Children's Home run by Embrace Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 1 Registered provider: Embrace Care Limited

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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 and provides care for up to three children. The home provides care to children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager has been appointed but is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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This monitoring visit

Following a full inspection on 17 and 18 April 2024, Ofsted judged the home inadequate. Serious shortfalls were identified in relation to the leadership and management of the home and the oversight of safeguarding practices.

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This monitoring visit

One compliance notice was issued, under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. This related to regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. This monitoring visit took place to monitor the actions taken by the provider in relation to the compliance notice.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, there have been some changes to the plans for the management of the home. The deputy manager has been appointed as an interim manager and is in the process of submitting her application to register with Ofsted. She is currently being supported by the responsible individual and other managers in the company.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, staff have undertaken a series of training courses, both face-to-face sessions and online training. These courses have included autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anti-bullying. In addition to this, the manager has also identified additional training sessions that will be beneficial to the Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 2 team. Training is discussed in team meetings and individual staff supervisions, to ensure that staff have an understanding of the topics covered. A training matrix has been introduced that enables the manager to monitor staff training needs.

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This monitoring visit

The leadership and management team has spent time developing the staff knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Individual supervisions have taken place specifically around staff’s job roles and expectations.

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This monitoring visit

Regular supervision now takes place with each member of staff. This is practice related and is used as an opportunity for staff to reflect on their performance and to share information about the children. This is in addition to team meetings and reflective sessions.

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This monitoring visit

When poor staff practice has been identified, there are clear processes in place to address this and to support improvements or, when necessary, to end staff probation periods. When this has happened, there is clear documentation on the probation process, shortfalls identified and actions taken to address poor performance.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last full inspection, there have been no incidents of children needing to be held to keep them safe, or of children going missing from the home. However, leaders and the manager have reviewed children’s plans and risk assessments and there are systems in place to ensure that staff have read and understood these documents. There are also procedures in place to ensure that the manager has oversight and reviews any significant events.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have introduced regular auditing systems to ensure that they have oversight of the home. The responsible individual has worked with the interim manager to create an action plan to drive improvements in the quality of care.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has met the compliance notice served under regulation 13.

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This monitoring visit

The remaining requirements regarding areas of concern raised at the full inspection were not considered during this visit. They remain in place and will be reviewed at the home’s next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/04/2024 Full Inadequate 06/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 4

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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 with 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must take action to report any allegations of harm to the appropriate professionals and take action to investigate any allegations. 2 June 2024

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 2 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 5 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 are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(vi)(vii)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that when children are missing from the home, staff take appropriate action to locate then and return them home. Any action taken must be recorded and evaluated by the registered person.

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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) 2 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement; 2 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 6 raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(vi)(vii)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that children have access to appropriate education provision. When this is not provided, the registered provider must challenge this with the relevant professionals.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(xi)(xii)(xiii)) 2 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 2 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 7 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—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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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; 2 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 8 if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 2 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1) (5))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must ensure that the home’s statement of purpose is accurate when describing the conditions of registration.

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Requirement Due date

In addition to this, any updates to the statement of purpose must be sent to Ofsted. 2 June 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that the home meets children’s basic day- to-day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. Children’s bedrooms should have suitable window coverings to ensure that their privacy and dignity is respected. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 9 The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Embrace Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 116 Duke Street, Liverpool, Lancashire L1 5JW

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Inspectors

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Nicola Jeffery, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2672566 11 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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