Children's home run by Crossway Services Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 1 SC064573 Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for one child with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in June 2005. The registered manager post has been vacant since April 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: SC064573 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and welcoming environment. Staff help the child to personalise their home and bedroom. This includes photos, artwork and door signs. This helps the child to develop a sense of belonging in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use rewards and incentives to help the child to work towards their individual goals. This also helps the child to manage their feelings in a positive and sustainable way. The child says that that the home is an ‘amazing place to live’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise the child’s health and wellbeing by ensuring that the child is registered with all local medical services. Leaders and managers are proactive when supporting the child to access specific health services and acting as an advocate to ensure that the support remains in place long term.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The importance of the child spending time with their family is understood and supported by staff. The child has invited their siblings for ‘sleepovers’. Family members say that staff are helpful and friendly when supporting their family time. This means that the child is able to sustain relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to develop interests and hobbies. The child has a passion for baking and growing vegetables and staff have included these activities into the child’s life. This is clearly something the child takes pride in and has helped to increase their confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making good progress in relation to their education. Attendance and attainment has increased significantly since they moved into the home. This has helped the child to catch up and make good progress. One assistant headteacher said, ‘Since the child moved in, they are a completely different child. The child is growing in confidence, developing social skills and making academic progress after missing many years of education’.

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

The child says that they feel safe and well cared for. The child has built positive relationships with staff and feels settled.

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

There have been no incidents of physical restraint since the last inspection. Leaders and managers say that any restraint is only used as a last resort to safeguard children. Behaviour support plans help staff to identify triggers and antecedents to children’s behaviour. This means that staff can intervene early to avoid children’s behaviour escalating, causing further distress to the child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 4 External agencies say that staff communicate well with them and keep them updated on children’s progress. One social worker reported that they are always informed of any changes or updates for the child. The social worker also said that staff know the child well and are always advocating for them.

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

The child does not go missing from home. Staff are all aware of the processes to follow if children go missing and they have access to clear and well considered documents.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are suitably checked and vetted before starting work. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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

Leaders and managers regularly review risk management plans to ensure that they meet the child’s needs and keep them safe. Staff review and update risk management plans to reflect any changes to children’s needs. This helps staff to provide a safe and consistent approach to managing risk.

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

Staff say that they feel supported by leaders and managers. They say that they ‘love coming to work’. One staff member said, ‘Things are a million times better now than they were’. The staff team is stable and consistent. The child also reported that the staff are kind and supportive of their needs.

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

Supervision sessions for new staff do not take place at the expected frequency for induction supervision in line with the workforce development plan. Leaders and managers accept this is an issue that needs to be addressed.

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

The manager carries out a quality of care review every six months. However, the report does not consistently include or evaluate the opinions of the child. This compromises the managers evaluation of the quality of care provided.

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

The child’s voice is not always captured in staff appraisals. Furthermore, the reports from the visits by the independent person do not include or consider the views of the child. This is a missed opportunity for the child’s voice to be captured and considered as part of the development of the home and the staff team.

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

Safeguarding information has not always been shared with the relevant leaders and managers when staff move between homes This has led to poor staff practice not being addressed in a timely manner. As a result, children have been cared for by staff who are under investigation for concerns regarding their practice. Leaders and managers have identified this shortfall and have taken action to ensure that this is not repeated.

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

The most up-to-date placing authority care plans and personal education plans for the child are not always available. This means that the staff are not working in line with the latest care plan and education plans. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 5

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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 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are effective procedures in place for sharing safeguarding concerns with managers when staff move to work at different homes in the organisation. 30 July 2024

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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 30 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 6 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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iii)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that appropriate plans are in place to support children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that an explanation is given to each child as soon as reasonably practicable after the child’s arrival about—

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Requirement Due date

the children’s guide; 30 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 7 how to make a complaint or representations in relation to the home or the care the child receives and how any such complaint or representations will be dealt with; and

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Requirement Due date

what advocacy support or services are available to the child, how the child may access that support or those services and any entitlement the child may have to independent advocacy provision; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the views of each relevant person are taken into account, so far as reasonably practicable, before making a decision about the care or welfare of a child. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(iii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the views of the children are routinely sought and used to inform their care plan. This includes children’s views contributing to independent and internal monitoring reports and staff appraisal.

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that induction supervision takes place in line with the induction process as set out in the workforce development plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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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: SC064573 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspector

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC064573 9 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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