that they think ‘differently’ so that they can support the children’s diverse needs. Consequently, children make sustained progress across all areas of their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff make sure that the children receive the support they need to express their views, wishes and feelings about their care. Children are involved in every aspect of their care, including their meals and activities and exploring where they would like to live in the future. Therefore, children contribute to their plans and the decisions being made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend regular health appointments. When children require additional support for their emotional, mental or physical health, staff ensure that assessments are quickly arranged. This means that children’s health needs are assessed and that they receive the help that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in full-time education. Staff advocate well on the children’s behalf to overcome any barriers to their learning. Consequently, children make steady and sustained progress. Children are aspirational for their future. Staff undertake sensitive discussions with children to help them to think through their options. This means children can make realistic and informed decisions about their future career pathway.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and decorated to a good standard. However, there has been a delay in addressing some maintenance issues, and this detracts from the homely environment staff are striving to create.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they are involved in decisions about the home, such as the decoration and the choice of soft furnishings. Children are encouraged to help to keep the home clean and tidy. This shows that children are building skills that will help them in later life. Inspection report for children’s home: 2508601 4 Children have different arrangements for keeping in touch with people who are important to them. Individual plans give staff clear information and guidance to ensure that children are safe when they spend time with their families. This focus on positive time with family means that important relationships are maintained and built on.

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

Children said that they are safe and feel safe living in this home. The staff and manager help children to understand risks and how to keep themselves safe. As a result, risks for children reduce over time. Staff are not risk-averse. They encourage children to take safe risks, such as travelling independently to meet their friends. Staff keep in regular contact with the children until they arrive at their destination, and this builds the children’s confidence and self-esteem effectively.

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

Staff use strong safeguarding practice that promotes the welfare and safety of the children. Staff are trained in safeguarding and in additional areas such as around child exploitation, county lines and e-safety. However, the home’s training matrix is not up to date and does not reflect all the training completed by staff.

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

Risk-management strategies are effective. This is because staff know about the agreed strategies to de-escalate situations and there is guidance in place should an incident occur. A social worker said that they had seen a significant decrease in the number of incidents for their child.

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

Physical interventions are extremely rare. However, on the one occasion that this has taken place since the last inspection, staff did not record all the necessary information. This was an oversight and does not impact on the quality of care and support provided to children.

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

Positive behaviour is continually promoted and rewarded. Children learn tolerance and develop an awareness of the other children’s needs. For example, they understand that they need to turn their music down at night, so that it does not disturb others.

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

Consequences are used sporadically because of the children’s needs. However, when they are used, they are restorative in nature. For example, one child helped to repair some damage in the home. This not only enabled the child to think through their actions, but also helped them to gain new life skills.

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

There has been one occurrence of a child going missing from the home. Staff responded quickly and were able to locate the child and return them home safely.

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

Staff recruitment and vetting systems are robust. This means that children are cared for by suitable adults. Health and safety checks are completed on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. This helps keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2508601 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a qualified and experienced manager. There is a stable staff team that provides continuity of care for the children. Social workers said that the manager is approachable, cares about the children, and is confident to challenge them when they feel children are not receiving the support that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal and external monitoring is secure. However, shortfalls in record-keeping are not always identified. Therefore, limited action is taken to ensure that all records, such as key-worker reports and incident reports, are recorded to a consistently good standard and tell the story of the child’s time in the home. Furthermore, monitoring has not identified that the staff rota does not contain the actual hours that the manager and staff work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose is up to date and reflects the home’s ethos, which is centred around the needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, professional supervision and support. This provides opportunities for staff to talk about and reflect on their practice, and to identify any areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Several staff hold a recognised childcare qualification, and other staff are at different stages of completing a qualification. Staff enjoy their work and they work well together as a team. They said that the support they have received from the manager has been invaluable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work in partnership with other professionals and agencies who are involved in the children’s care. Professionals are complimentary about the manager and staff, especially their commitment to the children and helping them to develop to their full potential. Inspection report for children’s home: 2508601 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline, or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time, and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 14 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2508601 7 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

Maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the staffing rota, in particular recording the actual hours that the manager and staff have worked. 14 April 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any maintenance work required in the home is carried out in a timely fashion. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of the information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. This specifically relates to the quality of record- keeping. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that the training matrix clearly reflects all the training completed by staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: 2508601 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

Chris Scully, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2508601 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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