Children's home run by Liv Children Care LTD

Inspection report for children’s home: 2715823 1 Registered provider: Liv Children Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children. The home caters for children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in March 2023. The post for a registered manager is currently vacant. An acting manager has been in post since September 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living at the home during the inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2715823 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2715823 3

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improvement to be good

There is one child who has lived at this home since it opened. Staff did not assess this child’s needs well before the child moved to the home. The child has complex needs, and the lack of assessment meant that staff did not have a good understanding of these before the child moved in. Therefore, staff have not been able to meet these effectively.

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improvement to be good

The child’s move into the home was not well planned and effectively managed. Staff did not begin to form a relationship with the child before the move. Furthermore, there was a lack of communication with the child to support their understanding of the move. Consequently, the child did not settle well, which contributed to several incidents occurring that demonstrated the child’s distress.

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improvement to be good

As a result of their complex needs, the child is dependent on the adults around them to support them in maintaining their safety, privacy and dignity. However, limited consideration has been given to this. Leaders and managers have not ensured that the house is appropriately designed and that staff consistently act to promote the child’s dignity. The child is known to move about the home while nude, including in the glass-panelled conservatory. No measures were in place to prevent the child from being potentially observed from outside the home when in the conservatory. Managers took immediate action to order the installation of privacy film in the conservatory when this was raised by the inspector.

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improvement to be good

Staff are patient when caring for the child. They encourage verbal communication with the child and use visual aids to explore the child’s feelings, wishes and views. The child is supported to make choices, such as selecting meals and activities. However, some staff do not have a good understanding of the child’s current needs and risks. Therefore, the child is not currently receiving good-quality, individualised care that meets their needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff speak positively about caring for the child and getting to know them. They are focused on supporting the child to settle in the home and on building a positive relationship with them. The staff work in partnership with the child’s social worker.

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improvement to be good

Staff continue to support the child to manage their personal care needs. However, there was a strong smell of urine from the conservatory area. The home environment is otherwise clean and well maintained. Inspection report for children’s home: 2715823 4

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improvement to be good

Some staff have little experience of working with children with learning disabilities. The staff team has not completed training specific to the child’s needs, such as training on autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Consequently, staff are limited in their ability to provide good-quality care in line with the child’s individual needs.

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improvement to be good

The staff have not always read the child’s plans and risk assessment. Some staff have a limited understanding of the child’s current risks and how they can best be managed. As a result, the child has not always received the level of supervision and support they need.

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improvement to be good

Staff receive guidance and practical support from the manager to handle incidents. However, sometimes records of incidents are inaccurate and do not clearly state the actions taken by staff to support the child. There is a lack of management oversight of these records. This results in missed opportunities for the appropriateness and effectiveness of staff actions to be reviewed and for practice to potentially be enhanced.

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improvement to be good

The provider installed locks on some internal doors as a safety measure following the child’s move to the home. However, this restriction on the child’s movement within the home has not been assessed for risk; it is not included in their care plan, and it is not clear if this is subject to review.

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improvement to be good

Fire extinguishers have been removed from some communal areas. These are stored locked away in vacant bedrooms. Staff can access these with a key, but this practice has not been assessed to identify and reduce risk.

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improvement to be good

While there are significant shortfalls, leaders and managers are focused on improving the quality of care provided to the child. The manager is developing an updated risk assessment for the child. This takes account of the child’s behaviours that were not previously known. The risk assessment serves to give staff a better understanding of the child’s current needs and risks and how best to meet them.

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improvement to be good

The manager is liaising with the child’s placing authority to better understand the child’s needs and how the staff and partner professionals can best meet them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The previous registered manager left the home in April 2023. The current acting manager took up the post in September. An experienced responsible individual appointed in July 2023, provides direct guidance to the manager. However, leaders’ and managers’ oversight of the home has been poor. Consequently, the child has not received the quality of help, protection and support that they should. Although there are plans in place to improve this, their experiences of moving into the home have been poor. Inspection report for children’s home: 2715823 5 The provider has not ensured that pre-employment checks are consistently carried out to a good standard. Staff recruitment files for two staff members did not demonstrate that all the gaps in their employment histories had been identified and explored. This lack of professional curiosity has the potential to undermine the manager’s ability to ensure that only suitable applicants are employed to work with

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is no clear and consistently implemented approach to effective record- keeping. Incidents are not clearly recorded and have had no management oversight. The child’s file was missing important documents, such as their care plan and placement plan. These documents were subsequently provided, but they, and the important information contained, had not been accessible to the staff. The language used in records at times demonstrates a lack of understanding of the child’s vulnerabilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff feel well supported by the manager. Leaders and managers have ensured that staff have completed basic mandatory training that has helped to prepare them for their role. This includes safeguarding training and practical first-aid training. However, staff have not been provided with training specific to the needs of the child, such as working with children with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and autism. A senior manager said they had plans for staff to undertake training in autism and receive clinical input, which they anticipate will enhance the quality of care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The provider has not notified the local authority, in which the home is situated, of the child’s move to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The acting manager models good practice to staff by working alongside them and caring for the child. This also allows the manager to closely monitor the child’s progress and build a relationship with them. As a result, the child has begun to form a positive relationship with the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not had effective oversight to ensure that the child’s needs were properly assessed and that staff were able to meet them. Furthermore, they failed to ensure that the child’s move into the home was well planned and managed in order to reduce stress for the child, who struggled to understand what was happening. As a result, the child’s experiences at the home have been poor. However, the new manager has recognised these shortfalls, and plans are in place to improve the service. They are currently focused on developing secure, trusting relationships between staff and the child, promoting positive relationships with others in their local community and upskilling their staff team. They have stated that they will not move any new children into the home until staff are able to meet the current child’s needs and the child is able to settle. Inspection report for children’s home: 2715823 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

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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 14 November

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, take steps to ensure that the child’s dignity and respect is maintained when in the home. 11 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). 22 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2715823 7 The requirements are that—

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all gaps in employment history are identified and explored.

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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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 kept under review and, if necessary, revised;

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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 (a)(b)(c)(iii)(iv)) 22 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify, without delay, the local authority for the area in which the children’s home is located of every admission of a child into the home and every discharge of a child from the home. (Regulation 41 (1)) 22 November

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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; 22 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2715823 8 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)(h))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘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 nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. They will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. The home is to comply with relevant health and safety legislation, such as alarms and food hygiene. (‘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: 2715823 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Liv Children Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 128 City Road, London EC1V 2NX

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Inspector

Sasha Reid, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2715823 10 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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