Children's home run by Idem Living Limited

Inspection report children's home: 2500668 1 Registered provider: Idem Living Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is owned and operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may have a learning disability.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2022.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the 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

Date of last inspection: 22 November 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report children's home: 2500668 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/11/2022 Full Good 25/01/2022 Full Good 05/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2500668 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a spacious and homely environment in which the children make good progress. Photos of the children are displayed in the home, and there is artwork on the walls. A sensory room has recently been built which provides the children with a safe and quiet place to relax in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are attending school regularly. Staff work closely with children’s schools and there are open lines of communication. Support plans from school are shared with staff to help them gain a holistic understanding of the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain good physical health. Since moving into the home, one child’s mobility has greatly improved and they no longer require a wheelchair. Children are in a good routine with taking their medication and attend all their health appointments. Staff and health professionals work well together and there is effective communication with specialist services. This helped to ensure that one child had the blood tests that they needed in a timely way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and speak warmly and knowledgeably about them. They build good and meaningful relationships with the children. Staff use a variety of communication aids to interact with the children and help them communicate more effectively. For example, p icture exchange communication systems, social stories, and visual aids. This helps the children to learn, form social relationships, express feelings and participate in everyday activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Individual sessions are carried out with children on different issues, including travelling in the car, using public toilets and going to the dentist. Staff use social stories to prepare the children for visiting a new environment and to learn about what behaviours are expected. This helps the children to cope with various changes and everyday life transitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to carry out daily tasks in line with their individual needs, such as preparing a packed lunch, cooking, hoovering and shopping. This helps the children to prepare for adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a range of activities such as going swimming, trampolining, rock climbing and days out. The children went on holiday during the summer and one child travelled abroad. This provides the children with opportunities to have fun, experience new things and enhance their social skills. Inspection report children's home: 2500668 4 Staff support the children to see their family and families are welcome in the home. The staff maintain regular communication with parents and they work hard to support children to build positive relationships with family members. This helps the children to maintain their identity and continue to see the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are preparing to leave the home, staff support them to experience a smooth transition and positive ending. This is a real strength of the staff. Individual work is also completed with the children who continue to live in the home to help them manage the move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to. They are involved in decisions about their care and planning. For example, one child went shopping with staff to choose items for their bedroom. The children are consulted about what they would like from staff and their responses are included in interviews for new staff. Children have access to an independent advocate.

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

Children have a high level of supervision, which is consistent with their plans. This means that they can develop their independence while staff ensure that they are safe.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff understand the children’s individual experiences and respond by implementing appropriate boundaries around what is safe and acceptable. Children receive rewards and praise for positive behaviour.

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

Individual assessments of risk are in place and updated regularly and following incidents. The staff understand the children’s vulnerabilities and identified risks and the strategies used are clear and effective. This means that children are safeguarded effectively because of the care they experience.

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

Physical interventions are proportionate and used as a last resort to safeguard children. The records of physical intervention are detailed and show a range of de- escalation strategies used in attempts to avoid the need for the interventions. Specialist support provided to staff proved effective in reducing the number of physical interventions for one child. Debriefs with children are child centred and in accordance with their communication needs. The positive behaviour support lead provides practice reflections and specific incident debriefs for staff.

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

Medicines are stored correctly. However, there have been two medication errors since the last inspection for one child. Managers have dealt with the errors Inspection report children's home: 2500668 5 appropriately and put additional strategies in place to prevent them happening again.

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

The managers and staff know what to do in response to any allegations made. Timely referrals to the local designated officer are made and swift actions are put in place to minimise the risk to children to allow the necessary enquiries to be made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The manager is supported by an experienced deputy manager. The managers know the children well are positive role models for both staff and children. The managers actively challenge others to ensure that their actions are in the children’s best interests. This helped one child move into supported accommodation in the local area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is adequately staffed for the children currently living in the home. There have been several staff changes since the last inspection, however the core staff team has remained the same. This has helped to ensure that there is a consistency of care for the children. Agency staff are used sporadically.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective monitoring and review systems are in place. The managers have a good understanding of what is working well for the children. However, the managers do not always escalate concerns to the placing authority about children’s plans being provided to them in a timely way. For example, one child did not have a pathway plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment is followed and new staff working in the home receive an appropriate induction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and describe the managers as being ‘attentive and supportive’. Staff have regular supervision and the records demonstrate that supervision is of good quality and gives staff the opportunity to reflect on their practice. This helps the managers to gain a clear understanding of staff strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place each month which allow for feedback and discussion. The staff’s views are listened to and their ideas are considered to support ongoing improvements in practice. The managers meet once a month to share information, make decisions and solve problems. This helps to coordinate the leadership of the home so that children receive consistent and high-quality care from all staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training to enhance their skills and knowledge to help them to understand and meet the children’s individual needs. For example, staff have Inspection report children's home: 2500668 6 received training in supporting children with autism spectrum disorder, personal care and assisting a child during a seizure. This provides staff with a good knowledge and skill base to safeguard and support children. Inspection report children's home: 2500668 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that concerns about not being provided with children’s plans are escalated to the placing authority in a timely way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56 paragraph 11.2)

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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 children's home: 2500668 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Idem Living Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 6 Stable Court Business Centre, Water Lane, Tarbock Green, Prescot L35 1RD

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Inspectors

Dawn Walker, Social Care Inspector Cathy Trengove, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2500668 9 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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