Children's Home run by PALS Residential Services in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 1 Registered provider: PALS Residential Services 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 operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home.

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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

Date of last inspection: 6 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2023 Full Good 03/01/2023 Full Good 01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children who live at this home have lived there since the last inspection. All children are reported to have made progress since their starting point. Children say that they are happy living in the home and that they receive care from the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements and progress are celebrated in the home. There are photos in the home of the children enjoying activities and occasions together, such as going to their school prom and on holidays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children understand how to make a complaint and are clear about the processes in place. When a child required additional support, the staff team sourced the support of an advocate. The advocate provided independent support to the child. This ensured that the child’s views were taken seriously, and their rights were respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress in school since living in the home. Staff understand the importance of children attending school or college and consistently promote attendance and achievements in education settings. Staff accessed additional education resources to support a child to develop their reading skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When it is time for children to move on from the home, staff support children with their independence, both practically and emotionally. Staff have developed a package of support for after care to help children as they progress into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have access to health practitioners to support their emotional and physical needs. However, health documents are not available to understand if children have any outstanding health appointments or to identify if follow-up treatment is required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

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

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children’s risks and vulnerabilities and work together as a team to keep children safe. Staff have established positive relationships with children and make sure they are available to talk to children if they are worried or upset. This provides children with emotional support when required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the underlying factors that impact on each child’s behaviour. Behaviour management strategies are child focused. Strategies are developed in consultation with the children. This helps children to understand acceptable behaviours. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 4 Safeguarding incidents in the home are rare. However, if incidents occur, there are clear processes in place for staff to follow. This includes missing-from-care protocols and managing allegations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, the manager and staff took immediate action to ensure that a child was supported to remove themselves from a situation when there was concern around public disorder and unrest. This showed that staff can promptly respond to risks and safeguard children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Risk assessments and behaviour management plans contain guidance for staff to follow. However, assessments and plans do not contain all known information about the risks that children may face. This does not ensure that staff have sufficient information to support each child’s needs and risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The manager is also registered for another home in the organisation. He reports that he manages his time between the homes well. However, feedback received as part of the inspection is that the manager is not always readily available.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be

Staff say that they enjoy their roles and feel well supported by the manager. Staff receive regular supervision and attend team meetings. This is an opportunity to discuss care practices and improve staff consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be

The manager knows the children well. He is committed to improving the standards in the home and has spent time with staff discussing children’s needs and safety. However, documentation in the home requires improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be

Staff receive training to support them in caring for the children. However, the manager has not developed an effective system to monitor training attendance or identify the training needs of each staff member. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that all staff have the training and skills to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be

Safer recruitment processes are not consistently followed, which does not ensure that children are cared for by staff who have been suitably vetted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be

The manager does not have sufficient oversight of care documents in the home. Although the manager understands incidents that have occurred, he has not ensured that documentation is reviewed, evaluated, and updated to identify any areas of development or training needs for staff. This also limits his ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the home and areas of improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)) 18 September

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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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 18 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 6 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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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.

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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 each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c)) 18 September

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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

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)) 18 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 7

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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: 2634272 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: PALS Residential Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 119 Asser Road, Liverpool L11 8NL

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Inspectors

Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Inspector Nichola Croft, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2634272 9 regulates and inspects 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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