Children's Home run by Embrace Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2672566 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 registered with Ofsted in June 2022, and the manager registered in September 2024. It is operated by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

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

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home. The inspectors spoke with the children living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2672566 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/08/2024 Full Good 17/04/2024 Full Inadequate 06/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2672566 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s experiences and progress are hindered by ineffective care planning and serious shortcomings in safeguarding practices, as well as poor leadership and management of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

A child, who was previously living in the home, has moved back to the home. The registered manager has not been successful in gaining key documents from the placing authority. This means the registered manager and staff do not have the correct information to inform the child’s care planning and risk management plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The manager failed to robustly assess the risk posed from another older child who is living in the home, and this has resulted in the child who recently moved back in experiencing bullying and intimidation. This is not always acknowledged or adequately addressed and leaves the child at risk of significant harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The registered manager advocated on behalf of children to secure education. However, staff lack essential information about one child’s educational goals and their personal education plan. This does not help the staff to support the child to meet their educational targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are registered with local health care providers and are supported to attend routine and specialist appointments. The impact of children’s earlier life experiences and ongoing emotional well-being support is assessed by the in-house clinical team, whose members help the staff to work therapeutically with the children and, on occasions, have worked one to one with a child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home conditions are not satisfactory. The kitchen floor and stair carpets are unclean. A child’s bedroom door frame and overhead door closer are broken, along with a curtain pole in another child’s bedroom. The paintwork to the window frames outside of the home look tired and weather worn. Children do not have free access to the laundry facilities due to it being locked, and this hinders the children’s development of independence skills. The garden area contained hazardous items. This does not ensure that the home and garden are safe and inviting for the children.

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

Leaders, managers and staff fail to proactively manage risk and reduce harm to the children. Additionally, staff have witnessed poor practice and used their whistleblowing procedures to share their concerns with senior managers. However, it is not clear what action has or has not been taken to address the concerns, leaving children exposed to harm.

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

The management of allegations against staff has been inconsistent and not in line with safeguarding procedures. The regulator and the local authority designated officer have Inspection report for children’s home: 2672566 4 not been informed on all occasions of incidents or of the actions taken to address the concerns. This means that poor staff practice has potentially gone unaddressed, leaving children further vulnerable to significant risk of harm by the adults who care for them.

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

Serious safeguarding incidents have not been notified to Ofsted in a timely manner or at all. This means that the regulator does not have sufficient oversight and scrutiny of the management of safeguarding incidents.

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

There is a lack of professional curiosity. Risk management plans are not robust. Plans are not up to date, neither do they contain relevant risk levels for the children or adequate strategies for the staff to follow to reduce and minimise the risk posed to the children. This means they do not have accurate information to manage safeguarding incidents.

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

The registered manager has failed to inform the placing authority of a significant incident with one child. This does not allow the placing authority, senior leaders or staff to have sufficient oversight of the incident to determine if any extra measures need to be put in place to support the child.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are high for one child and on some occasions the child has been located far away from home. These incidents have decreased over recent months. Staff followed missing-from-home procedures and have worked with the police to locate the child and return them home safely. Independent return home interviews have taken place following the incidents. This provides the child and staff with opportunities to identify triggers and put in place new strategies to mitigate the risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Significant shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home adversely affect children’s care. Leaders and managers have failed to ensure effective oversight of incidents and allegations. Poor staff practice have left the children unsafe and receiving inadequate care. Leaders and managers fail to maintain the home in accordance with the aims outlined in its statement of purpose and the home’s policies and procedures. This has compromised children’s welfare and safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A high turnover of staff has led to inconsistency and instability for the children. This has affected the staff team, whose members have low staff morale. One member of staff said there is a lack of support from leaders and managers. They said that incidents are not taken seriously or sufficiently responded to or recorded. This has led to a member of staff feeling unsafe and unsupported to return to work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not regularly seek feedback from professionals, family members or the staff. They do not use research to inform their practice. Records to show managers’ review processes, monitoring and auditing information were not available for the inspector to review. This fails to show that leaders and managers have identified shortfalls in practice. As a result, poor and inconsistent practice continues to go unaddressed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2672566 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;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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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; 21 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2672566 6 that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d)(e))

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 21 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2672566 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(iii)(c)(e)(i)(ii)) 21 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; 21 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2672566 8 use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(vi)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children can freely access the laundry facilities, the broken paving stones at the front of the property are fixed, the kitchen lino is cleaned or replaced, the paintwork to the wooden window frames is refreshed, and a curtain pole is fixed. Also, the registered person must ensure that a broken bedroom door frame and fire safety mechanism are fixed or altered to ensure the child’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 21 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2672566 9 This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject of a compliance notice.

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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: 2672566 10

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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

Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Leanne Cooper, His Majesty Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2672566 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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