Children's Home run by Safe Base Care Limited in Wirral

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 1 SC480075 Registered provider: Safe Base 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 run by a private provider. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 24 October 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/10/2023 Full Outstanding 25/01/2023 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Good 06/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 3

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improvement to be good

Outcomes for children living in the home are varied. One child has been living in the home for several years and is settled. They are making progress. However, the risks for one child have increased since they have been living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff spend time with children before they move into the home. This helps children to develop relationships with the staff before moving in. Visits to the home help alleviate any anxieties children may have. Staff prepare children for independence. They spend time with children to teach them independence skills. Staff maintain relationships with children who have moved on from the home. This demonstrates the strong relationships staff develop with children.

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improvement to be good

Both children are enrolled in education. One child is making progress and attends on a regular basis. However, plans are not in place to support children who struggle to attend on a regular basis. Staff do not understand the barriers that impact on children attending education provisions. As a result, one child is not reaching their full potential in education.

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improvement to be good

Action has not been taken to ensure that children’s local authority plans are obtained following reviews and assessments. This means that staff do not have access to up-to- date information relating to children.

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improvement to be good

Staff develop positive relationships with children’s family and friends. This has helped one child to remain settled in the home. Staff promote children’s friendships. Staff support children to spend time with their friends, both in the home and through organised activities.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the children’s risks and vulnerabilities. However, safeguarding practice in the home is not always effective. Staff do not always take appropriate action to ensure children are safe following incidents of substance misuse.

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improvement to be good

Children are cared for by an established and stable staff team. However, action has not been taken to ensure that recruitment of new staff is safe. Leaders and managers have not explored gaps in employment for new staff working in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff develop strong and trusting relationships with children. Children say that they have good relationships with all staff and that they can talk to them about anything. Children say that they like living in the home and that they feel well cared for. However, records do not demonstrate that staff engage children in meaningful direct work. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 4 Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans do not include up-to-date and accurate information. Strategies identified in plans are vague and do not provide clear guidance for staff to follow. Plans are not in place to ensure that children access the internet and social media safely. Action was not taken to monitor one child’s mobile phone use following concerns that they were sending threatening and intimidating messages to a peer. Furthermore, serious incidents have not been notified to the regulator.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing from the home are rare. When incidents do occur, staff look for children to ensure that they are returned to the home quickly. However, strategies for staff to follow are not always in place. For one child, guidance as to what action staff should take when they go missing was not detailed in their plans. This was rectified during the inspection. Records of incidents are of poor quality, and it is not always clear that the information recorded is accurate for specific incidents.

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

The home is managed by a new and inexperienced manager. She has worked in the home for several years in various roles. She has developed positive relationships with the children and the staff team. The manager knows the children well; however, the oversight of the care being provided by staff is not effective. Children’s records do not always include managerial evaluation and shortfalls in practice are not identified.

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

The manager is committed to providing quality care to children. However, the home environment has not been maintained or furnished to provide a nurturing environment for the children to live in. Health and safety signs and door numbers on bedrooms create an institutional feel within the home.

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

Staff speak highly of the support they receive from the manager. They say she is approachable and nurturing. Staff benefit from regular supervision and reflective team meetings. These provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice. However, staff are not trained in all topics relevant to children’s needs. This means that the staff team lacks the skills and knowledge to provide the level of care that children may need.

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

The manager promotes staff progression. Staff are provided with individual areas of responsibility to develop their skills and experience. However, the manager does not ensure that she has oversight of delegated tasks. As a result, she has not identified when tasks have not been completed thoroughly enough.

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

Development plans lack evaluation of the care being provided to children in the home. They do not identify areas for improvement and do not include clear actions moving forward. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 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 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—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s records include all known risks with clear strategies for staff to follow, that staff take action to safeguard children following incidents of substance misuse and that gaps in employment are explored when recruiting new staff to the home. 13 May 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 13 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 6 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that there is oversight of all care being provided to the children in the home, that shortfalls in staff practice are identified and addressed, that staff undertake training that is relevant to the children’s needs and that development plans are in place that identify areas for improvement.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study; 13 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 7 understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(x))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that leaders and managers ensure that plans are in place to support children’s attendance and engagement with education.

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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

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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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— 13 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 8 meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that the home environment is designed and furnished to represent a home for children and that staff engage children in meaningful direct work.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e)) 13 May 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. (Regulation 5 (c)) 13 May 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 for children’s home: SC480075 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Safe Base Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Tapton Way, Whitfield Accounting & Integrated Services Ltd, Liverpool L13 1DA

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Inspector

Claire Hobbs, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480075 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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