Children's home run by Elevated Futures Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 1 Registered provider: Alternative Approach 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 children’s home provides care for up to six children in three separate buildings. This is a multi-building children’s home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in April 2024 and is owned by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

Five 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/or 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 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

Leaders, managers, and staff do not have sufficient knowledge and understanding of children’s individual needs, risks, identities, and experiences. This means that children’s behaviours are not seen within the context of their life story. As a result, children’s behaviour plans do not provide staff with effective strategies to support children to make progress and to manage their emotions safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff and the responsible individual were not aware of one child’s dual heritage identity and the relevance of this in respect of their relationship with their adoptive and biological families. This did not support the child to maintain important relationships in their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home environment is sparse and does not reflect children’s individual needs or identities. This means that children do not live in a welcoming, family environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children say they can talk to some staff and some staff know children well. However, children are not consulted about their home or their plans. When children have shared their views about the home, there is no evidence that this is responded to. This does not help children to feel listened to or understand that their views are taken seriously.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are enrolled in education settings. However, staff do not provide sufficient support to help children understand the importance of education, and attendance is variable. Children who refuse to attend school do not have daily planners to ensure that informal learning takes place. This does not support children to return to full-time education and support their future life chances.

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

Leaders and managers do not demonstrate that they have sufficient oversight of care practices to manage and prevent poor and unsafe staff practice. Consequently, children are not protected from harm and their welfare is not paramount.

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

Children have made allegations and complaints against staff. Staff have not followed safeguarding processes and do not share information with the relevant safeguarding professionals, to ensure that allegations are managed safely. There have been delays in notifications being sent to the local authority designated officer. Allegations against staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 3 have not been thoroughly investigated by the provider, and this has left children at risk of potential harm from the adults working with them.

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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 keeping children safe and have failed to take appropriate action when safeguarding incidents have occurred.

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

Risk assessments are not updated following incidents and the information that they contain is inconsistent. This means that it is not clear what staff should do to mitigate or reduce risks for children. Risks and hazards in the home environment are also widely considered. This leaves all involved vulnerable.

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

When children are missing from home, staff do not follow the procedures in place. Children’s individual protocols do not make it clear what action staff should take to protect children. There is also a lack of intelligence about children’s known locations when they are missing from home, and staff lack professional curiosity.

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

Staff have used physical intervention techniques with children. However, records are limited and do not demonstrate that interventions take place to keep children safe. Children and staff do not have an opportunity to speak to an independent person to ensure that their views are heard, and that practice is reviewed and revised if required. Not all staff are trained in the home’s adopted model of physical intervention and on one occasion the absence of trained staff left a child at risk of self-injury.

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

There is insufficient oversight of staff training and practice, which means 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 or whistle-blowing. This means that children are not safeguarded effectively.

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

There are processes for safe recruitment which recognise and act on vulnerabilities that may require risk assessments. However, this would be strengthened with the addition of contingency plans to mitigate known risks.

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

Significant incidents are not always shared with the regulator and there have been delays when notifications have been made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager resigned from her post on 31 July 2024. The new manager started in their role on 19 August 2024. There has been limited involvement and oversight by the responsible individual, which has contributed to the continued shortfalls in staff practice and safeguarding children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff attend training to ensure that they have the relevant skills, knowledge, and qualifications to support the children in their Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 4 care. There are several staff who have not received training on the home’s model of care. This does not enable the home to operate in line with the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant shortfalls in the knowledge that leaders and managers have about the home. They do not have sufficient oversight of children or understand the care that children receive from staff to prevent unsafe practice. Information that should be readily available, including an up-to-date staffing list, was not available.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive regular supervision. Some staff have not had any supervision since the home opened. When supervision takes place, it is not reflective and does support the development of staff and does not focus on children and their needs. The managers who supervise staff have not completed supervision training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings have not taken place regularly. This means there are missed opportunities to strengthen the cohesion of this new team and for staff reflection and to consider any areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are no monitoring and review systems in place to identify gaps in practice and safeguarding concerns. This leaves children at risk. The absence of management oversight means that children’s views have been unheard, and the language spoken and written is not always sensitive to children’s experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 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;

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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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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;

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 12 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)) 4 October 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 promotes their welfare. 4 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 6 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 staff have the experience, qualifications, and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

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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)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

*The care planning standard is that children—

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receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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

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that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

that arrangements are in place to— 4 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 7 manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

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;

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

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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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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)(iv)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 4 October 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 4 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 8 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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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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. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

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

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ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care; 4 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 9 help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review; and

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives. (Regulation (7) (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)(b)(i))

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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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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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promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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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)(ii)(iv)(b)) 4 October 2024

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation (33) (4)(a)(b)) 4 October 2024

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 10 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: 2778325 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

Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2778325 12 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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