Children's Home run by Tressell Homes Ltd in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2585139 1 Registered provider: Tressell Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. The home is privately owned.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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: 7 February 2023

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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: 2585139 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2023 Full Good 01/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2585139 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know children well and understand what is happening in their day-to-day life. Staff spend time with children and take opportunities to listen and invest in them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The commitment of the staff team means that children who previously have moved many times have remained living at this home. This provides children with a sense of permanence and belonging. A professional said, ‘[Name of child] would not speak to staff when they first arrived. They will now sit, watch movies, and eat dinner with staff. This has been their most stable placement.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers advocate on behalf of children who do not have an education place. They attend regular meetings with professionals and have worked hard to consider alternative providers. Family members are invited to attend meetings so that they understand the plans for their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have made attempts to put in place some educational activities to support children’s learning, and have introduced routines when they do not have an identified education placement. However, this is an area that requires improvement to ensure that children have planned, structured routines. During the inspection, a clear plan was agreed with the child, the registered manager and placing authority social worker.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend health appointments and support independence. One child accesses the local gym and can cook for themselves. Children are supported to undertake daily tasks, for example managing their personal hygiene and laundry.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aware of and sensitive to events that have affected children’s emotional health and well-being. They understand their starting points and reward the progress children make. When children do not communicate or trust easily, staff follow specialist advice to develop their skills in order to support children in understanding how they manage their feelings and share their feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their family. Staff communicate with children and family members so that arrangements can be made safely. Any barriers to this are sensitively managed and with staff supporting travel arrangements. This allows children to spend meaningful time with those who are important to them and maintain their identity.

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

Children recognise the home as a safe place to live. They form trusting relationships with staff, and as a result, they feel comfortable and secure. Inspection report for children’s home: 2585139 4 Staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs. They use risk assessments effectively, which supports children’s safety inside and outside of the home. Strategies are in place to help staff manage and support children safely.

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

Careful supervision means that children have not been missing from care. However, staff understand their roles and responsibilities should this happen, because there are clear processes in place.

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

Leaders and managers attend regular meetings with professionals to ensure that agreed plans are robust and individualised. Children’s plans clearly set out what is in place to support children to prepare for moving on from the home and living independently.

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

When incidents of challenging behaviour happen, staff manage these safely. When a child’s behaviour has warranted the use of physical restraint, this has been proportionate, with clear processes in place for children and staff to talk about the incident afterwards. The manager evaluates all incident records to look for patterns and trends. Practice is discussed and altered, if necessary, and routines are changed accordingly.

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

When children do not engage with staff after incidents of challenging behaviour occur, managers and staff carefully consider alternative ways for this to happen. This helps children understand the reasons why a hold has been necessary.

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

Careful recruitment processes ensure that staff are suitable and safe to work with children. Children live in a well-maintained home that provides them with space and privacy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a permanent and suitably qualified registered manager. There is a stable and consistent staff team. Staff receive regular practice-related supervision, with opportunities to reflect and identify training needs. This allows them to develop their skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff at the home want to achieve the very best outcomes for the children. They are committed to improving the children’s lives and are aspirational about the children’s futures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a full training programme to ensure that staff are able to meet children’s individual needs. The manager ensures that, when issues have been raised for children, that training is quickly sourced, and specialists are commissioned to provide training to staff. However, one staff member, new to the home, has not been trained in the use of physical intervention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended and are used as an opportunity to reflect and analyse the progress made by individual children. Research is considered alongside Inspection report for children’s home: 2585139 5 the social care common inspection framework, which means that staff are involved and understand their roles and responsibilities alongside the ethos of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has strong relationships with professionals and advocates on behalf of children. One professional said, ‘Staff go above and beyond. Children are making progress; after five years, they are now attending and contributing to their plans.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a clear oversight of the home. There are systems in place that allow them to consider areas of strength and weakness. This information then forms the home’s development plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection visit, in September 2022, have been addressed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2585139 6

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Statutory requirement

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 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

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 13 October 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, Page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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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) Inspection report for children’s home: 2585139 7 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2585139 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Tressell Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Tressell Homes Ltd, Unit 41, Price Street Business Centre, Price Street, Birkenhead CH41 4JQ

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Inspector

Nicola Forrester, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2585139 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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