Children's Home run by Omega Care Group Limited in Knowsley

Inspection report for children’s home: 2741688 1 Registered provider: Omega Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Both children spoke to the inspector about their experiences of living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 9 August 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2025

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2741688 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2025 Full Outstanding 06/03/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2741688 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children at this home receive exceptional personalised care tailored to their individual needs. The registered manager and staff demonstrate outstanding multi-agency working to ensure that children’s needs are consistently met to a high standard. They are proactive in seeking out additional resources and tapping into other professionals to inform their own practice for the benefit of children in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are central to decision-making at this home. Their well-being, safety and progress drive continuous improvements across the staff team. Research and theory underpin practice at the home, and staff use relevant models and approaches to meet children’s needs. This ensures that children are cared for by a highly skilled staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff prioritise building excellent relationships with children and are creative in how they achieve this. Relationships with children are sustained beyond living at the home, and one child remains in touch with staff and visits regularly. Staff continue to offer support to the child. This provides children with a sense of stability and security for now and in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Professionals and family members are extremely positive about the home and praise staff for their approaches to caring for children. The registered manager and staff are strong communicators and ensure that relevant agencies and family members are kept up to date and consulted with regularly. One professional said that they ‘feel like the staff really care’ and ‘they’re amazing’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are listened to at this home, and their views are regularly sought. Staff advocate strongly for children and ensure that their wishes and feelings are heard. Staff have been instrumental in ensuring that one child sees their family on a regular basis, following requests from the child. Staff encourage quality time for children and the important people in their lives to maintain significant relationships. This ensures that children have good support around them and feel a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children live in a welcoming home. It is well maintained, with photos of the children and staff around the home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and the children enjoy caring for their own small pets. This allows children to live in a homely environment where they feel comfortable and settled.

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

Children are supported by staff who are dedicated about keeping children safe. Staff are attuned to the needs of children and build trusting relationships with them. One professional said, ‘Staff provide a stable base for [name of child] to express their feelings.’ This provides children with safe adults who they can have open conversations with and share any worries or concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: 2741688 4 Staff have excellent knowledge of how to keep children safe. They build on their knowledge through specific training and through seeking advice from relevant professionals. Staff and the registered manager work exceptionally well with other agencies to ensure there is an effective multi-agency plan in place for children to keep them safe and reduce risks.

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

Staff are extremely proactive in engaging with children about their known risks to support and educate them on how to keep themselves safe. They talk to children regularly and use external resources to build children’s knowledge about risks.

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

Though incidents are rare, when these have occurred, staff’s responses have been comprehensive, and appropriate steps have been taken to ensure that children are kept safe. Children receive excellent support following incidents. This shows children they are important, are valued and that their safety and well-being are paramount.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is extremely aspirational for children. He ensures that practice in the home is child centred, and he has high expectations from the staff team about providing consistently high standards of care. The manager is enthusiastic about his role and drives this positivity and energy across the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are excellent advocates for children, and they will challenge parents and professionals where required to ensure that children’s voices are heard. This shows children that their voices are central to their care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are supported with regular supervision sessions and team meetings. Team meetings are of an exceptional standard, and these are used to bring about strong improvements in the care of children. Theories and research are used to inform practice at this home. This is encouraged by the manager and implemented to support children, with their needs central to training and discussion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are very complimentary about the support from leaders and managers. The registered manager knows the team well and prioritises staff development. This supports a skilled staff team, which allows children to be cared for by people who are familiar to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager took swift action to obtain an updated plan for a child when it was identified during the inspection that it had not been received. This did not impact on the care provided to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements were made during this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2741688 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person must ensure that they challenge (under regulation 5(c)) any placing authority when the child’s care plan and other relevant documents have not been received when updated, in line with the home’s escalation policy. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5)

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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: 2741688 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Omega Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 40-42 Kemble Street, Prescot L34 5SQ

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Inspector

Danielle Allen, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2741688 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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