Children's home run by Embrace Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2686253 1 Registered provider: Embrace Care Limited 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 and offers care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was appointed in April 2024 but is not yet 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

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: 2686253 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/05/2023 Full Good 23/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2686253 3

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improvement to be good

Children living in the home are making progress from their starting points and have positive relationships with the staff who support them. Children can express their views and wishes, and staff advocate for them. Children also have the opportunity for independent advocates.

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improvement to be good

There are some difficulties with both children’s education attendance and their access to suitable education provisions. However, the manager and staff are challenging this with virtual schools and placing authorities to ensure that there are arrangements in place to meet their individual educational needs.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are met. Staff support children to attend routine appointments, such as GP and dental appointments. Children are also supported to access specialist health and well-being professionals, such as child and adolescent mental health services.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to have time with family and friends in line with their agreed plans. When family time has not been often enough, the manager and staff have challenged this with the placing authorities and advocated for children’s best interests. Staff work with children’s families. As a result, one child now has overnight stays with their family, which means that they can maintain relationships which are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to take part in activities they enjoy, such as playing pool, bike rides, shopping and going to the gym, alongside activities to enhance their independence skills, such as cooking and budgeting. At the time of the inspection, both children were on holiday with staff. One was in the UK, and one was on their first trip abroad.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are regularly updated and include guidance and strategies to inform staff of relevant risks. Staff can explain their understanding of these plans; however, they do not always put these strategies into practice.

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improvement to be good

When there are concerns about children’s possible drugs misuse, these are not suitably explored with the child and room searches are not carried out when it is suspected there are drugs in the home. There was a strong smell of cannabis in one child’s bedroom which had not been addressed by staff. This means that potential harmful behaviour is not challenged with the children, which is also a missed opportunity to educate the children on substance misuse. Inspection report for children’s home: 2686253 4 Direct work sessions take place with the children around key topics, such as their education, and following any significant events. These are carried out proactively and reactively. However, they are a missed opportunity to educate the children on how to keep themselves safe and to follow up on work carried out with the children around known risks, such as cannabis misuse and vaping.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to take risks appropriate to their age and level of understanding. The manager encourages children and the staff to learn from any incidents when things do not go to plan.

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improvement to be good

When children have been missing from the home, there is not enough information recorded around the actions staff have taken to locate the children. Information in the records does not give a clear picture of how long children were missing for, when they returned or what action was taken to prevent a reoccurrence. There is no management oversight on the reports. This means that there are no lessons learned and poor staff practice has gone unchallenged.

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improvement to be good

When children are new to the home, there are not suitable assessments in place to ensure that the home and staff can meet the needs of the child. However, leaders and managers have now created a system to carry out an assessment in a child-centred way to decide if the home is the right place for individual children.

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improvement to be good

Safe recruitment processes are not always followed. Interview notes are not always available, and references are not always gathered before the employee starts their employment. This means that the provider cannot be confident that the staff are suitable to work with children. However, since the interim manager has been in post, he has put systems in place to chase up any outstanding recruitment checks.

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

There is a manager in post who is in the process of registering with Ofsted. He is supported by a deputy manager. The responsible individual and the manager are assessing the standard of the home, identifying strengths and weaknesses and have a plan to address identified shortfalls. There is a vision for what they want to achieve. However, there has not been enough time to embed these visions.

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

There has been some instability in the team, with a high turnover of staff and managers since the last inspection. There is now a full team in place, which has given the children consistency of care. However, not all staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities. The manager has identified this and has plans in place to develop and the staff team.

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

Staff spoken to were positive about the changes being implemented and said that the management team is approachable and available for support and guidance. Staff training has been a focus of the manager. Staff are trained in a variety of topics to support the children living in the home. However, staff would benefit from training that is individualised to children’s needs, such as bereavement training. Inspection report for children’s home: 2686253 5 Staff have not always received regular supervision. However, there have been improvements in the frequency of supervision since the interim manager has been in post. Supervision could be improved by focusing on the outcomes and experiences for children and how staff impact these.

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

Team meetings were infrequent before the interim manager came into post. However, since his appointment, monthly meetings take place, which are well attended by the team and the therapeutic lead and are an opportunity for staff to share information and support their development.

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

There are some shortfalls in the home environment. One child did not have any storage for their clothing and there is some damage to walls, doors and blinds which needs to be repaired. Inspection report for children’s home: 2686253 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, 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff carry out bedroom searches when there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being, particularly if there may be drugs in the bedroom. 1 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; 1 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2686253 7 children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff support the children to understand the risks associated with the use of cannabis and vapes. External professional support should be sought to achieve this where necessary.

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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;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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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 them and return them home. Any action taken must be recorded and evaluated by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that children receive a return home interview by an independent person within 72 hours. 1 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2686253 8 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; or

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Requirement Due date

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)) 1 August 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—

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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 work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities. 1 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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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

ensure that staff— 1 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2686253 9 provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children have suitable clothing storage available to them and that any damage to the home is quickly repaired and decorated when needed.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. In addition, there should be a plan to identify if the staff team has the skills and experience to meet that child’s individual needs before the child moves into the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, such as bereavement training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2686253 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: 2686253 11 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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