Children's home run by Inspire Children’s Services Limited in St. Helens

Inspection report children's home: 1241757 1 Registered provider: Inspire Childrens Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private provider. The home provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or learning difficulties. Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1241757 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/02/2022 Full Good 28/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1241757 3

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improvement to be good

Three children are currently living in the home. One child has been living in the home since the last inspection and two children have moved in. Staff spend time getting to know children when they move into the home. Shopping trips to purchase items for their bedrooms help children to personalise their rooms according to their individual tastes. Staff speak with children already living in the home regarding children moving in. This provides children with opportunities to express their views about who they live with.

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improvement to be good

There have been several changes to the staff team since the last inspection. This means that children have not always received care from a stable staff team. Most of the staff are unqualified and lack previous experience of working within residential care. As a re- sult, children have not always received appropriate responses from staff. The manager has taken some action to address this through the re-deployment of more experienced staff from other homes in the organisation.

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improvement to be good

All children attend education settings where they are making progress. Staff support chil- dren well to engage and attendance for some children has significantly improved since living in the home. Children’s behaviour management plans are shared with school to promote a consistent approach between school and home. The manager advocates for children to ensure that decisions are made in their best interests.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to attend health appointments. One child has made good progress in engaging with health professionals since living in the home. As a result, the child’s health needs are now being met. Staff support children who are struggling with their mental health. Incidents of self-injurious behaviour have significantly reduced for one child in the home. However, records are not updated to reflect emerging health concerns for some children and the ongoing support provided to meet these needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to enjoy new and existing hobbies. For one child they have been able to enjoy new experiences and activities since living in the home. As a result, the child has discovered a new hobby of playing rugby and has joined a team for the first time.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to understand their behaviour. However, on occasions, the ap- proach and response to children from some staff presents as punitive and judgemental. As a result, children have disengaged from staff during these discussions.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently demonstrate that they support children who have been victims of abuse with sensitivity or an understanding of their trauma. Inspection report children's home: 1241757 4

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improvement to be good

Staff know the risks children face and their individual needs. There is a strong multi- agency approach to safeguarding the children living in the home. The manager has de- veloped strong relationships with professionals involved in the children’s care and main- tains regular communication with them to monitor children’s progress.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are detailed and clear. This means that staff have clear guidance to follow.

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improvement to be good

However, staff responses to incidents of children going missing from the home are in- consistent. Staff do not always seek guidance from leaders and managers when inci- dents occur. As a result, swift action is not always taken to locate children when they are missing from the home. Significant delays in staff searching for children means that they have been missing from the home for extended periods of time. Staff have followed ad- vice from external professionals to prevent one child from re-entering the home. This means that staff responses to incidents in the home have not promoted the child’s well- being.

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improvement to be good

Systems are in place to support children to access the internet and social media safely through regular phone checks and internet controls. However, staff do not seek manage- rial advice when children are victims of online abuse. As a result, staff do not consist- ently follow all relevant processes and there have been delays in reporting incidents to the police.

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improvement to be good

The quality of recording incidents in children’s records is inconsistent. As a result, some records do not include detailed information about the rationale for the decisions that staff make in relation to children’s care. Records do not include advice from police and social workers when responding to incidents.

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improvement to be good

Responses from some staff in respect of managing children’s behaviour is poor. Opportu- nities to de-escalate situations for one child have been missed. Staff do not consistently follow the guidance in children’s plans. As a result, children have not been supported to manage their behaviour and emotions well. For one child this has led to an escalation in incidents of violence and aggression. On one occasion staff did not physically intervene in line with their approved training. This led to the child being missing from the home, police intervention and the criminalisation of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The manager has recently returned to his post following some time away from the organisation. The manager is supported by a suitably experienced deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The children are cared for by a relatively new and inexperienced staff team. The inexpe- rience of staff has impacted on children as they are not consistently supported in line Inspection report children's home: 1241757 5 with their plans. Leaders have taken action to address this by ensuring that experienced staff from other homes in the organisation are supporting the staff to improve the qual- ity of care for the children living in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff say they are supported in their roles. Staff benefit from regular supervision and team meetings. Additional training is provided to staff from external professionals to im- prove the quality of care they provide for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager takes action to address practice issues with staff on an individual and team basis. Mediation sessions take place when relationship difficulties arise between staff and children. Arrangements are made for staff to move on from the home when these diffi- culties are not resolved. This means that children are cared for by staff who they enjoy a positive relationship with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since returning to the home, the manager has implemented new systems to improve oversight of the care being provided to the children. However, these are not embedded in practice. This means that some opportunities have been missed by the manager to identify poor decision making and shortfalls in staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager knows the children well and is committed to providing the care that they need. One social work professional spoke highly of the relationship the manager has with one child and the level of support he provides. The manager recognises when chil- dren’s needs are not being met in the home and he takes appropriate action to address this. Inspection report children's home: 1241757 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, 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— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; 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

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that leaders and managers ensure that staff take action to safeguard children when missing from the home, that staff follow children’s plans to manage behaviour, that staff understand their roles and responsibilities to safeguarding children and that children’s records include all known and emerging risks. 17 July 2024

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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— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. 17 July 2024 Inspection report children's home: 1241757 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 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; 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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that leaders and managers have oversight of the care being provided to children including the oversight of the senior staff working in the home The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out— how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered

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Requirement Due date

person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b)(3)(a)(iv)(v)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that leaders and managers ensure that staff use physical intervention techniques in accordance with their specific 17 July 2024 Inspection report children's home: 1241757 8 training. Furthermore, that the views of children are obtained following any incident of physical intervention. The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— protect and promote each child’s welfare; treat each child with dignity and respect; provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; help each child to understand and manage the impact of any

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that leaders and managers ensure that staff are not punitive or judgemental in their interactions with children including in the child’s records. 17 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that leaders and managers ensure that children’s records are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect an accurate account of children’s needs and risks. 17 July 2024

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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: 1241757 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspire Childrens Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Inspire Childrens Services, Unit 3, Craig Court, Standish Street, St. Helens, WA10 1GJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Bradshaw

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Inspectors

Claire Hobbs, social care inspector Nicola Rutherford, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 1241757 10 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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