Children's Home run by Considerate Care Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC062674 1 SC062674

p.1

Registered provider: Considerate Care Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

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

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2006.

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: 28 November 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC062674 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2023 Full good 06/12/2022 Full good 28/03/2022 Interim improved effectiveness 14/12/2021 Full requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC062674 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in this home. Staff know the children well and work hard to build strong relationships with them. These relationships provide a solid foundation for children to thrive and make progress. One social worker said, ‘[Name of child] likes living in the home and calls it their home.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education and have made notable progress. Staff support children back into education when they have not attended for long periods of time. The manager is proactive in identifying solutions when challenges or barriers arise. This helps children maintain good attendance and engage in learning opportunities.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have access to a wide range of activities to meet their social needs and to support their hobbies and interests. This is helping children to develop their confidence and social skills. Children said that they had fun on a recent holiday.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have opportunities to share their views and wishes about their care. Since the last inspection, children have not raised any concerns or complaints. However, children are aware of how to raise a complaint and understand that staff will listen and respond to them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to develop their independence in line with their individual abilities. This helps children to build life skills for the future. For example, staff are preparing one child to develop essential skills for adulthood and seek appropriate employment.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with family and those important to them. Friends and family are welcomed into the home to spend time with the children. Staff develop positive relationships with children’s families and engage them in meaningful and supportive conversations. This helps to strengthen and improve the relationships children have with their family and relatives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is warm and comfortable. Photos of the children are displayed throughout the home. This helps children to gain a sense of belonging.

p.3

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

Staff understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. The manager has created a culture in which there is a conscientious approach to keeping children safe. Children say that they can share any worries they have with the adults who care for them.

p.3

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

Children’s known risks reduce because of the care that they receive from staff. Children who are missing from home experience coordinated responses from staff to Inspection report for children’s home: SC062674 4 locate them quickly. The staff work closely with external professionals to understand the reasons why children go missing from home. However, this is not always recorded in children’s records and plans.

p.3

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

Boundaries for children are clear, and positive behaviour is rewarded. This helps children to understand what is expected of them. Staff support children to manage difficult feelings safely. As a result, when incidents do occur, staff manage them well.

p.4

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

Children’s plans do not reflect the actions staff should take when managing incidents of vaping or smoking. Furthermore, records are not always updated following changes in children’s circumstances or arrangements.

p.4

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

Staff only hold children as a last resort to ensure that children’s safety is prioritised. The manager ensures that children who have been held by staff are given the opportunity to share their views about this. Staff also have an opportunity to reflect on what happened. This ensures that practice in this area remains appropriate and safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced manager who knows the children well. She is nurturing in her approach and wants children to do well. Children are cared for by a stable staff team. This supports a good level of consistent care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale in the home is positive, and staff say that they receive a good level of support from the manager. Staff have access to a wide range of training and receive supervision regularly. Team meetings are reflective, and staff contribute to decisions about the children’s care. This motivates staff and helps them remain enthusiastic about their role.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the care being provided to children. The manager has monitoring systems in place. However, these are not always effective. The manager has not distinguished between current and historical risks in children’s plans. This does not ensure that records provide staff with clarity on the steps to take to keep children safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Language used in children’s plans does not always distinguish between fact and opinion. This does not ensure that records reflect children’s experiences.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have nurtured positive working relationships with external professionals. For example, the manager shares relevant information with placing local authorities and contributes to care planning meetings. One child’s social worker said, ‘The manager supports the team exceptionally well; she is a thorough and consistent manager and goes above and beyond.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC062674 5 The independent person undertakes a visit to the home monthly. The report reflects the views of children and professionals. However, family consultation is not always considered. Inspection report for children’s home: SC062674 6

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.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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) (2)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s records include clear guidance and strategies for staff to follow and that plans are updated following any changes to the children’s circumstances or arrangements. 13 January

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potentila; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that internal monitoring systems are in place to identify areas for improvement. 13 January Inspection report for children’s home: SC062674 7 Specifically, the registered person should ensure that risk assessments are monitored to identify further areas of improvement and if they are no longer required.

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non- stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact and opinion. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent monitoring. Children’s family members should be included in the independent person’s report to ensure that their views are obtained independently. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

p.7

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: SC062674 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Considerate Care Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

p.8

Inspector

Sally Croft, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC062674 9 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.

p.8

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 . 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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9