Children's home run by Attivo Care Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2570070 1 Registered provider: Attivo 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 operated by a private provider. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is not registered with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: 1 November 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2570070 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2022 Full Good 08/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2570070 3

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improvement to be good

There are two children currently living in the home. They are settled and happy living in the home. Children are invited to spend time in the home before moving in. This helps them to alleviate any anxieties they may have. Staff spend time getting to know children. As a result, they have developed strong relationships with them.

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improvement to be good

Care planning for children moving into the home is not thorough. Information- gathering in respect of children is not robust. This means that staff do not understand children’s risks and needs when they move into the home. As a result, one child moved on from the home within a short period of time. Furthermore, children’s records do not include local authority documents and plans. This means that the care provided to the children may not be in line with local authority care plans.

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improvement to be good

Children are provided with opportunities to engage in educational activities and learning when they are not attending school. Children undertake online learning and training sessions. The manager advocates on behalf of children to access formal education. She works hard to identify education provisions that can meet children’s individual needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide children with opportunities to enjoy new and existing hobbies and interests. One child in the home has enjoyed a range of new activities and experiences since living in the home. Children are supported to join local groups, where they can pursue sporting activities that they enjoy. Staff support children to attend activities in their home area where they have established relationships and friends.

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improvement to be good

The children’s health needs are met. Staff are proactive in addressing any health issues as they arise. Staff listen to children’s views when they experience difficulties with medication plans. They advocate on their behalf with health professionals. This means that children have access to treatment that is most suited to their needs and preferences.

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improvement to be good

Staff respect children’s relationships with family and friends. Staff support children to maintain relationships with those important to them. Staff support children to spend time with family and friends safely. Staff are understanding of children’s wishes and feelings when difficulties arise in respect of family relationships. Inspection report for children's home: 2570070 4

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improvement to be good

The children living in the home are cared for by an established and stable staff team. Staff are empathic and caring in their approach. As a result, the children have developed strong and trusting relationships with the adults caring for them.

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improvement to be good

Children’s records are written in a child-friendly way. The children have access to these when they request to see them. However, risk assessment and behaviour support plans do not include all known risks for children. This means that staff do not have access to guidance on how to fully support children and meet their individual needs.

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improvement to be good

Incidents have not been managed well when children previously living in the home have gone missing. Children’s records do not evidence that staff consistently look for children when they are missing. Delays in reporting children as missing means that they are at potential risk in the community. Strategies for staff to follow in the event of such incidents are not robust. As a result, children at high risk of exploitation were not safeguarded appropriately when they were away from the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always take appropriate action when incidents occur in the home. Action was not taken to ensure the safety of one child following an incident of suspected fire-setting in their bedroom. Staff did not enter the bedroom to undertake a search. This means that the child remained in the bedroom overnight with continued access to fire-setting equipment. Furthermore, incident records contain conflicting information in respect of the advice provided to staff on duty about how to manage the incident.

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improvement to be good

Records do not evidence that staff take appropriate action to safeguard children from the potential dangers arising from mobile phone and internet use. Where risks of exploitation are identified, records do not demonstrate that robust checks are undertaken of children’s mobile phones. In addition, plans are not in place for when children do not adhere to safety measures regarding access to phones.

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improvement to be good

Children’s records do not reflect that children’s rooms are regularly checked or searched following incidents. As a result, one child was living in a bedroom that was unsanitary.

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improvement to be good

Positive behaviour is promoted using incentives. The strong relationships between the children and staff mean that incidents of challenging behaviour are de-escalated well. Staff support children through mediation to overcome difficulties in their relationships with each other.

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improvement to be good

Staff engage children in meaningful work. This helps children to understand and manage their emotions more effectively. As a result, incidents in the home have reduced. Inspection report for children's home: 2570070 5

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good

The home is managed by a committed manager. She has submitted her application to register with Ofsted. She has high aspirations for the children and staff team. She is child-centred and knows the children well.

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good

Recruitment of new staff to the home is safe. Children are involved in the recruitment processes through participating in the interviewing of new staff.

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good

Staff say that they feel supported in their roles and that they ‘love’ working in the home. They benefit from regular supervision and team meetings. Research-informed practice has been introduced at team meetings. This focuses on topics that are relevant to the children’s needs. However, not all staff have undertaken training that is specific to the children’s needs. This means that they do not have the level of knowledge and understanding that they need to support the children fully.

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good

The manager addresses issues relating to staff practice through focused supervision. Reflective sessions as a team provide staff with opportunities to learn and develop their practice following incidents, including when children move on from the home. The manager understands the shortfalls in care planning for children who have previously lived in the home. This means that care planning for new children to the home has improved.

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good

The manager uses feedback from the independent visitor effectively. She is responsive to recommendations and advice on how to improve the care provided to children. Her internal monitoring of the home is reflective and evaluative. Oversight of staff practice has improved. She has identified areas of development required in staff. The manager recognises strengths and weaknesses in the home. However, the quality of care report has not been submitted to the regulator within the required timescales.

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good

The manager communicates well with professionals involved in the children’s care. One social work professional commented: ‘The communication is one of the top things of the home.’ The manager is a strong advocate for children when decisions are made that are not in children’s best interests. However, concerns have not been escalated to address delays in the sharing of children’s records and plans. Inspection report for children's home: 2570070 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s records include all known risks and clear guidance for staff to follow, and that processes are in place to ensure that children are safeguarded from the potential risks posed 28 December Inspection report for children's home: 2570070 7 to them arising from access to mobile phones and the internet. Leaders and managers must ensure that staff understand how to manage safeguarding incidents in the home, including room checks and searches.

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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.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 28 December

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

Seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans.

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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

promotes their welfare. 28 December Inspection report for children's home: 2570070 8 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; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

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

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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1) (3) (4)(a)) 28 December

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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: 2570070 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Attivo Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: PO Box 5, 5 Swan Alley, Ormskirk L39 2EQ

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Inspectors

Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Cathy Trengove, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2570070 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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