Children's Home run by ECS CARE LIMITED in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2720875 1 Registered provider: ECS Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2720875 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2720875 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living at the home was spoken to as part of the inspection.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has remained living in the home. Staff know the child well and understand their needs. They have built positive relationships with the child and provide emotional support through meaningful conversations.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health needs are met. Staff promote a healthy lifestyle for the child. When necessary, they seek specialist health advice. Staff make sure that the child has the information they need to make informed decisions about their health.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making progress in education from their individual starting point. Staff arrange for the child to access online learning to overcome the difficulties they face in attending a formal school environment. As a result, the child has improved their engagement with their education. Staff are supportive of the child’s interests and ambitions. They provide opportunities for the child to pursue potential career options.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s views are regularly sought. Staff engage the child in weekly meetings and regularly seek their feedback on their care. This helps staff improve practice in line with the child’s wishes and feelings.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s plans are up to date and personalised to their needs. Plans are written in line with local authority reviews; however, not all local authority documentation for children held on file is up to date.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proud of the child. They celebrate and reward their milestones and achievements. Staff ensure that the child’s positive experiences are documented in a memory book. This captures the child’s memories and provides a keepsake for when they move on from the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the child’s independence. They include the child in the weekly budgeting and shopping and encourage them to participate in daily chores. This helps to prepare the child for independent living.

p.3

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

Staff understand the child’s risks and know how to keep them safe. They promote positive behaviour through clear and consistent boundaries and expectations.

p.3

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

The child’s plans include all known risks and behaviours. There is clear guidance for staff to follow, and the strategies identified are personal to the child. They include a clear and thorough plan to monitor the child’s internet and mobile phone use. The plan is kept Inspection report for children’s home: 2720875 4 under regular review with the child. The strategies in place allow the child to have safe access to devices.

p.3

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

The child’s risk of exploitation has decreased. Staff work closely with the exploitation team to support the child. They have made use of their expertise and resources when the child has struggled to engage with external professionals. This helps the child to access the support they need.

p.4

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

Staff understand the child’s risk of substance misuse. They carry out room searches when needed, in line with the child’s plans. They work with the child to educate them on the dangers of misusing substances.

p.4

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

The risks of the child going missing from home have reduced. Staff are aware of the child’s whereabouts and support them in returning home if they do not comply with their curfew. Strong managerial oversight of incidents involving the child being missing from the home ensures the prompt identification and resolution of shortfalls in staff practice. Incidents are discussed during team meetings, giving staff opportunities to reflect on practice and identify lessons learned.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed. The manager takes steps to ensure that only suitable staff work with children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and confident manager in post. The manager has a strong relationship with the child and a good understanding of their needs. She prioritises time with the child to explore their wishes and feelings, and she involves them in their care planning.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff support the child in spending positive time with their family. The manager has helped the child to re-establish relationships with their family after a significant period without contact. The child said that they could not have asked for a better person to support them in reuniting with their family. The child’s parent said that the manager is understanding and supportive of any worries they may have regarding their child.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the manager. They say that they are well supported. One member of staff spoke positively of the manager’s support and understanding around their learning needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are gaps in the manager’s monitoring and review of the child’s progress and the effectiveness of the care they receive. For example, there is not sufficient evaluation of consequences implemented for the child. This is a missed opportunity to continually improve the quality of care that staff provide to ensure that children can achieve their full potential. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720875 5 The staff team is suitably trained to meet the child’s needs. Staff demonstrate professional curiosity and show genuine interest in the use of different strategies to support the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2720875 6

p.4

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

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;

p.6

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)(f)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that there is effective management oversight of children’s care, including children’s records and the use of consequences. 25 July 2025

p.6

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that placing authorities are consistently challenged when there are delays in providing relevant plans for children to contribute to effective care planning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8) Inspection report for children’s home: 2720875 7

p.6

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: 2720875 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 57 Sonning Avenue, Liverpool L21 9JG

p.8

Inspector

Hayley Smith, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2720875 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9