Liberty ILS ltd

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Liberty ILS ltd 1 Liberty ILS ltd Registered provider: Liberty ILS Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is owned and managed by a private provider. The service can accommodate up to three children in self-contained units where the accommodation is for the sole use of the child.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, the service provided support for three children aged 16 to 17 years old.

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provider

The manager registered with Ofsted when the organisation was registered in February 2024.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 4 August 2025 and started that day. The inspector was on site from 6 to 7 August 2025.

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Outcome

Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements.

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Summary of findings

Children now only move into the service after a carefully considered assessment of their needs. As a result, staff now better understand children’s current needs and previous experiences.

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Summary of findings

Staff understand how to help children to stay safe. They respond well when concerns for children’s safety arise and work with other agencies to ensure that children receive the support they require to become increasingly safe.

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Summary of findings

Children’s progress towards adulthood is hindered because staff do not always personalise support plans and goals to children’s individual needs. This is compounded by a lack of monitoring system to help managers to identify barriers to children’s progress. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Liberty ILS ltd 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Since the last inspection, children are now supported by staff who take time to understand their past experiences and their current needs. Staff explore and familiarise themselves with children’s interests and use these to build positive and trusting relationships. Staff help children to develop social networks in their local communities around their areas of interest. This helps children settle into their new home and community quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are supported to maintain and develop positive relationships with their family and friends, and they are encouraged to regularly have visitors to their home. This is particularly important for children who live away from familiar areas. When important relationships between children and their families break down, staff sensitively support children to understand why. They help both family members and children to rebuild positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children receive help to develop cultural and religious connections in their local communities. Staff take time to learn about children’s religions, and they ensure that children have the necessary resources they require to follow their cultural beliefs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

When children do not speak English as their first language, staff use translation applications and interpreters to ensure that children understand important information that is shared with them. However, children’s support plans and other important documents are not translated into their first language. As a result, children may not understand the information recorded in their personal records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are helped to learn skills to prepare them for adulthood. However, children’s support plans are generic, and staff do not personalise children’s individual goals to their existing skills or their aspirations. As a result, leaders and managers are unable to formally track children’s progress or identify areas where children require focused support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children living in the service have plans in place to access education, training, or employment. For example, staff support children to develop CVs and apply for jobs. They coach children in interview techniques to prepare them for employment and college interviews. When barriers occur that prevent children from accessing education, training or employment, staff and managers collaborate with other agencies and advocate on children’s behalf. For example, one child who can temporarily not access college has been enrolled on online learning sessions through the virtual school. This helps children to understand the value of education or employment in their lives and how this will support them as they move towards adulthood and independence.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children’s accommodation is not consistently well maintained, welcoming or homely. For example, in one premises, there is insufficient furnishings, and the home has not Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Liberty ILS ltd 3 been decorated with personalised items or photographs. Staff do not carry out health and safety checks in children’s bedrooms due to organisational policies stating that staff cannot enter children’s bedrooms without their consent. Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that children’s homes are safe and comfortable for them.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff know and understand children’s needs and areas of vulnerability and can explain these well. They consistently use strategies that are shared with them at team meetings and in staff briefings to keep children safe. However, children’s safety plans and risk assessments are not well maintained and do not reflect children’s current circumstances. This has the potential to impact on children’s safety.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff speak confidently about their roles and duties to safeguard children. They demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of what action they must take if a child is at risk of harm and how they can support children. However, some staff members have failed to complete mandatory refresher training. Consequently, leaders and managers are not working in line with their workforce plan or statement of purpose. They have no assurances that staff are aware of the most relevant information relating to regional safeguarding procedures.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children spoken to during the inspection said that they felt safe and receive good support from familiar and dependable staff members. They know how to make a complaint should they be dissatisfied with the support they receive.

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How well children are helped and protected

When children are at risk of exploitation, staff respond quickly and effectively. They are attuned to indicators of child exploitation, and they record and share their concerns with other agencies. Staff use reflective discussions to teach children how to keep themselves safe in the community and to implement effective strategies to help children to stay safe.

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How well children are helped and protected

Episodes of going missing have reduced significantly since the last full inspection in February 2025. Children who historically went missing, now communicate with the staff where they are and what time they will return home. Staff work with social workers and children to develop plans for agreed overnight stays away from their homes, including arrangements for visitors who can stay overnight at their home. These proactive arrangements promote autonomy for the children and have directly resulted in the frequency of incidents of children going missing decreasing.

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How well children are helped and protected

When children do not settle or their needs change, leaders and managers work with the placing authority to communicate their concerns. They support the child to find alternative accommodation that better suits their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have failed to develop and implement suitable child protection procedures. Some leaders and managers have family connections working in the service. However, the manager does not have suitable procedures in place to ensure that these relatives do not work together, or line manage each other. This Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Liberty ILS ltd 4 lack of consideration increases the risk of a closed culture occurring in the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not have a formal system to monitor the effectiveness of the service or to ensure that they understand the strengths and areas of required development. As a result, shortfalls in children’s records are not identified. Additionally, leaders and managers have failed to submit a quality-of-service review report to Ofsted. As a result, Ofsted are unable to monitor the effectiveness of the service outside of inspection activity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

When changes occur in the organisation, for example the opening of new premises, the manager has failed to inform Ofsted. Consequently, Ofsted is prevented from maintaining regulatory oversight the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff said they are well supported by managers. They have welcomed the changes to policy and practice that have been implemented since the last full inspection and subsequent compliance monitoring visits. Staff report that these changes are impacting positively on children and the workforce. Supervisions and team meetings are used effectively to both reflect on children’s individual circumstances and to communicate any changes to children’s support plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have now reviewed the procedures for admitting children to the service. They conduct a thorough assessment of children’s needs and collect information from a range of professionals who know the child. This helps the manager to ensure that children who move into the service are ready to live in supported accommodation and that staff have the correct skills to meet their individual needs. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Liberty ILS ltd 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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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 supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills appropriate for the work that they are to perform. (Regulation 4 (1)(2)(c)) 8 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

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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

prepare and implement child protection policies. (Regulation 5 (1)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must prepare and implement a policy in relation to closed culture. The policy must identify safeguarding measures to prevent a closed culture from developing in the organisation, paying particular attention to when family members work together. 8 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 8 September 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Liberty ILS ltd 6 keep the child’s support under review, taking into consideration the plans for support, and relevant plans, to ensure that the child’s needs continue to be met and that the child is kept safe.

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Requirement Due date

ensure a plan for support is in place to support the child to develop the resilience and skills required to transition out of supported accommodation when the child is ready to live more independently. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)((c)((k))

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Requirement Due date

The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment.

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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 the premises used as supported accommodation—

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Requirement Due date

are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child individually and all children collectively;

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Requirement Due date

are adequately maintained so as to provide a welcoming and homely environment within both individual and shared living spaces;

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Requirement Due date

are designed, furnished and maintained to remove avoidable hazards which could pose a health and safety risk to children;

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Requirement Due date

comply with all relevant statutory provisions dealing with health and safety or fire safety matters. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(v)(ix)(x)) 8 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for monitoring and improving the quality of support provided by the supported accommodation undertaking by completing a review ("a quality of support review") at least once every six months, which must take into account—

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Requirement Due date

the views of children, including any feedback and complaints received;

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Requirement Due date

feedback from individual children on the impact the supported accommodation has had on the child’s life, especially regarding how well prepared the child felt for transition into supported accommodation and how well 8 September 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Liberty ILS ltd 7 prepared the child feels for transition out of supported accommodation;

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Requirement Due date

feedback from each child’s accommodating authority, staff and any relevant persons.

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Requirement Due date

any relevant research and developments in relation to the way in which the needs of children are best met.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of support review, the registered person must produce a written report setting out the actions the registered person intends to take as a result of that quality of support review.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the review report to the CIECSS within 28 days beginning with the day on which the report is completed and make a copy of it available on request to each child’s accommodating authority. (Regulation 32 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d) (2) (3))

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023.

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Information about this inspection

The inspection was announced on 4 August 2025, and the inspectors were on site from 6 August 2025 to 7 August 2025. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Liberty ILS ltd 8

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Registered provider address:

Registered service manager: Darrell Lewis

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Inspector

Beth Forster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Liberty ILS ltd 9 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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