Children's Home run by New Beginnings Young People’s Care and Support Services Limited in Wirral

Inspection report for children’s home: 2737556 1 Registered provider: New Beginnings Young People’s Care and Support Services Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private provider and is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate at the last full inspection on 7 and 8 May 2024. Three compliance notices were issued under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. These related to regulation 10 (the health and well-being standard), regulation 12 (the protection of children standard), and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard). Inspection report for children’s home: 2737556 2 A monitoring visit took place on 27 June 2024. The provider had taken sufficient action to meet the notices.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The reports are published on the Ofsted website. Inspection report for children’s home: 2737556 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/05/2024 Full Inadequate 16/01/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2737556 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. They both say they like their home and the adults who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Children’s progress in education has improved. Managers and staff implement educational activities in the home as part of the children’s daily routines, such as training courses, cooking, and educational games. There are education plans in place for children for the next academic year. However, these are not in line with their current needs. This could limit children’s educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Children are supported to attend health appointments, routine appointments, and specialist support. One child has made good progress in engaging with health professionals since the last inspection. As a result, the child’s health needs are now being met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Staff encourage children to improve their behaviour by giving them rewards when they have done something well. When children need consequences, these are provided and are often appropriate. However, there have been times when children have been restricted from seeing people who are important to them. This does not support children’s emotional well-being or help them maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Staff help children to understand their behaviour. However, on occasions, the approach and response to children from some staff is punitive and does not demonstrate sensitivity and an understanding of their trauma.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Staff support the children to spend time with people who are important to them. Friends and family are welcome to visit children and staff spend time getting to know them. Staff respect the child’s wishes regarding relationships with family members and advocate on their behalf for plans to progress.

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

The children are cared for by a stable and consistent staff team. Staff spend time with the children and know the children’s vulnerabilities. As a result, the children have developed relationships with staff based on mutual trust and respect.

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

Staff support children to keep themselves safe in the community and help them to recognise their own vulnerabilities. As a result, children say that staff help them. However, on one occasion an incident occurred when a child was in school. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2737556 5 managed this incident in isolation without recognising the possibility of a further risk of harm to children.

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

Incidents when children are missing from home have reduced. Children’s plans provide clear and detailed guidance for staff to follow if children go missing from home. However, managers and staff do not consistently record incidents when children go missing. Therefore, leaders and managers cannot identify any gaps in staff practice to provide action to address this.

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

When children become upset or struggle with their emotions, staff are skilled in helping children when they are in crisis. As a result, there have been no incidents where children have been held.

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

Staff understand safeguarding processes to keep children safe. If an incident occurs, staff know how to manage this. As a result, staff respond quickly to any safeguarding concerns.

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

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

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

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The manager has made several improvements since the last inspection to improve the quality of care that staff provide for children. Staff are committed to improving outcomes for children who live at the home.

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

Supervision sessions and team meetings are held regularly and provide staff with an opportunity to reflect on their practice and their own well-being. Staff attend training that is relevant to the needs of the children.

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

Staff spoken to say that they are supported in their roles and enjoy working at the home.

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

The manager reviews the suitability of the home’s location on a regular basis and considers the views of children and police. However, it would be helpful to gain further consultation with other relevant professionals to ensure the manager is aware of all potential risks in the area.

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

The manager and the staff team receive clinical supervision to support them in caring for the children. The home has introduced a therapeutic approach to use when caring for children. Additional clinical supervision helps staff to consider how to use this in practice. While this is a positive development, the therapeutic model is not embedded in practice.

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

Managerial oversight has improved. Leaders and managers complete regular audits, which allows the manager to identify changes needed to improve the quality of care and outcomes for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2737556 6 Leaders and managers welcome external oversight to improve the quality of care to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2737556 7

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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

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable, or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

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Requirement Due date

The following measures may not be used to discipline any child—

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Requirement Due date

any restriction, other than one imposed by a court or in accordance with regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), on—

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Requirement Due date

a child’s contact with parents, relatives, or friends;

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Requirement Due date

visits to the child by the child’s parents, relatives, or friends. (Regulation 19 (1) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that consequences do not restrict children from seeing people who are important to them, including their friends. 30 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that each child’s records are completed and maintained. 30 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2737556 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home provides 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)  Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: 2737556 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Beginnings Young People’s Care and Support Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5 Brett Street, Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 8DP

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Inspectors

Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Inspector Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2737556 10 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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Inspectors

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