Children's home run by Elevated Futures Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 1 Registered provider: Alternative Approach Care limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in September 2023 and is owned by a private provider. It offers care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in February 2024. The current manager is not registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s overall progress and experiences have been adversely affected by shortfalls in safeguarding practices and poor leadership and management arrangements. These shortfalls have compromised the safety and progress of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The day-to-day management arrangements are chaotic with limited oversight by the responsible individual. This significantly impacts on the quality of care that children receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Education arrangements for children are poor. Children’s education is limited to one hour per week. Staff do not provide children with opportunities to enhance their learning. As a result, children are not making progress with their learning and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are supported to spend time with their family. Staff are proactive in facilitating and planning for children so that they can see the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children have positive relationships with some staff. Children say that they can talk to some staff if they are worried. However, staff do not consistently ask children about their likes and dislikes or encourage them to contribute to their daily care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are registered with health services and are supported to attend routine health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home environment, in particular children’s bedrooms, is not maintained to an acceptable standard. This does not enable children to live in a warm, nurturing setting.

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

Leaders, managers and staff do not understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. When children make allegations, managers and staff do not follow safeguarding procedures or share information with relevant agencies and individuals to ensure that allegations are responded to safely. This means that children are vulnerable to harm.

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

Leaders, managers and staff do not update children’s risk management plans to ensure that they include all known risks and vulnerabilities. Children’s plans do not contain relevant or clear strategies to help staff understand what actions to take in practice to keep children safe.

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

There have been several incidents when staff have used physical intervention techniques. Records in respect of this are limited and do not provide an accurate account of these incidents. Records are poor in quality and do not demonstrate that staff have Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 3 taken appropriate action to keep children safe. Children are not spoken to by an independent person about the intervention to understand their views and identify any shortfalls in care practices.

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

Leaders and managers do not have sufficient oversight of staff training and practice. This means that children are not consistently cared for by staff who have the appropriate skills, knowledge, qualifications and training to meet their specific needs. For example, not all staff are trained in restraint practice. This means that children are not safeguarded effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers are not leading the home in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant shortfalls in the leadership and management arrangements, and the current management arrangements are chaotic. Throughout the inspection, leaders and managers were unable to provide inspectors with required documentation, and the responsible individual did not attend in his role as a registered person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is no registered manager in post. The previous registered manager left his post in February 2024. The interim manager does not demonstrate that she has the experience, knowledge and skills to manage the home, and there has been limited oversight by the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not demonstrate that they have sufficient oversight of care practices in the home to prevent poor and unsafe practice. The interim manager could not provide information relating to the actions she has taken to ensure that children’s care is safe. The responsible individual was not available to provide immediate assurances when safeguarding matters were identified. This was a missed opportunity to share safeguarding information in a timely way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to review staff training to ensure that staff have the relevant skills, knowledge and qualifications to support the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive regular supervision and appraisals in line with the provider’s policies and procedures. Team meetings have not taken place regularly. Therefore, there are missed opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice to improve the quality of care that they provide for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not understand the impact that the quality of care is having on the progress and experiences of children. Monitoring and review systems are poor and ineffective. The provider has accessed additional external quality assurance processes. However, the quality of these processes was poor, and they failed to identify the significant safeguarding shortfalls. Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 4 Leaders and managers do not ensure that the home’s statement of purpose contains up- to-date details of staffing arrangements and qualifications. Leaders and managers are unable to provide an accurate record of staff rosters. Therefore, it is unclear who has worked with children, which is a safeguarding concern.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The directors of the organisation were contacted during the inspection. They took immediate action to review care practices in the home and consider the skills of the current staff team in caring for younger children.

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Statutory requirements

Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 5 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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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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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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have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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

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are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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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that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 28 July 2024

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*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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helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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promotes their welfare. 28 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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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ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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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demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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

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

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a description of the measure and its duration; 26 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 7 details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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

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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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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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has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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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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Leaders and managers must ensure that an accurate record is made of all restraints. Records must include debriefs with children and staff to support them to reflect on the measure used.

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The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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is instigated; or 26 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 8 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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A notification made under this regulation—

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the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that notifications are made without delay and provide the regulator with an accurate overview of an incident as well as any outcome established.

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

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

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

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support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; 26 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 9 help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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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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that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(b))

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In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that education is promoted in the home, which should include informal learning. Children must be encouraged to access meaningful education and be provided with appropriate resources and equipment to support them to learn.

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

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understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding; and

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ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (2)(a)(b)(i)(vii)(viii)(c)(i)(ii))

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In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s bedrooms are appropriately furnished and maintained. 26 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 10 The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

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In particular, the registered provider must ensure that staff receive practice-related supervision and appraisals in line with the home’s policies and procedures. 26 August 2024

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Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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In particular, the registered provider must ensure that there is an accurate record of the staff working in the home and the proposed and actual hours worked. 26 August 2024

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*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2754240 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Alternative Approach Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Inward Way, Rossmore Business Village, Ellesmere Port CH65 3EY

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Inspectors

Nichola Croft, Social Care Inspector Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2754240 12 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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