Children's Home run by After Care (NW) Limited in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2547837 1 Registered provider: After Care NW Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately operated home, providing care for up to three children who may be experiencing social, emotional and/or mental health needs. There are currently two children living in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since July 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: 15 September 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: 2547837 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/09/2022 Full Good 08/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2547837 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they feel safe and happy in this home. One child said that she trusts the adults looking after her to always act in her best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build positive relationships with the adults caring for them. Children living in this home have experienced trauma and have complex needs. Staff get to know their individual needs and support them in an empathetic way. Children experience kind, consistent and individualised care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, staff attempt to make sure they have all the necessary information to understand the care that each child needs. Staff have supported one child through some very difficult times and sought additional mental health support for them. However, there have been delays in agreeing the longer- term support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although staff have tried to create a homely environment for children, the decor in the home needs updating. This recommendation is restated from the previous inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff establish good working relationships with people who are important to children. Staff communicate well with family members and professionals to share relevant information. Children receive a coordinated approach to their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are prepared for independence. Older children are supported to learn the skills they need to look after themselves in adulthood. Supportive relationships are maintained with children after they move out of the home. Children feel ready for independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are out of education, some attempts are made to give them other opportunities for learning. One child has been working well with a tutor and is being prepared to reintegrate into mainstream school. However, staff have not yet been successful in engaging one of the children in any learning.

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

Staff understand children’s individual vulnerabilities and risks. Staff appropriately notify all agencies of safeguarding concerns and follow safeguarding procedures. There is a strong culture of safeguarding in this team.

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

Staff receive regular training in relation to current and changing risks for children. This allows them to recognise the indicators of emerging risks. Staff know how to be proactive in their approach to keeping children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2547837 4 Children receive a consistent approach to their care. Staff understand the underlying reasons for children’s behaviour and support them in a trauma-informed way. Staff focus on rewarding positive behaviour rather than using negative consequences. This helps children understand the expectations and to feel safe and secure.

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

Children have gone missing from this home. Staff always follow missing-from-home procedures and are proactive in searching for children. They communicate well with other professionals about children’s experiences of going missing. This ensures that children receive a coordinated response.

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

Incidents of bullying are managed appropriately and staff help children to build better relationships with each other.

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

Children are rarely physically held in this home. Staff know when and why it would be necessary to physically hold children to keep them safe. Records of physical holds are detailed and children are always supported sensitively afterwards. Children are helped to maintain positive relationships with the adults looking after them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably experienced and qualified manager. The manager gets to know the children living in the home well and strives to achieve the best possible outcomes for them. The manager acts as a good role model for her team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use good systems of oversight to monitor and review children’s records. As a result, the manager has recognised that children’s voices are not being captured effectively. The manager is developing a process to ensure that children can contribute to their records in a meaningful way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers review all records of significant incidents. This oversight helps to identify emerging patterns and potential gaps in staff training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular reflective supervision. However, appraisals do not always take place annually. This limits the effectiveness of management oversight of staff performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend a range of training to develop their skills. This includes training specific to the needs of the individual children they are caring for. This helps improve staff knowledge, which in turn contributes to better care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides a regular quality of care review. Children’s views and feedback are captured in this report. This ensures effective analysis and evaluation of the quality of care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2547837 5

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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, The 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

ensure that any care that is arranged or provided for a child that—

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Requirement Due date

that the care meets the child’s needs. (Regulation 6 (1) (3)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children do not experience delay in the provision of essential services required to meet their needs, such as psychological support. 30 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; 30 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2547837 6 promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, when children are out of education, the registered person must ensure that useful strategies are found to help engage children in informal learning.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person also must make sure that when children are out of education, steps are taken to quickly find them a place in a suitable academic setting.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c)) 30 August 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is well maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  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 record 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: 2547837 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: After Care NW Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 45 Kensington Road, Southport, Lancashire PR9 0RT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Timothy Blundell

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Inspector

Nicola Shaw, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2547837 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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