Children's home run by Bliss Care and Support Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2726037 1 Registered provider: Bliss 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 and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in February 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home and spoke with the inspector.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 10 September 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2726037 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/09/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2726037 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children living in the home are settled. They are able to identify individual staff who can provide them with support and care around their specific needs. Both children had planned and detailed moves into the home. The children’s guide was provided to them in advance of their move. The children were given the opportunity to visit the home and meet with staff before moving to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional needs are prioritised. Staff support children to attend routine and specialist health appointments. Therefore, children remain in good health and their well-being is promoted. One child vapes at the rear door of the home. Further support sessions are needed to enable children to learn about the risks of vaping.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is in full-time education in a school setting. The other child is on roll at a school but not in education. A teacher from the school said, ‘The staff at the home have advocated for [child’s name]. They have made a complaint about the delay in finding a tutor or an alternative school in the new local authority area. We are all trying our best.’ Staff provide some daily informal education for the child. However, the child has not been in education for six months and greater effort is needed to identify a tutor and ensure that the child engages in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance and dynamics of family relationships and friendships for the children. They support the children to spend time with their family members and friends. They offer them opportunities to spend time at the home and away from the home together. Staff supervise family time for one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has her family dog to stay over. The child said, ‘I love my dog. He is my therapy dog. He gives me cuddles. It’s great he can stay over.’ The other child has a hamster they brought with them to the home; they get additional support to ensure that they care for their pet and ensure its well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming, and communal areas are suitably furnished. One child was without bedroom furniture due to a recent incident where it was damaged. This should have been replaced with immediate effect as the child was storing her belongings on the floor.

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

Staff receive training in child protection and safeguarding practices. They also receive tailored training on topics such as internet safety and self-harmful behaviours. They have access to a psychologist to support them and the children in their care. This helps the staff to gain a more in-depth knowledge of the children so they can support them appropriately. Inspection report for children’s home: 2726037 4 Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. They know the children’s risks and vulnerabilities and how best to respond to these to ensure that the children remain safe. Staff follow risk management and support plans to provide good- quality care, which has resulted in risks reducing for one child.

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

One child’s exposure to risky situations has increased. The manager has liaised with the social worker. However, this should have been escalated formally to allow the care team around the child and Ofsted to have clear oversight and evaluate the risks.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted before starting to work at the home. These checks ensure that only suitable staff are employed to work at the home.

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

Behaviour management strategies are not always consistent. The de-escalation guidance and risk assessments provide support to staff. However, staff are not always consistent, with some staff not following the child’s care plan, leading to behaviours escalating.

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

Positive recognition and praise outweighed negative consequences. However, the manager’s review of the effectiveness of consequences is not recorded. This limits opportunities to identify any lessons learned and changes required.

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

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2025 and is supported by a capable deputy manager. They are a caring and considerate management team who advocate for the children in their care. The manager has completed a leadership and management qualification. The manager speaks about the children with positiveness and enthusiasm.

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

The manager and deputy manager have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development. They are consistently reviewing their procedures and learning from practice research.

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

The manager welcomes independent scrutiny of the home, and an independent person visits monthly. The manager actions any recommendations made. This supports the development of the service.

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

Staff receive regular supervisions in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Team meetings take place consistently and are well attended by the staff.

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

The manager has positive relationships with professionals involved in the children’s care. Professionals speak positively of the manager. One social worker said, ‘[Name of child] has settled and likes the home; they want to stay there if they can’t go home. They are learning about reducing risk-taking behaviour and how to stay safe.’

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

The manager’s oversight of some areas of staff practice is inconsistent. This includes staff failing to record and account for hay fever medicines for one child following supervised family time, in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: 2726037 5 The manager has not always ensured that safeguarding incidents are investigated or that safeguarding professionals are notified. In addition, the manager is not always ensuring that staff are provided with suitable training and supervision before they are allowed to resume normal duties. Inspection report for children’s home: 2726037 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 make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that— medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child;

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any medicine knowingly ingested by the child and brought into the home is recorded and accounted for by staff. 29 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 29 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726037 7 Specifically, the registered manager must ensure that notifications are made where serious self-harm for a child impacts their care needs.

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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 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

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’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. Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(c)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager must ensure that staff understand the needs of each child, de-escalation techniques for each child and the impact on the child by not offering consistent and continuity of care. 29 September 2025

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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. 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; 29 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2726037 8 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; are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager must ensure that staff conduct and practice are reviewed and reported to external agencies in a timely manner following any incident impacting the child.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered manager must ensure that children are supported to learn about risks from vaping.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is a clear education plan for each child when not in full-time education, and children are supported to complete educational activities in line with this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that the home maintains a furnished and well- kept environment which supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that consequences for children are proportionate, reviewed, and evaluated for their effectiveness on reducing behaviours for the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13)

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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 children’s home: 2726037 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bliss Care and Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 350 Longmoor Lane, Liverpool L9 9DA

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Inspector

Deborah Turner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2726037 10 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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