Children's home run by Crossway Services Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 1 SC061438 Registered provider: Crossway 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 privately run and is registered to provide care for one child who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The child spoke with the inspector about their experiences of living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The post for a registered manager has been vacant since March 2023.

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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

Date of last inspection: 18 January 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/10/2022 Full Inadequate 15/09/2021 Full Good 15/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 3

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improvement to be good

The child is settled and has lived in the home since the last inspection. The child says that they like living in the home and are happy.

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improvement to be good

Staff have built meaningful and trusting relationships with the child. These relationships help staff to understand the child’s needs and underpin the progress the child is making.

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improvement to be good

The child’s education is well supported. Staff have helped the child to transition to a smaller educational setting that is better suited to their individual needs. Staff have implemented clear routines and boundaries. Consequently, the child’s attendance has significantly improved, and they are making progress. The child spoke positively to the inspector about their experiences in education.

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improvement to be good

The child enjoys a variety of activities inside and outside of the home, including going to the cinema and for days out. The child enjoys completing jigsaws and has these framed and displayed around the home at their request to demonstrate their achievements.

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improvement to be good

Staff care about the child and support them to pursue their interests. Staff benefit from reflective sessions with the in-house psychology team. These sessions help them to further develop their understanding of the child’s needs. Staff listen to the child but do not always capture their wishes and views. Recently, a weekly activity has been introduced. This enables the child to share their views on their care and support is continuing to be embedded by the team.

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improvement to be good

The home remains in need of redecoration and furniture needs replacing throughout. Garden furniture was still being used in the dining room; however, this was changed during the inspection. A plan to replace the furniture in the child’s bedroom has not been acted on. Efforts made to redecorate communal rooms have been poor and have led to paint damage to furniture and soft furnishings which has not been addressed.

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improvement to be good

The child feels safe living in the home. Leaders and managers ensure that individual risks are identified. However, risk management plans have not been updated to include the child’s new and emerging behaviours. They do not include strategies for staff to follow to keep the child safe. This means that staff are not kept updated about the child’s current risks. Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 4 There have not been any incidents of the child going missing from the home. However, should an incident occur, staff know how to respond.

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improvement to be good

Incidents and allegations are appropriately managed. Leaders and managers ensure that relevant professionals are notified and that internal investigations are thorough.

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improvement to be good

When it is necessary to carry out searches of the child’s bedroom, these are done sensitively. Records include the reasons for the search and staff seek the child’s consent.

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improvement to be good

Positive behaviour is supported and encouraged. The child has a new incentive plan which helps them with their individual targets. This is something staff are continuing to embed to support the child to understand their progress and to make safer choices.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of the child being physically held are rare. When interventions are used, they are low level. However, the child has not had an opportunity to express their views after each intervention. This reduces opportunities for learning and limits management oversight of practice in the home.

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good

There is no manager in post. The quality assurance manager is supporting the deputy manager and staff team until a new manager is recruited. The staff speak very positively about this change.

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good

Monitoring systems are not robust. This limits oversight of practice in the home and reduces opportunities for development and learning. The home’s statement of purpose and location risk assessment need to be reviewed. The most recent quality of care report has not been completed within the expected time frame and does not include input from the child, staff or other professionals. This means that the manager and staff have not had an opportunity to formally reflect on the quality of care provided to the child. This information has also not been available to Ofsted or the placing authority. This limits opportunities for external scrutiny of practice in the home.

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good

Some records lack detail and do not routinely capture the child’s voice. Records are not always written in a way that would be helpful to the child. Staff say that medication records are overly complicated. This is something the quality assurance manager is taking action to address.

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good

The team of staff communicate effectively with each other and with other professionals to ensure that the child’s needs are met. Feedback from other professionals is positive about the quality of care provided by the team. Professionals state that they can see the more recent improvements in engagement and communication. One professional stated, ‘The home is a positive in the child’s life and they meet their care needs well.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 5 Supervision records do not demonstrate that staff have had meaningful discussions about children’s progress and development. They are not reflective, and they do not support staff’s learning and development. Not all staff have had their performance reviewed annually. This is something that the quality assurance manager is taking action to address.

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good

Staff have received their mandatory training and key training that meets children’s individual needs. However, the workforce development plan does not include details of staff’s skills or the training they have received.

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good

The child is cared for by a consistent staff team. Agency staff are not used. The child is kept updated about who is working in the home. However, the rota does not always show the actual hours worked by all staff. Therefore, the rota does not provide an accurate picture of when staff are working at the home.

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good

Three requirements made at the last inspection have been met. Three requirements have not been met and have been restated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 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

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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the home is decorated and furnished to a high standard throughout and that dining furniture is appropriate. 4 August 2023

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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 (1) 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; 4 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 7 understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that risk management plans are kept up to date. In addition, the measures in place must be assessed and evaluated to ensure that the risks are being managed effectively and consistently.

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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;

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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

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(a)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have systems in place to maintain effective monitoring and oversight of the day-to-day running of the home and that the child’s views are regularly sought and used to improve practice in the home. 4 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 8 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff receive a suitable induction to the role and are provided with regular practice-based supervision and have their performance appraised annually.

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Requirement Due date

This was a requirement at the last inspection and is restated. 4 August 2023

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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

The registered person must ensure that all hours worked by staff, including the registered manager, are clearly recorded on rotas.

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Requirement Due date

This was a requirement at the last inspection and is restated. 4 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and 4 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 9 any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the review must consider the opinions of children, parents, placing authorities and staff.

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Requirement Due date

This was a requirement at the last inspection and is restated.

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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”)— 4 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 10 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

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Requirement Due date

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

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the review must include up-to-date information. 4 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 4 August 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). This specifically relates to the management and staffing structure (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working in the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 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: SC061438 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC061438 13 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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