Children's home run by Carehome Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 1 SC044276 Registered provider: Carehome 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. It is registered to provide care for up to six children, with four living at the main home and two at an additional home. According to the home’s statement of purpose, it provides care for children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities. It is also registered to provide care for children with physical disabilities and sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, there were five children living in this home. Four children live in the main house and the other child lives in the separate home.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager registered with Ofsted in March 2023. The previous manager submitted their voluntary cancellation to facilitate a handover period and de- registered at the end of June 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

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: SC044276 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s care is not yet well planned and organised. The manager has started to update care planning systems and documents. While the planned changes will provide children with a more coherent approach to care planning, this change has not yet been completed. While staff do get to know children, plans do not provide staff with clear direction about how to meet children’s needs and keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they are happy and feel that staff care about them. Children enjoy a range of activities outside of school. Children have fun and are supported to build positive relationships with the adults looking after them.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always use language which is sensitive or supportive. The use of some stigmatising language when staff are talking about children’s needs and written in children’s files has not been identified or addressed by managers. Language used by staff is not always helpful to children.

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improvement to be good

Attempts have been made to provide children with a homely and welcoming environment. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their individual tastes and children have a say in how the home is decorated. However, there are unaddressed maintenance and decor issues throughout the home which detract from this homely feel.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress in relation to their health, education and social and emotional well-being because of the care they receive. Staff understand the barriers children face in accessing the healthcare they need and find creative ways to overcome these hurdles. Children are healthier because of the care they receive.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly have useful discussions with children. Staff support children to learn about a range of issues in a safe and supportive environment.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding incidents are generally well managed. However, staff do not always appropriately notify Ofsted of safeguarding concerns. This affects the regulator’s oversight of the actions taken by staff to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand their role and responsibilities in safeguarding children in general terms. However, there has been one safeguarding incident in which a child was exposed to increased risk in the community and staff were uncertain about the best strategies to use to keep this child safe. Following incidents, staff are not always provided with updated information about how to better manage children’s risks. Staff do not always use an individualised approach to safeguarding children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 4 Children are rarely physically held in this home. Staff understand that this should be used only as a last resort to keep children safe. Records of such incidents are detailed. Children are always supported to understand their experience. Positive relationships between children and staff are promoted.

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improvement to be good

Any adult coming to work in this home is subject to thorough recruitment checks. This ensures that children are only cared for by safe adults.

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improvement to be good

The manager does not regularly review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the home. This means that current risks relating to the local area have not been considered when deciding whether this is a safe place for each child to live.

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good

There is a suitably qualified manager leading this home. He has only been registered since March 2023. He has a good understanding of the shortfalls in staff practise and has a plan to address these concerns, however, progress has been limited since the last inspection.

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good

Leaders and managers do not use effective systems of oversight to improve the quality of care for children. This means necessary changes are not being made within a timescale which is helpful to children.

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good

Staff communicate well with other professionals. They make sure that professionals in health, social care and education all have the information they need to meet children’s needs.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision, however, this is of inconsistent quality. Staff have not received an annual appraisal of their work. This is a missed opportunity for formal review of staff practice.

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good

Staff complete regular training. This supports them to develop the skills and knowledge they need to care for children. However, leaders and managers do not currently use an effective system to monitor staff training and development.

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good

There are locks on doors to communal areas of the home. The manager has updated policies about the use of these locks since the last inspection and they are no longer meant to be used as a safeguarding measure. However, while the locks remain in place, there is the potential for children’s freedom of movement to be restricted.

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good

Children receive care from an established team. This allows them to form lasting relationships with the adults looking after them. Children feel a sense of stability and consistency. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans are of consistently good quality. Children’s plans must be clear and provide staff with strategies and direction about how to support children’s individual needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the language used is helpful and non-stigmatising.

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Requirement Due date

Plans should clearly identify how the support provided helps children to make progress and are written in a way that helps children to understand their journeys.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 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. 30 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 6 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must make sure that all staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and know how to manage the risks for each child.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that risk management plans and practices are thoroughly reviewed and updated in response to any safeguarding incidents.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete an annual review of the suitability of the location of the home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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 30 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 7 promotes their welfare.

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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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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

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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should have effective monitoring systems in place to ensure robust oversight of all aspects of practice.

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Requirement Due date

Management oversight should be clearly recorded in children’s files.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; 30 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 8 there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that doors to shared areas of the children’s home should not be locked. Any measure that is used specifically to safeguard a child must be regularly assessed to ensure that it remains necessary.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 August 2023

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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 (4)(b)(c)) 30 August 2023

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Recommendation

Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 9  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)

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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: SC044276 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hanover Buildings, 11-13 Hanover Street, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 3DN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Minogue

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Jacqueline Minogue Benjamin Merrison

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Inspectors

Nicola Shaw, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC044276 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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