Children's Home run by Embrace Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: 2686253 1 Registered provider: Embrace Care 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 provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025.

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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

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: 2686253 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/06/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/05/2023 Full Good 23/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2686253 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have built positive relationships with children. This promotes a sense of belonging and provides children with stability. One child said, ‘I like living here. I am accepted, and staff understand me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to share their views and wishes, and these are taken seriously and influence decisions about their day-to-day care. This supports children to feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual health and well-being needs are understood by staff. They support children to understand the importance of looking after their own health and well-being. Staff work with external professionals such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, specialist nurses and the in-house therapist to promote good health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are difficulties with children receiving education. Staff are working with schools and placing authorities to advocate for a suitable educational provision for children. For one child, a classroom environment is not in their best interest. Staff support the use of a home tutor, and the child is positively engaging and is making progress from their starting point.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support family time in line with agreed plans. When this does not meet the child’s needs and wishes, staff work with family and the placing authority to ensure that it is in the child’s best interest.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to take part in activities to aid their hobbies and interests. They are encouraged to spend time with staff both in and out of the home. However, they often prefer to spend time in the community or online with friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming throughout. The manager ensures that it reflects a happy place that children can call their own. Some minor repairs are needed in the home. This is in hand with the home’s maintenance team. The garden would benefit from cleaning and tidying to ensure that it is a nice place for children to spend time in.

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

Support plans and risk assessments are detailed documents that provide clear guidance and strategies to support staff to provide consistent care to children. These are regularly updated to ensure that they include current information.

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

Staff support children suitably during periods of distress and use their relationships alongside known strategies, detailed in plans, to help them feel safe and secure. Staff seek to understand their individual needs and to support them manage their emotions appropriately. Inspection report for children's home: 2686253 4 When children are displaying anti-social behaviours in the community, staff do not support them to take responsibility for their actions and behaviours or help them to understand that their actions have potentially serious consequences. Incentive charts are in place to encourage positive behaviours, however these are not consistently used and at times, imposed consequences contradict rewards achieved through the incentive charts.

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

When it has been necessary to physically hold a child, it has been reasonable and proportionate to keep children and others safe. There is suitable manager’s oversight of the report, and staff and children can reflect on the use of the hold after the event.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff do go looking for them and work closely with the police. However, if children remain missing from the home overnight, staff do not take any action to contact them or search for them during nighttime hours. When children return after a missing-from-home episode, staff show professional curiosity to identify where they have been and who they were with, and children are supported to have an external return home interview. The manager has a reflective oversight of these reports to identify lessons learned and to inform any changes and updates to missing- from-home protocols.

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

There are lots of direct-work sessions taking place with children about relevant topics for their individual needs and to help them understand when their actions may put them at risk. These are sometimes planned and often take place reactively following a significant event. However, staff have not supported one child effectively to understand the risks of vaping and have not supported them to access specialist support in a timely manner. This is a repeated requirement from the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is now a registered manager who is supported by a deputy manager. Staff spoken to said that the manager supports their development and fosters a culture of positivity and aspiration.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have improved their systems for the monitoring and oversight of the home. These systems highlight positive practice effectively and support the manager to identify any shortfalls and drive improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work with external professionals. When they feel children are not getting access to external resources, this is professionally challenged with the relevant professionals to ensure that children receive suitable support to meet their individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When there are complaints made by the neighbours, the manager takes suitable actions to address these issues. The provider is working with external agencies to support a positive relationship with the neighbours. Inspection report for children's home: 2686253 5 There is a stable and consistent workforce. This means that children are supported by staff they know and can build relationships with. One parent said, ‘The staff are fantastic. I come away from visits knowing that my child is safe.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed a wide range of training to meet children’s individual needs. Some of this training is complemented by reflective sessions with the clinical team. However, some training needed to meet children’s specific needs, such as sexualised behaviour training, has not been sourced in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended, and staff value their importance. They provide staff with opportunities to discuss children at length and reflect on their care. This helps them to think about how best to support them. Additional monthly meetings are held with the in-house therapist to support reflection and therapeutic practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions that are child focused and reflective. Managers support staff to reflect on the care children receive and allow them an opportunity to review their own practice and identify any additional support they may need. Inspection report for children's home: 2686253 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 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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff take suitable and continuous action to search for and locate children when they are missing from the home. 5 June 2025

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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— 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2686253 7 that staff—

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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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

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; and

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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. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff support children to take responsibility for their actions and behaviours and support them to understand that actions have consequences.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children are supported and educated to understand the risks of vaping and are supported to access relevant services to support this. 18 July 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children and is a homely, domestic environment. The children’s home must comply with relevant health and safety legislations and ensure that outdoor spaces are clean and tidy and free from hazards. Inspection report for children's home: 2686253 8 (‘Guide to the Children’s Home 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: 2686253 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Embrace Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 116 Duke Street, Liverpool, Lancashire L1 5JW

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Inspectors

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Nicola Jeffery, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2686253 10 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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