Children's Home run by Achieve Your Aspirations Limited in Knowsley

Inspection report for the children's home: 2787362 1 Registered provider: Achieve Your Aspirations 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

The home is run by a private provider to provide care for up to two children who may have social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children living at the home were spoken to at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2024.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for the children's home: 2787362 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home opened, one child has moved out and two children have moved in. A child moved out after being in the home for a short period. The manager learned from this and carefully supported siblings to move into the home in a planned way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children attend education full time, and their attendance is excellent. Staff advocated for the children to return to their previous schools. They work collaboratively with professionals to ensure that children are well supported. Children are encouraged to complete their homework. Both children are doing well in school and meeting expectations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. Staff encourage children to maintain good personal and dental hygiene. When children have additional health needs, staff speak with other professionals, including child and adolescent mental health services. Staff follow the guidance provided by health professionals to ensure that children’s health needs are well met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to share their views, wishes and feelings. They can talk to the staff about the care that they receive. However, when children discuss their opinions about the care that they receive, the decision-making is not always shared clearly with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop hobbies and interests. Staff spend time with children to discover their interests and research the local area. Children experience day trips to theme parks, community activities and holidays. One child goes horse riding and staff support them to visit the stables to help them learn about caring for horses.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with their families and people who are important to them. Staff promote children’s understanding of their identities. Staff also encourage children to spend time with their siblings in a safe environment.

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

Staff know the children well and understand their risks and vulnerabilities. The manager and staff regularly review and update the children’s risk assessments.

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

Staff educate children about internet safety and monitor their use of social media. The manager and staff implement parental controls on children’s technical devices to prevent them from accessing inappropriate material. Children are helped to understand the reasons for internet restrictions. Inspection report for the children's home: 2787362 3 Positive recognition and praise outweigh negative consequences. Staff support children to reflect on their behaviour and the choices they make. This approach is restorative and helps the children to take responsibility for their actions.

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

Incidents involving children being physically held are rare. When children are held for their safety, staff manage them by using strategies requiring minimal physical intervention. However, when the manager is involved in the incident, records are not always reviewed by a senior manager who is independent of the incident.

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

Children understand how to make a complaint. The manager ensures that complaints and allegations are accurately recorded. Staff and children are spoken to. Appropriate action is taken to ensure that children are safe. However, referrals to the local authority designated officer are not made promptly and not always following the protocol in place. The responsible individual has identified this as a shortfall and an action plan has been developed to improve future practice.

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

A robust process is in place to ensure that the people working with children are checked and vetted before working in the home. New staff benefit from a structured induction and ongoing training related to their role. This safer recruitment process means that those employed are considered suitable to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed efficiently by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The manager and staff have high aspirations for children and promote opportunities for them to reach their full potential. The staff say that they feel well supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff complete a training programme. Staff are encouraged to continue their professional development, and learning opportunities are promoted. An in- house therapist supports staff consultations. External professionals have attended team meetings to enhance staff’s understanding of child protection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions, which they say they find helpful. Supervision sessions are reflective and explore the development of staff practice and any necessary improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When incidents occur in the home, they are accurately recorded. Children and staff are offered opportunities to reflect on incidents. However, the manager does not always record an evaluative reflection of incidents. Records do not always clearly state what actions have been taken to prevent future incidents from happening.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place to monitor the care being provided. An independent person visits the home monthly. The manager uses their feedback to improve practice. The manager and staff work well with other professionals. A social worker said, ‘The staff communicate well, and the team are great.’ Inspection report for the children's home: 2787362 4 There is a permanent, full staff team. The manager does not use agency staff. If there are gaps in the staff rota, permanent or bank staff, who know the children well, cover them. t Inspection report for the children's home: 2787362 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that oversight of incidents recognises any gaps in practice and that they are clear about what actions staff need to take to manage risks.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the details of restraints are recorded, including the type of hold, reason for the restraint and duration of the hold, and that these are reviewed by a manager who is independent of the incident.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that they follow the agreed procedures for reporting allegations promptly to the local authority designated officer and any actions are clearly recorded. 9 June 2025 Inspection report for the children's home: 2787362 6 The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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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.

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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

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must feedback to the child to help them understand why decisions have been made. 9 June 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 the children's home: 2787362 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Achieve Your Aspirations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 300 St. Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

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Inspector

Sarah Probert, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for the children's home: 2787362 8 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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Inspector

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