Children's Home run by Quality Protects Children Ltd in Liverpool

Inspection report children's home: SC025420 1 SC025420 Registered provider: Quality Protects Children 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 is a privately owned children’s home.

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Information about this children’s home

It is registered to provide care for up to six children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Five children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC025420 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/05/2023 Full Good 14/06/2022 Full Good 16/12/2021 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC025420 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home say they are happy and well cared for. The children are cared for by a stable and diverse staff team who are nurturing and empathic in their approach. The home promotes a strong sense of stability and belonging for the children. As a result, children make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are welcomed into the home sensitively. Careful planning for children moving into the home means that they develop positive relationships with staff and other children. Staff spend time getting to know the children when they move in. The sensitivity and support provided to the children’s diverse cultural and religious needs is a key strength of the home. Managers and staff are knowledgeable and experienced in supporting children who have recently moved from overseas. Strong links with local agencies and organisations means that children are provided with the support to meet their diverse needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to move on from the home in a well-planned way. Children maintain relationships with the staff and children when they move on. Children who have moved on from the home speak highly of their experiences in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote positive relationships between the children living in the home. Children spend meaningful time together. They learn and understand each other’s cultures and backgrounds. This supports children to overcome prejudices and develop empathy for others. As a result, children develop good relationships with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have high aspirations for children’s education. The children have access to an on- site school. This helps children to re-engage with education following periods of non- attendance. Children are supported to access learning in line with their needs and abilities. Bespoke education plans mean that children learn at a pace that suits their needs. As a result, children make good progress in education. One child has recently moved on to university after achieving good outcomes at college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of family links and relationships for children. When relationships with family have broken down due to children travelling overseas, staff provide opportunities through external agencies and organisations to trace and reconnect with family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious. There is ample room for the children to spend time together or alone. Children benefit from access to a designated gym area with equipment and space for them to practice their sporting hobbies. However, some areas of the home need attention. Repairs to damage in the home and to children’s furniture has not been rectified in a timely way and the home would benefit from redecoration. Children also need further support to maintain cleanliness of their bedrooms. Inspection report children's home: SC025420 4

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

Staff spend time getting to know children. As a result, they develop positive relationships with children and know them well. They understand the children’s individual needs and vulnerabilities. As a result, children’s risks are managed effectively.

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

Staff manage incidents of challenging behaviour well. Positive behaviour is promoted using a restorative approach. Staff spend time with children following incidents to reflect on their behaviour and the impact this may have on others. Staff understand and recognise how the children’s emotional needs impact on their behaviour. This means staff are able to support children to manage their emotions more effectively. However, records are not always updated with relevant information following incidents.

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

Incidents of physically holding children are managed well. Physical intervention is used as a last resort to safeguard children and others. Strong relationships between staff and children help to de-escalate challenging behaviour.

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

Staff manage the children’s relationships with each other well. When issues do arise between the children, staff take prompt action to de-escalate situations and safeguard all involved appropriately. Children are provided with opportunities to address and discuss issues with their peers safely.

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

Staff and managers are proactive in their approach to safeguarding children. Allegations from children are investigated swiftly and plans are implemented to keep children safe. When children go missing from the home, staff take action to locate children in a timely way. For children who are missing from the home for prolonged periods of time, staff work in partnership with professionals and agencies to ensure that there is a collaborative approach to locating them.

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

The manager works in close collaboration with professionals and external agencies to manage and minimise risks for the children and others. Prompt action is taken to address new or emerging concerns. Plans to safeguard children are effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and enthusiastic registered manager who knows the children well. She is passionate and ambitious in ensuring that children are provided with good levels of care. The manager has high aspirations for the children and high expectations of her staff team. She is a strong advocate for the children to ensure their needs are met and they receive the level of care they are entitled to from external agencies and professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home, and the care children receive. Detailed development plans help the manager to monitor the quality of care and identify any areas for improvement. However, the recording of her evaluation of care is not always Inspection report children's home: SC025420 5 evident in the child’s records. Furthermore, action has not been taken by the manager to obtain local authority documents in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they benefit from regular supervision and reflective team meetings. Staff speak highly of the manager and the support she provides. Staff are provided with opportunities to reflect on their practice and are supported to identify any areas for development. The manager promotes the development of her staff team and they have opportunities to progress in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training opportunities for the staff are good. The manager is proactive in seeking out new areas of learning. As a result, children are cared for by a well-trained staff team who are knowledgeable in topics relevant to children’s needs. Guest speakers and external professionals deliver workshops within team meetings which provide specialist knowledge on the specific needs of the children. Inspection report children's home: SC025420 6

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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, 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 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 signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, children’s records should be updated following incidents. 18 March 2025

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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

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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

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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(f)(g)(h)) 18 March 2025 Inspection report children's home: SC025420 7 Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that there is oversight and evaluation of the children’s records.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that furniture is replaced when damaged in children’s bedrooms, and that areas of the home are redecorated. Ensure children are supported to maintain cleanliness in their bedrooms. 18 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that the registered person ensures that they have up-to-date copies of children’s local authority documents and plans. 18 March 2025

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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 children's home: SC025420 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hill House, Archway Road, Huyton, Liverpool, L36 9XB

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Inspector(s)

Claire Hobbs, social care inspector Hayley Smith, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC025420 9 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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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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