Children's Home run by Mainstay Care and Support Limited in Warrington

Inspection report for the children’s home: 2813433 1 Registered provider: Mainstay Care and Support 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 owned by a private provider and can provide care for up to one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted on 2 April 2025. The previous manager was dismissed shortly after the home was registered. A new manager has been appointed. They have not submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in 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 inadequate

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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: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for the children’s home: 2813433 2

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improvement to be good

Despite only been registered for a short time, there have been a number of management changes that have impacted on the operation of the home.

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improvement to be good

The child has begun to form positive relationships with the staff at the home and to make progress in aspects of their care. However, leaders and managers did not thoroughly evaluate the child’s individual risks prior to them moving into the home. This means that managers had not fully evaluated all risks for the child or ensured that the staff had the skills to meet these needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff spend time with the child getting to know their likes and dislikes. They support the child to take the lead on physical activities they are passionate about, and the child likes spending time with them. The child says that the staff are ‘sound’ and feels comfortable around them.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff have not prioritised the child’s engagement in education. The child is not currently accessing formal education. Staff have conversations with the child about the importance of education. However, they have not provided them with any informal learning. This is a missed opportunity to help the child develop vital skills to increase their opportunities in the future.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff have welcomed the child’s family members into the home. The child’s parent says staff communicate with them well and that the members of the team have a solution-focused approach. The child experiences care that is a positive collaboration between their parent and staff.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff do not record information about the child consistently. Important information about the child is not always recorded, such as conversations with professionals about the child’s care. This reduces opportunities to review the care provided to the child and limits the effectiveness of internal and external monitoring in the home.

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improvement to be good

Managers have ensured that the child is registered at the necessary health care providers. The child does not have any significant health concerns. However, managers have not recognised that the child requires a routine dental review. This does not ensure that the child’s oral health needs are addressed or prevent the need for any significant treatment. Inspection report for the children’s home: 2813433 3

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that risk management plans for the child address all known risks. The child is subject to a Deprivation of Liberty order which specifically addresses risks relating to unsupervised internet use. Managers have not provided staff with clear guidance on how to identify and manage this risk. In addition to this, risk management plans in place relating to other risks for the child do not provide staff with all the necessary steps needed to keep the child safe. Although there has not been a significant safeguarding issue, this limits the staff’s clarity on their roles and responsibilities in keeping the child safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff can identify when the child is becoming distressed. When the child is becoming upset, they support them with sensitivity and prevent the situation from escalating. As a result, there have not been any incidents.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of the child going missing from home are rare. When the child does go missing from the home, staff follow the procedures and look for the child. They communicate with the child’s parent and relevant professionals to ensure that the child returns home safely.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers commission the guidance of a therapeutic service. Therapists attend staff meetings and provide staff with individual supervision when required. This helps staff to reflect on the specific needs and vulnerabilities of the child and understand how they can develop their practice.

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improvement to be good

A serious incident where the child was at significant risk on a nearby motorway was managed appropriately. However, not all risks in the local area had been identified by leaders and managers, and the locality of the home to the motorway was not evaluated until after the incident. This was a missed opportunity to implement control measures to reduce risks and ensure that the child and staff were safeguarded effectively.

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improvement to be good

Staff have begun to have conversations with the child about their risks. However, conversations are limited in number and do not have the necessary impact. This reduces the child’s opportunity to develop vital skills to keep themselves safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been several changes in leadership and management of the home since the home was registered. Although there were no children living in the home when the registered manager left, the leadership and management was not effective in providing staff with a positive environment in which they could develop their skills. The home is now managed by the previous trainee manager following her promotion. She has experience in residential childcare and staff say she is a positive source of support for them. Inspection report for the children’s home: 2813433 4 Staff have completed training related to several areas of safeguarding children. However, managers have not provided staff with the opportunity to complete sufficient training relating to the child’s risks with substance use or to ensure their understanding of a Deprivation of Liberty order. This is something that leaders and managers are now taking

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight of the home is not robust. Although there are some aspects of staff practice that are evaluated by managers, this is not carried out consistently across all areas. This is a missed opportunity to identify areas of development and ensure that the child’s care is of a high standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not escalated concerns, to ensure that they are addressing all of the child’s needs. When crucial documents such as the child’s care plan were not provided, managers did not challenge this efficiently. As a result, they do not have access to some documentation which provides crucial guidance for staff on their care for the child. Inspection report for the children’s home: 2813433 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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— 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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the children’s risk plans contain all identified risks for the children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s risk plans contain all the necessary information staff require to identify and minimise the risks for children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff hold regular conversations with children to ensure that they understand the risks to them and gain the necessary skills to keep themselves safe. 11 July 2025 Inspection report for the children’s home: 2813433 6 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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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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)(c)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is consistent and effective management oversight of staff, and they are provided with a supportive culture to enable a high standard of care for children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff are provided with the opportunity to undertake training specific to the risks and needs of the child.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they thoroughly evaluate the risks and needs of the child prior to their admission to the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are robust systems of monitoring in the home to ensure that shortfalls in staff practice are identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity. 11 July 2025 Inspection report for the children’s home: 2813433 7 In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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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 (a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when documentation relating to the care of the child has not been provided by the child’s placing authority, this is escalated in an appropriate and timely manner. 11 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12 (2)(c) (the protection of children standard). (Regulation 46 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must thoroughly evaluate the risks in the local area and seek to ensure that action is taken to reduce the risks for children. 11 July 2025

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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— that staff—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; 11 July 2025 Inspection report for the children’s home: 2813433 8 promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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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; and

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that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff support the child to engage in education when they are not attending any formal education.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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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. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff keep accurate records of conversations held with professionals that relate to the care of the child. 11 July 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the child is supported to access dental appointments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11). Inspection report for the children’s home: 2813433 9

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2813433 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Mainstay Care and Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kenwright Accountants Ltd, Champions Business Park, Arrowe Brook Road, Wirral CH49 0AB

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Inspector

Sarah Gilbert, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for the children’s home: 2813433 11 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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