Children's Home run by Quality Protects Children Ltd in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025420 1 SC025420 Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to six children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Six children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is overseen by a qualified manager who has been registered with Ofsted since June 2019.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC025420 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2022 Full Good 16/12/2021 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025420 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time with children to build up trusting relationships. Children report that they have staff to talk to, and they feel they are listened to and helped. One child said, ‘It’s the best place I have ever lived.’ Another child said, ‘I can talk to staff if I am worried.’ Observations of interactions during the inspection were positive and demonstrate that staff care about children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for children. Children are accessing education and making positive progress. One child said, ‘Staff helped me to access education. I am happy now that I am making progress.’ Children who speak English as an additional language are making good progress in their communication. This promotes prospects for children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are registered with relevant health services and attend appointments. Children are supported to take their medication in line with their health plans. However, one medication administration sheet was not updated to identify the new dose of medication for a child. This had no impact on the child as staff were administering the new dose but had not updated relevant paperwork.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of maintaining children’s cultural and religious beliefs. Staff have formed links with local community groups relevant to a child’s culture. Staff and children spend time together learning about each other’s faith. Diversity is celebrated in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a range of activities, including boxing, football and cricket. Regular day trips are arranged for children. During the inspection, the children and staff team went on a trip to the beach, and lovely interactions were seen. Photos of special occasions are captured and kept in a memory book. This creates a sense of belonging for children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain links with people who are important to them. When children do not have any contact with family members for a long time, staff support them to access appropriate services to locate family members. This supports children to maintain their identity. During the inspection, inspectors were able to observe one child being supported to spend time with their family. One family member said, ‘[Name of child] is well cared for, and staff are meeting his needs.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has a court directed order in place. At times, to safeguard the child, some areas of the home are locked. However, an assessment is not in place to clarify when doors can be locked and what support is in place for the other children who live in the home. Children’s social workers were aware of these arrangements. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025420 4

p.3

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

Staff act when children are experiencing bullying. Two children were supported to move on from the home as they were unable to live with another child, who was the victim. A professional said, ‘Staff were proactive. They managed the incident well and moved the other children.’ They continued, ‘They have the best interests of [name of child] at heart.’

p.4

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

Appropriate risk assessments are in place for each child. These are updated on a regular basis. However, records are not organised in a way that makes it easy to locate the most up-to-date and relevant records. This does not impact on children’s safety.

p.4

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

Restraint is only used when required to safeguard a child. Records of incidents are clear and reviewed by the manager. Children are spoken to following incidents, and reflective sessions are completed. This supports children to understand why the restraint was used.

p.4

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

When children go missing from home, staff search for them, and children are provided with return home interviews. Staff do not always follow the procedure that is in place. On occasion, this has led to a delay in the police being notified. This has not been identified by the manager as part of their evaluation.

p.4

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

Some areas of the home have been modernised. However, the environment is not maintained to a high standard. Managers began to act during the inspection to improve some areas of the home, fixing minor areas of damage. However, the home requires redecoration to be brought up to an acceptable standard. Some areas of the home feel institutionalised because of the type of doors and locks.

p.4

good

The home is run by a qualified and experienced manager. Managers are ambitious for children and support them to make progress from their starting points. Staff work collaboratively to provide consistency of care to children.

p.4

good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings. These meetings are child-focused and provide learning opportunities. Staff discussed the ending of two of the children’s placements to consider what they could have done differently. This demonstrates that staff are seeking to improve the experiences of children.

p.4

good

Staff receive training that is relevant to the individual needs of children. New staff receive a thorough induction. However, not all staff are on track to complete the relevant qualification in the required timescale.

p.4

good

Since the last inspection, a high number of shifts have been covered by agency staff. The manager has been provided with profiles for agency staff, but there are gaps in the manager’s process for checking that all staff are safe to work with children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025420 5 The manager acts when allegations are made. Investigations take place, and the relevant professionals are contacted. Incidents are recorded, and children are informed about the outcome. The allegation policy does not identify what actions should be taken if an allegation is made against the manager. Consequently, the manager investigated an allegation made against them.

p.4

good

One child has a court directed order in place. At times, to safeguard the child, some areas of the home are locked. However, the registered manager has not completed an assessment to clarify when doors can be locked, the impact on the other children living in the home and what support is in place to manage this situation for all children.

p.5

good

Improvements have been made to the roster. However, it does not always provide a clear audit of staff on shift. This is particularly in relation to the hours that the registered manager works. A repeat requirement has been made for this area.

p.5

good

Leaders and managers have not taken sufficient action to address requirements from the last inspection. Therefore, some requirements are restated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025420 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

p.6

Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

p.6

Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(ii)(iii)(iv)(c)(i))

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that a rigorous assessment is completed to identify why a child may have limited access to areas of the home. Social workers should be notified, and written consent should be obtained.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person should update the home to ensure that it is modern and suitable for the children living in the home. 23 August 2023

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. 23 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025420 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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;

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.7

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

p.7

Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vii)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that staff follow children’s plans when they are missing from home.

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(c)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered manager improving the internal monitoring of the home, for example ensuring that relevant, up-to-date risk assessments are on a child’s file and that medication administration sheets are updated when children change medication. 23 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025420 8 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

p.7

Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

p.8

Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

p.8

Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32 (1) (4)(a)(b))

p.8

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff complete the required qualification within timescales. 23 August 2023

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

p.8

Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

p.8

Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response;

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep under review and, as necessary, revise the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 34 (1)(b) (2)(d) (6))

p.8

Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered manager ensuring that outcomes of allegations are recorded. The registered person should review the allegation management policy to identify what actions are to be taken should an allegation be made against the manager. 23 August 2023

p.8

Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)(b)) 23 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025420 9 In particular, ensure that rosters include the full names of all staff and the actual hours worked.

p.8

Requirement Due date

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

p.9

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: SC025420 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hill House, Archway Road, Huyton, Liverpool L36 9XB

p.10

Inspectors

Kayleigh Treanor, Social Care Inspector Mandy Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025420 11 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.10

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.11

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.11