Children's Home run by Continuum Support - Care Services Limited in Knowsley

Inspection report for children’s home: SC473375 1 SC473375 Registered provider: Continuum Support - Care Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager since April 2023. The new manager has applied to Ofsted to be registered.

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 good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 1 November 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC473375 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2022 Full good 30/11/2021 Full good 04/11/2019 Full requires improvement to be good 15/01/2019 Full good Inspection report for children’s home: SC473375 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live at the home. One child has lived at the home for over two years. The other child is new to the home, and they received a well-planned transition into the home. This has helped the child to settle in well.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy positive relationships with the manager and staff. The staff are committed to the children and understand their needs. Children are making good progress in many aspects of their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have high expectations of the children accessing education. One child is not currently in full-time education, but staff are working closely with the local authority and others, and it is expected that the child will return to mainstream school in September 2023. As an interim measure, the child has access to a tutor and completes other educational activities in the home. The other child is in full-time education, is working towards her GCSE exams and completing a diploma in health and beauty.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have a good understanding of children’s physical health needs, and children are in good health. Staff use a therapeutic model of care to consider the underlying cause of children’s emotional health. Staff work in partnership with other professionals to help children understand and manage past traumas that affect their emotional well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to have positive time with their families. When children choose not to spend time with their families, staff continue to provide the children’s families with regular updates on the children’s welfare and achievements. This helps to maintain a level of communication with children’s families, and it makes it easier for children to resume direct communication should they wish to.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging in activities inside and outside of the home. For example, they enjoy ice skating lessons, bicycle rides and meeting friends. The staff celebrate the achievements of the children, which promotes the children’s social skills, health and well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the house is well maintained. Some areas of the home, including the two lounges, have recently been decorated and are homely and well presented. Further improvement work, including the renovation of the kitchen, is planned. In some instances, there is a delay in redecoration being completed despite there being an agreed budget and plan to complete this. The manager had not identified that some floor tiles in the bathroom need replacing; however, in response to the inspection, this will be added to home’s improvement plan. Inspection report for children’s home: SC473375 4

p.3

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

Children feel safe in the home. They have built up positive relationships with the staff team. The children know how to make a complaint and can identify a trusted adult with whom they can raise any concerns.

p.4

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children’s risks. Staff respond appropriately to incidents and take action to protect children. The staff know and follow the clear risk assessments that are in place. Incidents of physical interventions are well managed, and there is clear evidence that these are reducing.

p.4

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

During the inspection, one child was not present. Their location was known to staff, but the child did not have authorisation to be away from the home. Prompt action by staff when the child first left the home as well as the subsequent action taken by the staff and manager have ensured that there has been a well-considered, timely and proactive response to the situation. Despite this good practice, on this occasion, there was a delay in the manager notifying Ofsted of this significant incident.

p.4

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

The number of incidents of children going missing from home is relatively low. When children do go missing, staff work with the police and other safeguarding agencies to locate the children and ensure that they are returned swiftly. The potential for further incidents of children going missing from home is recognised as a current risk. Despite this, staff have not had the relevant training to further support them to respond to such incidents.

p.4

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

The children’s safety is at the centre of staff’s practice. When needed, room searches are carried out. There is clear management oversight of these searches to consider any follow-up action required.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has had a positive impact on the home, and he has made a number of improvements since starting in post. The manager has a good understanding of the needs of the children; he is child-centred and has high aspirations for the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable and committed staff team. There are no staff vacancies, and therefore, agency staff are not needed to work in the home. Staff are consistent in their care of children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team feels supported by the new manager. There is a comprehensive training programme in place, from induction to ongoing training, which allows the staff to gain appropriate knowledge to meet the individual needs of the children. However, not all staff have accessed the missing-from-home and online safety courses.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff receive regular reflective supervision. The manager feels supported through regular informal sessions and meetings. However, in line Inspection report for children’s home: SC473375 5 with the home’s statement of purpose, he should have received more than one formal supervision as he is new to the role.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is developing good working relationships with other professionals. Feedback from professionals about the care provided to children is positive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC473375 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires, and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the staff team completing the training on children going missing from home and internet safety so it has the required knowledge and understanding to meet the needs of the children. 18 August 2023

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that the home is well maintained and that any hazards identified are quickly repaired. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person must ensure that the manager receives formal supervision of their practice in line with the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: SC473375 7  The registered person must ensure that they notify HMCI and other relevant persons without delay if one of the situations specified in regulation 40 (4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home that the registered person considers to be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’,

p.6

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: SC473375 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Continuum Support - Care Services Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sinclair, 300 St. Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

p.8

Inspectors

Simon Jones, Social Care Inspector Paul Robinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC473375 9 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.8

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.9

Inspectors

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

p.9

Inspectors

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

p.9