Children's Home run by Teen-Works Care Limited in Sefton

Inspection report for children's home: SC423460 1 SC423460 Registered provider: Teen-Works Care 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 managed by a private company and is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There are currently three children living in the home while another child has recently moved out. The inspector was unable to speak with any children directly, but two children provided written feedback.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of this home has been registered with Ofsted since March 2024.

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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

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: SC423460 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/02/2022 Full Good 29/10/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC423460 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they enjoy living in this home. They benefit from fun and nurturing care provided by staff who know them well. Children tend to live in this home for long periods of time. This allows children to develop a sense of permanency and experience a family-like environment. When children move on from this home, they do so in a positive manner with lots of planning and support. Equally, children moving in are supported to do this in a planned and positive way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a large home that has plenty of space for them to explore their interests individually or together. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and children have the opportunity to contribute to the décor of the home. The home is safe and warm, but some areas would benefit from being refreshed and updated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that staff listen to them and prioritise them. This enables children talk to staff when they are worried. Staff advocate for children’s wishes and feelings and ensure that these are shared with their professional and family networks. This helps children to feel heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take children out to new places and help them to develop their interests. One child said, ‘it’s fun living here’ while another said, ‘we can always have a laugh’. Two children are going on holidays abroad this year to places that interest them. This enables children to experience new things and make happy memories of their childhood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend school and enrol in college. Staff help children with their homework and support them to meet their educational goals. However, when children are not attending school, staff do not help them with informal learning. This is a missed opportunity to help children to progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak to children about expectations and help them to think about their behaviour. Staff challenge children about their words when they are unkind to each other. However, staff have not spoken with children regularly about developing or maintaining positive and safe relationships or consent. This does not ensure that children have the skills they need for future relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to take care of themselves at a level that is appropriate for each child. Older children have plans in place to help them to improve their independence skills while younger children are helped more informally. This supports children to prepare for becoming more independent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are able to spend time with their family and friends. Children enjoy regular visits from their friends and staff take them to fun places to play with their siblings. This supports children to develop their social networks and understand their family identity. Inspection report for children's home: SC423460 4

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

Children say that they feel safe and settled living in this home. Staff have built warm and trusting relationships with children that have contributed to a reduction in the level of risk children experience.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs. Staff know each child well and know how to help them to calm when they are distressed. Plans for children provide staff with strategies to follow when risks arise.

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

Children have not gone missing from this home and staff have not had to hold children to keep them safe. Children have not made any complaints or allegations against staff.

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

Staff understand how to keep children safe and who they need to talk to about any concerns that may arise. Staff work well with professional networks to support and advocate for children. One professional said, ‘communication is just fantastic’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has the experience and skills required to manage the home well. Staff feel valued and supported by the management team and say that managers listen to their ideas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported to develop their knowledge in areas that interest them with different staff taking the lead in different areas such as de-escalation, mental health first aid, and counselling skills. The manager sources training on key issues to ensure that staff are able to meet the changing needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management monitoring and oversight has improved, with the manager routinely identifying actions that will help the team to better meet children’s needs. The manager makes good use of external monitoring to support the development of practice. The manager does review the quality of care regularly, but this review is not reflective or evaluative and does not provide a clear plan of improvement. This is a missed opportunity to identify learning to further develop practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When considering whether this home is suitable to meet specific needs of children, the manager considers the facilities and crime rates in the local area. However, the manager has not considered specific risks in local or surrounding areas that have easy transport links. This has not impacted on the safety of children who have lived in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and demonstrate a genuine passion for their roles and the children they care for. One professional said of the staff, ‘they’re very conscientious and very caring’, while a family member said, ‘I think they’re amazing’. The enthusiasm and affection of the staff team help the children to feel valued and loved. Inspection report for children's home: SC423460 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, 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 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

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that ongoing work is completed regularly with children to help them understand consent and healthy relationships. 4 October 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children; 4 October 2024 Inspection report for children's home: SC423460 6 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the quality of care review: incorporates feedback from staff, families, and professionals; is evaluative in nature, identifies learning from the past six months and includes any actions to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is a clear education plan for each child when not in full time education, and children are supported to complete educational activities in line with this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that the home maintains a clean and well-kept environment which supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 33 paragraph 7.3)  When considering whether the location of the home is appropriate for vulnerable children, the registered person should consider all potential risks in the immediate and surrounding areas. Strategies should be included on how to mitigate potential risks to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’

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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: SC423460 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Teen-Works Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 509-510 Cotton Exchange, Bixteth Street, Liverpool L3 9LQ

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Inspector

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC423460 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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