Children's Home run by Progressive Futures Care Limited in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC061924 1 SC061924 Registered provider: Progressive Futures Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The post for a registered manager has been vacant since May 2022.

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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 inadequate

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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: SC061924 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/03/2020 Full Good 19/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC061924 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall progress and experiences have been negatively affected by shortfalls identified in safeguarding practice and leadership and management at the home.

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improvement to be good

Two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. These were planned moves. They were supported to return to live with their families. There is currently one new child living in the home. Staff helped the child to feel comfortable when he moved into the home. As a result, the child has settled in well and is building positive relationships with staff. During the inspection, a second child was moving into the home. The child had already visited before the move and met staff. Staff spent time with the child to ensure that they had all their belongings in place.

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improvement to be good

The home is bright and comfortable. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms. However, inspectors found that some areas of the home need repair. For example, one child’s bedroom had a broken window restrictor and a broken wardrobe door. There was also cigarette paraphernalia in the bedroom. The bathroom and sink plug holes are rusty and need to be replaced. The interim manager took suitable action to address these issues during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Inspectors observed the child to have a good rapport with staff. This is helping the child to develop a sense of belonging. Consultation with the child takes place daily. The child says she feels listened to. Children are encouraged to contribute to their own records. However, the child’s records need to improve. For example, the child’s name should be used when staff are writing daily records. This will help the child to know what daily activities she did when she lived at the home.

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improvement to be good

The child has made good progress in education from her starting point. Staff have made all necessary arrangements and liaised with school staff so that the child could complete her recent exams. The child told the inspectors, ‘Staff are really proud of me.’ During the inspection, the child was supported to visit a college in preparation for the new college term. This is helping the child to improve her educational opportunities.

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improvement to be good

Good-quality direct work takes place with the child, where pertinent topics are discussed. Additionally, the child has engaged well with a variety of online training courses, including healthy relationships, staying safe online and the dangers of smoking. This is helping her to understand dangers to her health and how to keep safe when she is in the community.

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improvement to be good

Staff make efforts to ensure that the child can spend time with her family, including family members visiting the home. The child appreciates these opportunities and Inspection report for children’s home: SC061924 4 looks forward to the visits. This is helping her to build on positive relationships with the people who are important to her.

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improvement to be good

Staff are supporting the child to develop their independence skills. For example, the child is learning how to budget and shop for her weekly groceries.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are variable in quality. This means that staff do not always have clear strategies to follow in practice to keep children safe. Some risk assessments have not considered all risks to the child. As a result, effective action is not always taken, for example in relation to children misusing e-cigarettes. Children’s plans record that the child needs support in relation to their mental health and emotional well-being. However, strategies to support the child are not fully considered.

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improvement to be good

Missing-from-home protocols are not fully established within the staff team. Staff’s responses to children going missing are not proactive and effective in reducing the risk of harm. Leaders and managers have recently improved their recording systems for any incidents, including incidents of children going missing from home. As a result, these records now include all relevant information.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide support to the child to develop an understanding of healthy relationships, their sexual health needs and the risks of sexual exploitation. The child says that they have trusted adults who they can talk to. The child is praised for positive behaviour. When the child becomes upset, staff successfully use de- escalation techniques to avoid the use of physical intervention.

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improvement to be good

The manager has acknowledged risks around fire safety following a child smoking in their bedroom. Staff and children have received effective training to decrease the risk of fire. Weekly fire drills are carried out with the child and staff to further ensure that risks are understood and minimised.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment procedures and checks are robust, safe and effective. All staff are assessed for their suitability before they start to work in the home. This ensures that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff are suitably trained in the administration and recording of medication. Medication is stored safely.

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improvement to be good

When bedroom searches have been necessary, these have been carried out respectfully. Any unsafe materials found have been disposed of and recorded appropriately. This helps to protect the child from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is inadequate management oversight of the home. There has been no registered manager in post since May 2022. Leaders have identified the current Inspection report for children’s home: SC061924 5 deputy manager to be the new manager. However, she has not submitted a full application to be registered with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders are not sufficiently reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided. Leaders have not taken sufficient action to address the requirements raised at the previous inspection. Action has not been taken to address the shortfalls in leadership and management, and further shortfalls were identified at this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Inspectors found that the some of the child’s plans contain inconsistent information. Some records are not always dated and signed. The child’s risk assessment lacks information and does not demonstrate that risks have been fully explored or considered. Consequently, staff have not received the right information to care for the child effectively and keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight is poor. This has resulted in insufficient reviews of incidents and reflections on the quality of care provided for the child. The manager produced a report about the quality of care at the home. However, this does not include direct feedback and/or opinions about the quality of care provided in the home from the child, their family, stakeholders or staff. Additionally, the report was not sent to the regulator within the required time frame.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s location risk assessment has recently been updated. However, it does not contain consultation from professionals to help staff identify the risks in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are suitable staffing levels in the home. Staff say they like working in the home and have worked there for some time. They feel supported and benefit from regular supervision and team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Feedback from professionals is positive. One professional spoke about the improved communication within the staff team. Another said, ‘I have a good working relationship with the staff.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC061924 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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

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)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that all risk assessments are well written and contain clear strategies for staff to follow. 1 September 2023

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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— 1 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061924 7 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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

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)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that they demonstrate day-to-day management oversight of the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that all children’s case records contain accurate and up-to-date information and are signed and dated. 1 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061924 8 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

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Requirement Due date

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

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)) 1 September 2023

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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

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that the review of the premises contains consultation from stakeholders. 1 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061924 9

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff understand the importance of careful record-keeping. For example, the child’s name should be used when staff are writing daily records. This will help the child to understand their time spent in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a homely and domestic environment. This specifically relates to ensuring that the bathroom and sink plug holes are replaced due to rust. (‘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: SC061924 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progressive Futures Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 55 Hoghton Street, Southport, Merseyside PR9 0PG

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Inspectors

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Alexandra Pearson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC061924 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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