Children's home run by Inspire Children’s Services Limited in St. Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: 1241757 1 Registered provider: Inspire Children’s Services 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

A private provider owns this home. The home provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, three children were living in the home. All children were spoken to as part of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good.

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none. Inspection report for children’s home: 1241757 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/06/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1241757 3

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls in leadership and management and safeguarding practices have affected children’s overall experiences and progress.

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improvement to be good

Children speak positively about living in the home. They have positive relationships with staff and enjoy spending time with them on activities. Children are provided with a wide range of activities, such as visiting local parks, swimming and shopping.

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improvement to be good

Staff work with wider professionals to support children’s education and remove barriers to learning. They promote children’s attendance through effective use of incentives. This has improved attendance for two children. One child does not attend school. The manager is working closely with the child’s social worker to identify an appropriate provision to meet their needs. The child has access to tutoring in the home while they await a school placement.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to access appointments to meet their health needs. However, there have been errors in staff ensuring that children are consistently given their controlled medication. Leaders and managers have taken action to address this shortfall in staff practice.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care plans are not kept up to date. They do not include all relevant information regarding children’s health needs, and they include outdated information about children’s time with their families. This does not support staff in providing consistent care to children.

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improvement to be good

The home is not welcoming or comfortable in its appearance. Leaders and managers have started to address this. Children are involved in making decisions for the décor of the home and encouraged to personalise their bedrooms.

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improvement to be good

Inconsistencies with staff practice have contributed to safeguarding incidents for children. For one child, changes to routine and inconsistency of responses from staff have contributed to an escalation in their behaviours and an increase in incidents.

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improvement to be good

The use of physical intervention to manage children’s behaviour has at times been ineffective and disproportionate. Additionally, children’s records of physical intervention do not include details of the child’s behaviour which led to the intervention. On one Inspection report for children’s home: 1241757 4 occasion, staff carried out a 26-minute physical intervention, using restraint practices in which they had not been trained. This caused prolonged distress for the child.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments for children are personalised to each child’s needs, cover all known risks, and are written in a child-friendly manner. However, they do not include all strategies identified to manage known risks, and staff do not always follow children’s plans to keep them safe. For example, staff have not been consistent in carrying out regular phone checks and visual checks for one child to reduce the risks of exploitation and substance misuse.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently implement consequences for children. Staff do not provide children with sufficient support to learn from and understand their behaviours and feelings. This does not promote positive behaviour for children.

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

There is a suitably qualified and experience manager in post. The manager knows the children well and has developed a positive relationship with each child. The manager has an understanding of the children’s individual needs and their progress.

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

When shortfalls in staff practice are identified, leaders and managers address this through formal processes, including fact finding investigations and supervisions. However, there are gaps in the manager’s oversight of the home. This means that some shortfalls in staff practice have not been challenged and have had an impact on the care of children.

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

There is instability within the staff team, and there has been a high turnover of staff. Leaders and managers regularly rely on agency and casual staff to cover shifts. This has contributed to inconsistent care for the children.

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

Staff do not have the skills and experience to manage children’s behaviours. Staff do not always have clear direction from leaders and managers in the care that they provide to children. This has led to frustrations and negativity within the staff team and further inconsistencies in staff practice.

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

Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended. They are used as an opportunity to reflect on children’s behaviours and plan for their support. Inspection report for children’s home: 1241757 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; 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)(ii)(iii)(b)).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans include all relevant strategies, and that staff follow guidance within children’s plans to keep them safe. Additionally, that incidents of the use of restraints for children are necessary and proportionate. 1 July 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

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 1 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1241757 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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; and

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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)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h)).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that there is sufficient and suitably trained staff working in the home. In addition, leaders and managers must ensure that there is effective management oversight which considers the quality of care children receive. Leaders and managers must ensure that they take appropriate and effective action when there are concerns in relation to staff practice.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(v)).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that records of the use of restraint detail all relevant information required by 1 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1241757 7 regulation.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children; and

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(ix)(xi)).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff support children to understand and learn from their behaviours through the use of consistent and effective consequences and education. In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff have 1 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1241757 8 the skills and knowledge to understand and support children’s behaviour.

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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

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans are updated and contain relevant information. In addition, the registered person must ensure that all records contain staff actions to monitor their welfare when children are absent from the home. 1 July 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with a homely, domestic environment, which is maintained to a high standard (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9).

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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: 1241757 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspire Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Inspire Children’s Services, Unit 3, Craig Court, Standish Street, St. Helens WA10 1GJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Bradshaw

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Inspectors

Hayley Smith, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1241757 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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