Children's Home run by Crossway Services Limited in St Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: SC386810 1 SC386810 Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

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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 provider. It provides care for one child who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2024. She also manages another home.

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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

Date of last inspection: 5 November 2024

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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: SC386810 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/05/2023 Full Good 09/08/2022 Full Good 28/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC386810 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences in the home are variable. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home and one child has moved on to semi-independent living.

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improvement to be good

Staff have worked to improve children’s experiences of moving into the home. There is a thorough assessment of the home’s suitability to meet children’s needs. Children have the opportunity to meet staff and stay overnight before they move in. This helps children to build relationships before they arrive.

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improvement to be good

One child’s communication needs were not understood. As a result, the child struggled to form relationships with staff and settle in the home. An assessment of the child’s needs was carried out, which improved the care they received. However, a decision had already been made for the child to move on. When the child moved on, their care plan was not updated to reflect the findings of the assessment. This was a missed opportunity to ensure the new staff working with the child had all the necessary information to support the child’s transition and their future relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children’s education is not consistently promoted. When children are not motivated to access education, the action taken to address this lacks tenacity. However, when children have limited timetables but are keen to learn, staff offer educational opportunities in the home to prevent them from falling behind.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a homely environment that is well maintained. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and they have access to age-appropriate games and toys. Staff encourage children to participate in activities that interest them, including visits to the cinema, trampolining and bike rides. One child said they really enjoy living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children’s time with their family. This helps children maintain their sense of identity.

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improvement to be good

Staff demonstrate good knowledge of the children they care for. However, risk management plans for one child have not been reviewed in a timely manner. This means that staff were not provided with the most up-to-date guidance to be able to support the child at times of crisis. This is a repeated shortfall from the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage positive behaviour and use appropriate de-escalation techniques. Children are rewarded for their successes. Physical intervention is used very rarely. When children are held, the manager completes a timely evaluation to explore how they can prevent situations escalating in the future. Restorative approaches are used with children Inspection report for children’s home: SC386810 4 following crises to be able to find a positive way forward and repair relationships. When room searches are carried out, these are justified and agreed with the child. The reports then completed are detailed and thorough.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from home and when they do, staff respond with a multi- agency approach to prioritise children’s safety. Children are offered timely return home interviews to help reduce the risk of episodes of them going missing in the future.

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improvement to be good

Online risks are understood, and appropriate restrictions are in place to ensure that children are safeguarded from the risks of online exploitation.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to do direct work with staff on issues that are significant to them. This has included work linked to safe relationships, sexual health and independence. Children have access to psychological support, clinical supervision and play therapy to support them. This enhances the staff team’s capacity to respond to the children’s emotional and behavioural needs.

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

The manager is supported by a new responsible individual and a newly appointed deputy manager. The responsible individual is aware of the weaknesses in the management of the home and has started to take action to address this. However, this has not been prompt and the impact cannot yet be seen.

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

Staff do not receive supervision in line with the home’s policy and some staff have not received supervision for three months. Furthermore, not all staff have received an annual appraisal. This means that the staff are not consistently being provided with opportunities to reflect on and improve their practice.

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

Team meetings take place regularly and provide opportunities to discuss children’s progress. They also offer a chance to reflect on practice and share any concerns.

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

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the training needs of the staff team and there is a clear workforce development plan. Training relevant to the needs of children is identified and organised but there are some delays in delivery. Staff who do not have the relevant qualification are working towards it.

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

Staff say morale is high and say they have good working relationships with leaders and managers. External professionals report that communication with all those involved in the care of children is good and keeps them fully updated on all aspects of children’s care.

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

The manager is in the process of implementing new quality assurance systems which she feels will improve her oversight and subsequently the practice in the home. However, the manager’s quality of care report lacks feedback from children and other key stakeholders. This suggests that new systems are yet to have an impact. A number of requirements are restated from the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC386810 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments are reviewed in a timely manner and that reviews are thorough.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 25 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees —

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Requirement Due date

receive practice related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff receive regular supervision and appraisals. 24 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC386810 6 This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating —

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 25 January 2026

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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;

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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)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that sufficient systems are in place to support the regular review of care for children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that children’s needs are understood in a timely manner, to support the use of research- based practice. 30 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC386810 7 This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that care plans are reviewed, to support children’s transitions when moving from the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 September 2025

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Recommendation

 Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22 paragraph 4.11)

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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: SC386810 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crossway Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Kealey Rushworth

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Inspector

Jon Dutton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC386810 9 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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Inspector

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