Children's home run by Teen-Works Care Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 1 SC472480 Registered provider: Teen-Works 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

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2014.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: 10 December 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/12/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/03/2024 Full Good 29/11/2022 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy, settled and thriving. They are making good progress in all aspects of their lives. One child said, ‘I like living here, I know that the staff really care about me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a stable family environment where they feel loved and secure. Children enjoy good relationships with staff and each other. They choose to spend lots of time with staff and enjoy doing activities together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff nurture children’s interests and encourage them to participate in new activities. For example, one child has recently started attending police cadets after sharing an aspiration for a career in the uniformed services. In addition, children regularly enjoy day trips out and went on holiday together in the summer. One member of staff said, ‘It’s incredibly rewarding to be part of a team that makes such a positive difference in young people’s lives. Watching them discover new talents, build self-esteem and develop life skills is one of the most fulfilling parts of my job.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education. They are ambitious for children to do well and are good advocates for them. Children attend school regularly and are making progress with their learning. One child has recently returned to full-time education following a period of disrupted attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy good health. Staff understand children’s healthcare needs and encourage them to be active and have a healthy, balanced diet. Staff look for ways to make exercise fun and are successfully encouraging children to incorporate exercise into their daily routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to learn new skills and be increasingly independent. Children are encouraged to complete household chores, such as tidying their bedrooms and doing their laundry. One child is learning to travel independently and to practise budgeting, shopping and cooking. This is helping the child to develop the skills and confidence they need to live independently in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Up-to-date copies of children’s personal education plans (PEPs) and annual health assessments are not held on all children’s records. This means that staff do not have access to important information about children. In addition, one child’s placing authority is not taking timely action to assess the support that the child will need to live independently when they leave care. The manager has made numerous requests for the assessments and copies of the missing documents. However, she has not escalated her concerns with the placing authorities effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm and welcoming home, which provides children with a comfortable, homely space for them to relax and spend time in. Children personalise their bedrooms according to their individual interests and tastes. Staff encourage Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 4 children to take pride in their bedrooms and responsibility for keeping them clean and tidy.

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

Children say that they feel safe living at the home. Staff have a clear understanding of the individual risks to children. Children’s risk management plans are reviewed and updated regularly. They provide clear guidance on the action that staff should take when concerns arise. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding processes and know what to do if they have a concern.

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

Children are settled, and incidents where they are upset or distressed are rare. There have been no incidents where staff have needed to use physical intervention to keep children safe.

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

One child struggles to manage their emotions when they are at school. Staff help the child to identify strategies to better manage their emotions and regain their calm. For example, they practise deep-breathing exercises and count to 10 when they feel angry.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. There are clear procedures in place for staff to follow if a child does go missing from the home. This supports staff to respond in a consistent and effective way.

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

Staff undertake direct work with children to help them understand how to keep themselves safe. This work is focused on areas of vulnerability and risk for the child. However, some of the language used to record this work is complex and difficult to understand. This is not helpful to children when they want to read their records.

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

When employing new staff, the manager takes care to obtain a full employment history and references from the person’s current employer. However, she has not taken steps to verify the reasons why staff have left their previous roles in the care sector. This is required by regulation and is a missed opportunity to ensure that the manager has sufficient information about the prospective employee.

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

Children know how to complain. Complaints are taken seriously, and the manager investigates the matter fully and informs the child of the outcome. As a result, children know that their voice is heard and acted on.

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

Staff consistently promote children’s positive behaviour. There are clear boundaries, routines and expectations in place, which the children respond well to. Staff celebrate and reward children’s achievements and progress. This praise and recognition helps to enhance children’s self-esteem and confidence. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably experienced and qualified manager. She has taken action to address the shortfalls identified at the last full inspection and prioritised improving the quality of care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children well and enjoys spending time with them. She is caring and child centred. The manager works proactively and effectively with other agencies and professionals for the benefit of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. This supports them to reflect on their practice and identify any areas for development. In addition, staff receive an annual appraisal of their performance. The manager ensures that the views of the children are incorporated into the appraisal of each staff member’s performance. This is helpful to staff, and it also helps children to understand that their views are important.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work collaboratively to provide children with consistency and stability. Communication is good and team meetings are held regularly. Leaders and managers use team meetings to reinforce their expectations about staff practice and to ensure that children’s needs are well understood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There was an unsettled period where the manager struggled to fill vacancies in the staff team. Staff from other homes in the organisation worked at the home to cover gaps in the rota. However, there is now a full staff team in place. This helps to provide children with continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported and valued by their managers. One member of staff said, ‘[Manager’s name] creates a calm and caring atmosphere where both staff and young people can flourish.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must escalate their concerns with the placing authority when they do not carry out appropriate assessments in a timely manner and when they do not provide the relevant care planning documentation. 31 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3);

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that if a member of staff has previously worked in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults, they seek to verify, so far as is reasonably practicable, the reason why the employment ended. 31 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a way that will be helpful to the child. This specifically relates to ensuring that the language used is easy for children to understand when they read their own records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC472480 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Teen-Works Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 509-510 Cotton Exchange, Bixteth Street, Liverpool L3 9LQ

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Inspector

Sophie Thomson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC472480 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 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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