Children's home run by Teen-Works Care Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 1 SC472480 Registered provider: Teen-Works Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company and provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2014.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at 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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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2024 Full Good 29/11/2022 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Good 02/07/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living at the home. They are settled and have formed positive and trusting relationships with the staff who care for them. Staff nurture the children. They spend time with the children and have good routines, which the children value.

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improvement to be good

There is inconsistent recording of work with children, and records do not reflect their lived experiences. This impacts on effective care planning, making it difficult to track progress and address individual needs. Although the manager has identified this as a learning need, it impacts the continuity and quality of care provided to children.

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improvement to be good

The children have regular contact with people who are important to them. Staff support this so that it happens in a planned and safe way.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a strong focus on ensuring that children attend education. This means school attendance is regular.

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improvement to be good

The home is spacious and comfortable. However, some areas are not well maintained, and staff do not complete regular checks of the home and garden. For example, the children’s en-suite bathrooms require some improvements and there is a hole in the banister covered by a piece of paper. One child requires a new mattress to meet their individual needs. Locks on the doors to communal areas are unnecessary.

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improvement to be good

The children say they are happy at the home and that they feel supported by staff. One child said, ‘Everything is good. I have no worries.’

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improvement to be good

Children feel safe and secure living at the home. There have been very few incidents of children going missing from home. The manager ensures that there is a clear procedure in place for staff to follow in the event that a child goes missing from home. Staff ensure consistent and effective responses to locate the child. Staff are persistent in their efforts to keep in touch with children when they are missing and encourage them to return home.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management techniques are effective. Since the last inspection, staff have not had to use physical intervention to keep children safe. Consequences and rewards are used to motivate children’s positive behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Staff take the time to listen to children’s wishes and feelings. Staff know the children well and can identify and understand their risks and vulnerabilities. Risk management plans Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 4 are in place. However, risk management plans lack detail. This was a shortfall identified at the previous full inspection.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not ensure oversight of safeguarding records and incident reports. This was raised at the last inspection. Without management oversight, opportunities for learning and improvements in safeguarding practices are missed.

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improvement to be good

Where concerns have been raised about staff behaviours, action has been taken to address these concerns. Staff have been removed from shift to allow for investigations to take place. As a result, children have been effectively safeguarded and there has been appropriate scrutiny of practice.

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improvement to be good

Staffing shortages have negatively affected the consistency of care children receive. Failure to maintain adequate staffing levels has led to a lack of continuity for children.

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

The registered manager was absent during the inspection, which was led by the responsible individual and deputy manager.

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

The quality of children’s records is poor. Records are often vague, lack sufficient detail and do not show a clear link to the care plans or outcomes for children. This was previously highlighted at the last full inspection.

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

Internal and external monitoring systems have not identified the variable quality of direct work with children or that information is missing from children’s behaviour support plans. In addition, the staff roster did not contain all the information required by regulation. This is not compliant with regulation and was also highlighted at the previous inspection.

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

Leaders and managers lack a consistent understanding of the electronic recording system, which hindered the regulator’s ability to access records during the inspection. Additionally, there have been three occasions when the independent person did not have access to the system, which raises concerns about the effectiveness of monitoring and oversight.

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

There is an over-reliance on the registered manager for critical tasks, such as case recordings, indicating that the management structure may not be sufficiently robust to operate effectively in the manager’s absence. This creates potential risks to operational continuity and quality assurance, which may impact the overall stability and consistency of care provided.

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

Staff report that supervision is inconsistent and does not always focus on safeguarding issues. This lack of regular, high-quality supervision means that staff are not always clear on their roles and responsibilities, and some feel unsupported when handling complex safeguarding matters. Additionally, a lack of team cohesion has been observed, with some staff working in isolation, leading to communication breakdowns and inconsistent practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 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 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.

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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

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 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

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)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Parts of this requirement were made at the last inspection and are restated. 28 February 2025

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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— 28 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 6 that staff—

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 28 February 2025

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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

develop positive relationships with them;

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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. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that meaningful direct-work sessions take place with all children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 28 February 2025

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)) 28 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 7 Specifically, the registered person should ensure that the staff roster records the full name of the persons working at the home.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)) 28 February 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a domestic, homely environment. Locks on the doors to communal areas are unnecessary and should be removed. In addition, redecoration and maintenance of the home should take place in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC472480 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Teen-Works Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 509-510 Cotton Exchange, Bixteth Street, Liverpool L3 9LQ

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Inspectors

Mathew Morris-Jones, Social Sare Inspector Sophie Thomson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 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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