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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 1 SC356929 Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. Children were spoken to as part of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/06/2021 Full Inadequate 15/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they are happy living at the home. One wrote a letter to the inspector saying, ‘The reason why I love living at [name of home] is the staff, the support I receive from the staff, the food and the awesome activities that we get offered.’ Feedback from external professionals and a parent consistently praised the approach of the staff to provide stability for children and for helping them to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children attend health appointments and receive support from external services to promote their physical and emotional well-being. The provider’s clinical team also provides guidance to the staff to help them respond effectively to children’s emotional needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly, and they are making progress academically and developing their social interaction skills. Staff support formal education at home by reading with children and through informal learning. Children enjoy a range of after- school clubs as well as activities of their choice away from the home. Staff challenge education professionals when children are not receiving the support that they need to succeed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children see their families and friends regularly. Staff welcome family members to the home to help develop these important relationships as part of care planning with placing authorities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are aware of their plans, and their wishes and feelings are included. Staff listen to children’s views about improvements, and children have been involved in planning the recent redecoration to make their home more welcoming. The manager responds in writing to their requests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager challenges placing authorities when there are delays in receiving updated plans for children. However, the timeliness of escalation needs to be more consistent to prevent further delays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to develop their independent living skills in preparation for moving on from the home and into adulthood.

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

A new format for assessing children’s risks and vulnerabilities has been introduced. This is more specific to children’s individual needs. Plans and strategies to keep children safe are clearer and easier for staff to follow.

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

Staff follow individual safety plans and procedures when children go missing from the home so that the children are found and returned safely. They ensure that Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 4 children are offered opportunities to speak with someone who is independent of the home on their return.

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

Children are helped to resolve any difficulties in their relationships with one another. As well as careful planning before a child moves to the home, managers promptly review arrangements when safeguarding concerns emerge due to relationships between children or in the local area. The team works with placing authorities to support children to move to their new home in a planned way.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of children’s needs and potential factors that contribute to any challenging behaviours. Children are helped to recognise their own triggers and understand why consequences are put in place.

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

The staff use de-escalation techniques to minimise the need to hold a child for their own or others’ safety. On one occasion, the record was not specific enough to demonstrate why a child needed to be held. During the inspection managers took immediate action to address this shortfall in practice.

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

Staff understand the potential consequences of children being criminalised. They work closely with other agencies and use preventative strategies to help children to understand the potential effect on their future aspirations.

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

Any allegations are reported to the relevant safeguarding partners. Children are kept informed about what is happening when they make a complaint.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and deputy manager provide strong leadership for the team. They understand children’s needs and progress and have effective oversight of practice in the home. Staff say that they feel supported by leaders and managers and that team members are supportive of each other. This provides consistency for children, and the use of agency staff is minimal.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff access training and keep it up to date to meet the individual needs of children. This supports their practice by improving their understanding of children’s specific needs and how they should respond. Staff either hold or are working towards the relevant qualification for their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions and team meetings allow staff to reflect on practice as individuals and as a group, to share good practice and promote consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose was updated during the inspection to ensure that the information it contains is up to date. Similarly, the home’s location assessment was updated to include the local offer for children with special education needs and disabilities, so that staff are aware of local opportunities for children with additional needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 5 There are effective monitoring systems in place. However, the manager does not include the feedback provided by children and parents in the report on the review of the quality of care. The report would be improved by focusing more on how the care provided supports children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider has recognised that some external monitoring has lacked sufficient assessment and evaluation of practice and how this affects children’s experiences. Reports do not always provide the manager, or the regulator, with clear oversight of the care provided in the home. The provider has made the independent visitor aware of their expectations to address this shortfall. Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 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, 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

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

serious damage to the property of any person (including the child).

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff follow the home’s policy on de-escalating behaviour and the strategies in children’s plans to ensure that children are only held as a last resort. 12 November

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the independent person conducts a thorough assessment of records to inform their opinion. 12 November

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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”). (Regulation 45 (3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the report focuses on how the quality of care provided supports children’s progress and that 12 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 7 the report includes the feedback of stakeholders, including children and parents.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that placing authorities are consistently challenged when there are delays in providing relevant plans for children to contribute to effective care planning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)  The registered person should ensure that details about the local offer for children with special educational needs and disabilities are including in the home’s location assessment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose is critically reviewed to make sure that the information it contains is up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.23)

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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: SC356929 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Karen Willson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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