Children's home run by Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 1 SC036298 Registered provider: Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This short-breaks service is operated by the local authority. It is registered to care for up to five children at one time, who have physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were three children staying on the first day of inspection and two different children staying on the second day. Of the five children staying, the inspector spoke with four of the children.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager of this home has been registered with Ofsted since November 2022.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 25 January 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2024 Full Good 21/02/2023 Full Good 22/03/2022 Full Good 09/11/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home is large and bright with plenty of space for children to play and spend time either on their own or together. Children are provided with a consistent bedroom for their visits, and their rooms are personalised for each visit with toys and pictures of things that interest them. One parent described it as ‘a home from home’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have fun when they stay in the home. Staff join in with the activities that children are doing in the home and community and encourage children to make choices about how they want to spend their time. When children are not sure what they want to do, staff give them ideas based on what each child enjoys. One family member said: ‘[Name of child] knows when he’s on his way there and he really perks up.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with children’s families and professional networks. Staff support children to continue working on skills that their parents and teachers are helping them to develop at home and at school. This ensures consistency and continuity for children and supports them to further develop their independence skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers have positive aspirations for children and advocate for their best interests. Staff support children and their families outside of their stays, including writing supporting letters for housing, taking children and parents to medical appointments, allowing families to come in and use the adapted bathrooms when children are not staying, and supporting a child to attend a family wedding.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Families are extremely grateful for the support offered to them by managers and staff. One parent described the service as being an absolute lifeline. Many parents commented on how they can relax when their child stays at the home because they know their child will be well taken care of. One mother said: ‘It’s very comforting for me as a parent to see how welcoming they are of her and how pleased they are to see her.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents are also well supported here and attend monthly coffee mornings that are offered to ensure parents have the opportunity to meet others in similar situations. This enables parents to get to know the staff team more and to develop their own informal networks with other families.

p.3

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

Children are happy coming into this home for their breaks because staff have developed trusting relationships with them. Staff have a clear understanding of each child’s communication needs and are able to support each child in a way that works for them.

p.3

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

Staff understand key risks for children and know how to support them to keep them safe. Staff know what different children need to help them calm down when they Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 4 become upset, and respond quickly and effectively to support children. This ensures that children are safe and happy during their stays.

p.3

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

Staff understand children well and rarely have to hold them to keep them safe. When they do hold children, this is done as a last resort. While practice around holding children is appropriate, recording of this is not consistently clear. Children who have been held for their safety are often not spoken to about this following the incident. This does not provide children with the opportunity to share their feelings.

p.4

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

There have not been any complaints about this home. When an allegation was made, managers responded effectively to ensure children’s safety. Staff are aware of their responsibility to share concerns and work with other professionals to keep children safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager of this home is experienced and suitably qualified for the role. Staff find the manager approachable and proactive, but still willing to challenge them. One member of staff said: ‘They’re the ideal management team, we couldn’t hope for better.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel valued by their managers and team, and feel able to share ideas and challenge each other. Staff say that they find their supervision time useful. However, opportunities to ensure that supervision records evidence reflective discussions have been missed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is consistent and stable, which provides children with consistent care. When new staff are hired, managers follow safer recruitment processes to ensure that those coming into the home are safe to work with vulnerable children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are very experienced and have the skills they need to care for children well. Staff are provided with suitable training that is relevant to the needs of the children. Further training is provided when children’s needs change to ensure that staff remain knowledgeable. One family member said: ‘They’re a genuinely lovely team,’ while another said: ‘The staff really do a fantastic job.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths of the service, and clear plans to continue improving. The manager has high aspirations for the quality of care provided and is aware of the challenges that families face. The manager continues to develop the processes for effective monitoring and is trialling different ideas.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers have an excellent understanding of different children and the progress that each child is making. However, the records for children are not consistently kept up to date and are not always written in a child-focused way. This does not ensure that new or covering staff have all the current information they need. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 5

p.4

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.

p.5

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—

p.5

Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

p.5

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)(c))

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children are consulted about their views following a restraint, including all children who do not communicate verbally. This can be completed by an authorised person if the manager is not in the home at the time. The registered person must ensure that the adult(s) who used the measure of restraint are clearly named to show who intervened physically and who was just a witness. 24 December 2024

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that documents for children are detailed and regularly updated to reflect children’s changing needs. 24 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 6

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are provided the opportunity to reflect and develop their practice in supervision and team meetings. Recording of supervision sessions should be of consistently high quality. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)

p.6

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: SC036298 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Oriel Road, Bootle, Merseyside L20 7AE

p.7

Inspector

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

p.8

Inspector

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8