Children's home run by Inspire Children’s Services Limited in St. Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 1 Registered provider: Inspire Children’s Services 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

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or may have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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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 good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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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: 1240801 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2024 Full Good 16/05/2023 Full Good 08/11/2022 Full Good 23/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have remained living in the home, and two children have moved out. One child has moved into another of the organisation’s homes, and one child has returned to the care of their family. Leaders and managers carefully consider the needs of all children when moving children into and out of the home. Decisions are made in children’s best interests. Children who move on from the home are offered continued support to ensure a smooth transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children were spoken to as part of the inspection. Children spoke positively of staff, and the home was filled with positivity and laughter. Staff and children spend time together, both in the home and in the community. Children are offered regular activities which are in line with their interests. One child had recently enjoyed a trip away to a caravan park, spending time going on bike rides with staff and visiting funfairs. This supports staff in developing positive relationships with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in education. There has been a significant improvement in children’s attendance at school. The manager and staff team work closely with children’s schools and the virtual school team to support them in accessing education. When there have been delays in an appropriate educational provision being provided for children, the manager has acted as an advocate for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Staff ensure that children attend their health appointments and have access to wider support agencies to ensure their needs are promoted, for example mental health services or drug and alcohol services. Staff spent time with one child to explain a therapeutic service that was on offer to them. This helped the child understand the benefits of this support and helped them to make informed choices about their care. However, children’s health plans are not regularly updated with all relevant information. This does not support staff in monitoring the children’s health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to be a part of their care planning and ensure they have access to advocacy services. For one child, this has meant that they attended their recent care review and that their time with their family has increased.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming in its appearance. Children have been able to personalise their rooms, and they are actively involved in planning for the decor of the rest of the home. This provides children with a sense of ownership and belonging. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 4

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

Staff know children well and understand their risks.

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

Staff respond well to incidents of self-harm. Children are offered empathy and reassurance. Staff provide first aid and seek further medical advice and support when necessary. The consistent response of the staff team has supported children in opening up about their feelings.

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

When there are concerns for children being absent or missing from the home, staff are proactive in ensuring their welfare. Staff search for children, contact their family and friends, and follow protocols to report them missing. One child was absent from the home as they chose to return to the care of their family. Staff worked closely with the child’s family, the local authority, and wider support services to plan for the child’s safety. The positive relationship staff had built with the child’s family meant that they were able to provide daily support, which contributed to the child being able to successfully return to their family’s care.

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

There is a clear plan in place for monitoring children’s online safety. When there are known risks to children online, daily device checks are put in place. This strategy has been effective in preventing safeguarding incidents for children.

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

Allegations and complaints made by children are taken seriously. Leaders and managers explore concerns and involve relevant professionals to ensure they are working transparently. Children receive a formal response from the manager. This lets children know that their voices are heard.

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

Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans include strategies and interventions which are personalised to the children’s needs. However, risk assessments do not always have up-to-date information or clear guidance for staff to follow for children’s time out of the home. This does not support staff in safeguarding children.

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

There have been no physical interventions for children since the last inspection and there has been a reduction in incidents within the home. However, there are some missed opportunities for staff to de-escalate incidents through understanding and exploring children’s feelings and behaviours. The manager is aware of this as a learning need and has identified further training for the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and enthusiastic manager in post. The manager has a positive relationship with the children and knows them well. The manager has implemented monitoring and review systems. This helps them to have a clear understanding of current risks and progress made by children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 5 There is a positive dynamic in the home and the staff team work well together. Staff speak highly of the leadership team. They say that they feel well supported and enjoy their roles. One member of staff said that leaders and managers ‘always give you a voice’ and they valued being able to contribute their views to the children’s care. Staff receive regular supervision. This provides staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and identify areas for development. The manager also holds regular team meetings, which are used as a learning opportunity. The manager will cover workshops

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

on relevant topics and invite external professionals to enhance staff’s knowledge around the children’s needs and behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the children’s day-to-day care and is actively involved in exploring any safeguarding concerns. Although there is clear management oversight across children’s records, staff’s recording in incident records is inconsistent. The manager does not always highlight this. This limits the effectiveness of the manager’s evaluation of incidents and opportunities to improve staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 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 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

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.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s care plans and risk management plans contain accurate, up-to date information for staff to follow. 9 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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 staff— 9 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 7 meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(v)(ix)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to understand and explore children’s experiences and behaviours in order to de-escalate incidents effectively.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that recording in children’s incident records is accurate and includes all relevant information. 9 October 2025

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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: 1240801 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Inspire Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 3, Craig Court, Standish Street, St Helens WA10 1GJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michael Bradshaw

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Inspector

Hayley Smith, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1240801 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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