Children's Home run by New Start in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC444411 1 SC444411 Registered provider: New Start

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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 by a private provider. It may provide care for one child who may experience social and emotional needs. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2023.

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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

Date of last inspection: 28 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC444411 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2024 Full Good 05/10/2022 Full Good 14/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/04/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC444411 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been living in the home for over two years and has formed great relationships with staff and the manager. Staff and the manager know the child well and the care provided to them is of a high standard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is cosy, well maintained and a safe environment for the child. The child has a pet, which they are supported to care for by the staff. The child has had input into the decor and items in the home. There are pictures of the child and their family members all around the home. This gives the child a sense of ownership and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child’s health needs, and the child is registered with all local services. Referrals to specialist services are made as required. The child has expressed that they wish to improve their fitness level, therefore, staff have supported them to join a gym.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child attends school on a full-time basis. Staff and the manager are aspirational for the child. The child has been supported to attend a college open evening so that they can plan in advance which course they wish to pursue and the GCSE results they will need to achieve. The child is ambitious and is completing extra work at home as they wish to attain the best GCSE results that they can. The child is supported with this by the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to spend time with those people who are important to them. Staff and the manager have worked hard to build positive relationships with family members. This has helped the child to have consistent and good-quality family time with relatives, which, in turn, meets their identity needs. One family member said, ‘Since [name of manager] took over, there is better communication. They are more approachable and flexible. They are always welcoming to me; every member of staff has been friendly. They do their best for [name of child].’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child takes part in a wide range of activities. The provider has other residential homes and has started to hold ‘Togetherness Days’. These are events where the children from various homes come together for events, such as a Halloween themed party. These events give the child an opportunity to socialise with peers in a safe and well-managed way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child can express their feelings and wishes. They are supported and encouraged to attend their local authority meetings and to put their views forward. Staff and the manager are supporting the child to become more independent and prepare for adulthood. The manager recognises the importance of gradually reducing the child’s reliance on staff. This includes spending some time alone. The child enjoys cooking and baking, and can make a variety of meals. The child is also encouraged to budget and is supported to manage their own money. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444411 4

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

The child is kept safe by staff. There are clear, effective and highly personalised plans in place to enable them to do this. Plans are updated regularly using child-friendly language and are shared with the child. Staff know the child’s strengths and vulnerabilities well, and she is supported to take healthy and managed risks.

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

Staff use therapeutic parenting techniques, and the child responds well to these. When incidents happen, staff use effective de-escalation techniques. The child is given support to understand and manage their emotions in a positive way. The manager has implemented a reward system that is centred around positive praise, experiences and small gifts, and the child has responded well to this. However, the manager has not reviewed all consequences to evaluate if they are appropriate and effective.

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

The recruitment of new members of staff has been done safely. Staff are trained in safeguarding matters, and they know how to escalate safeguarding concerns, including to external agencies.

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

Medication is managed safely in the home, with effective recording systems in place. Accidents have been responded to by staff. However, it is often not clear on the records what actions have been taken in terms of the first aid given.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is in the process of enrolling on training for the relevant qualification. She has management responsibility for another home that is operated by the company. The manager is supported by an experienced responsible individual. The practice of both of them is child centred.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has formed good working relationships with professionals involved in the child’s care. However, the child’s care plan from the local authority had not been received in a timely manner, and the manager had not escalated this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a small and committed staff team. When there have been gaps in the staff rota, these have been covered by consistent members of staff from other homes. While there have been some staff changes, these have been managed sensitively and have not impacted the child’s well-being. However, the workforce development plan does not contain some important information, such as processes for managing poor performance and timescales for staff to achieve induction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a comprehensive training and development scheme. The current staff are qualified and experienced in childcare. New staff complete an induction before being registered to do a recognised childcare qualification. When needs emerge for the child, further training is sought. The provider has a programme to support staff to develop their career and progress to management roles. This aids staff retention, which provides consistency for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444411 5 Supervision sessions are completed regularly and are an opportunity for reflection. Team meetings are also held regularly and are usually attended by all staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that the requirements made at the last inspection have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444411 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, 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they receive the most recent care plan from the local authority in a timely manner. 13 March 2025

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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. (Regulation 36 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that records are kept of any first-aid or medical treatment given to the child. 13 March 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all negative consequences are reviewed and evaluated to ensure that they are fair and effective. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s workforce plan clearly reflects all aspects required of the plan, including the clinical supervision details of health professionals who are commissioned to work with children. In addition to the Inspection report for children’s home: SC444411 7 processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training and processes for managing and improving poor performance. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: SC444411 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: New Start Limited, 179 Townsend Lane, Clubmoor Liverpool L13 9DY

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Inspector

Eve Ostridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC444411 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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