Children's Home run by Quality Protects Children Ltd in Knowsley

Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 1 SC356929 Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides 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 registered with Ofsted in August 2021.

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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: 19 February 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/02/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/09/2023 Full Good 28/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living in the home. One child was moving out during the inspection to return to live with family members. Another child has moved out of the home since the last inspection. Three of the four children who live or have lived at the home spoke about their experiences of their time at the home. These were mainly positive, and all discussed their own progress made while living there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff know the children well and respond to their individual needs. One professional said, ‘They know [name of child] so well; they know their behaviour and have a good insight on how to support them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff undertake additional training when children have complex health needs. This ensures that staff are provided with the knowledge and guidance to support the child effectively. Children are supported to attend routine health appointments, and their health needs are being met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children recently went on holiday where one child told the inspector, ‘I learnt something new, and I faced one of my fears.’ Children are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities, and their interests are supported. For one child, this has included gymnastics and swimming lessons weekly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children moving into the home are supported to do so in a planned way. Detailed assessments are completed so that the children’s needs can be understood and to consider if staff have the skills to meet those needs. However, for one child who came to live at the home on an emergency basis, the relevant information was not shared by the placing authority. This meant that the child’s needs and risks were not known to staff in the home. This was being challenged during the inspection by leaders and the manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from independence planning. Children are supported with practical independence skills, such as cooking, cleaning, and budgeting. They also benefit from regular consultation about their future arrangements to prepare them for their next steps. However, children identified that they were not mentally prepared to move from the home and would benefit from further support in this area. In addition, children take their independence documents with them. This meant some of the records, for children who had moved out of the home, were not available.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has had areas of redecoration and is presented to a good standard throughout. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their taste and with what is important to them, such as photos of their family, arts and crafts and soft toys. Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 4

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

Children have strong relationships with the staff team. Both children and staff regularly seek each other out to discuss any concerns children have. Children say that they feel safe, secure, and cared for.

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

Children’s risk assessments have been reviewed and now contain clear guidance and strategies for staff when supporting and managing children’s behaviours. As a result, risks to children have reduced.

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

Staff manage incidents more effectively. Staff use therapeutic and nurturing approaches to support children when they are distressed. However, there has been one occasion where the police were involved in managing a child’s behaviour. Staff work closely with agencies such as the youth justice service to prevent children from being criminalised. Staff take time to discuss the issue with the child and give them guidance and strategies to help prevent similar issues reoccurring in the future.

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

Incidents of children being missing from the home have reduced. When they do occur, staff look for children and liaise with safeguarding professionals to locate them. Plans are in place that provide guidance for staff to follow if children are missing from the home.

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

There have been incidents where staff have held children to keep them safe. Physical holds are used as a last resort to keep children and others safe. The manager has had oversight of all incidents where children have been held.

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

When children are distressed, staff attempt to ensure there is minimal impact on other children witnessing this. However, children said they do not like witnessing this behaviour, and this impacts their relationship with other children. A recommendation is made to improve this situation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager leading the home. The manager is supported by a deputy manager. They both know the children well and demonstrate a good knowledge of their needs. This is embedded in the staff team’s knowledge and practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed a consistent and caring staff team. The staff team remains as it was at the last inspection, providing consistent care to the children. Staff feedback is that all feel well supported by leaders and managers in the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are child focused and informative for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend training that meets the needs of the children in their care. This means that children are cared for by a skilled and knowledgeable staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 5 The manager has taken action to address the requirements identified at the last inspection. They have implemented monitoring and review systems to provide oversight of the children’s progress. When there is a lack of information from children’s placing authorities, leaders and managers escalate their concerns. At the time of the inspection, this was ongoing. Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 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 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.

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Requirement Due date

in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the manager must ensure that children’s documents are stored safely and are accessible. 23 July 2025

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Recommendations

 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)  The registered person should ensure that staff help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting, and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should support children in building positive relationships with

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Recommendations

each other and help children develop skills to have positive relationships with others, both inside and outside of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 38, paragraph 8.6) Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 7

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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: SC356929 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hill House, Archway Road, Huyton, Liverpool L36 9XB

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Inspector

Nicola Rutherford, Social Sare Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC356929 9 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 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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