Children's Home run by Barnardo Services Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2541467 1 Registered provider: Barnardo 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 operated by a registered charity. Staff provide care for up to four children who may be experiencing social and emotional issues. The home operates under a contract arrangement with the local authority in which it is situated.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were three children living at the home. The inspector spoke to all three children during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024.

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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: 4 December 2024

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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: 2541467 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/12/2024 Full Good 15/02/2024 Full Good 05/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2541467 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy living at the home. Moves in and out of the home are well planned. Welcome guides help children to settle well into the home. Children who have left the home stay in touch. One child said, ‘I love it here it’s calm.’ Staff encourage children to develop their independence and prepare them for their next steps. Several children have moved to semi-independent living with strong support from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children and have a nurturing approach, taking things slowly when a child needs space. Children have positive relationships with staff, who speak with genuine affection and pride about the children they care for. Staff consistently treat children with dignity and respect.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive behaviours are actively encouraged. Children’s achievements are quickly recognised, rewarded and celebrated, helping to build their self-esteem and support the development of good character.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly. When a school placement does not meet the child’s needs, the manager challenges this effectively. In one child’s case, a collaborative approach resulted in a new school provision being identified and commenced within one week.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to take part in activities at their own pace and preference. Children enjoy spending time interacting with staff and relaxing in the safe space the home provides. The atmosphere is warm and lively, filled with singing and laughter. Children are happy at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their family and friends in line with agreed plans. They are supported to maintain important relationships in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Children are encouraged to attend routine health appointments, such as the dentist and optician. When specialist health intervention is needed, such as child and adolescent mental health services, staff take action to secure this support. However, when children refuse to attend health appointments or accept treatment, follow ups are not consistently recorded. This means there are some gaps in health records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. The children are invited to share their aspirations for the home and how rooms are used. This supports children to feel a sense of belonging. Children have their own personal space with all the necessary furnishings they need. One child finds it difficult to keep their bedroom clean and tidy and it looks very different to the other children’s bedrooms. Inspection report for children’s home: 2541467 4

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

Staff know the children well and understand their behaviours. Staff are proactive in identifying potential issues, their practice includes diversion and de-escalation techniques. Staff’s calm and nurturing approach has resulted in a decrease in challenging behaviour at the home.

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

Staff work well with wider professionals to understand and minimise risks for children. Physical intervention has not been required. When required, restorative approaches are used in a proportionate and constructive way, helping children to learn and develop.

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

Children know how to raise concerns. Staff understand safeguarding procedures to ensure that children’s welfare remains a priority. When the manager becomes aware of safeguarding concerns relating to children who have moved out of the home, she advocates on their behalf to ensure their safety.

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

Children enjoy positive relationships and share the living space harmoniously. Before admitting a child, the manager carefully considers the needs of the children already living at the home. She makes every effort to gather as much information as possible to ensure that children can live together happily.

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

Children are kept safe from online exploitation. Staff apply their training on the risks of online grooming and radicalisation effectively, tailoring their approach to the individual needs of the children in their care. They have a clear understand of each child’s vulnerabilities and are prepared to implement appropriate strategies should risk levels change

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

Staff use protected time to talk to the children about things that are important to them. Topics include safeguarding risks, health and well-being and trying new activities. The manager provides thorough oversight of all these conversations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced registered manager in post. She has a clear vision of what she wants to achieve for the children and for the development of the staff team. She is a strong advocate for children’s next steps when leaving the home. She challenges education professionals when their educational needs are not being met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable and consistent team of staff who are child focused. They are experienced and feel proud to work at the home. Staff work well as a team and the manager leads by example. The manager cares about staff development and well-being. As a result, children receive care from staff who know them well and provide them with continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly, are well attended and staff understand their value. These meetings provide an opportunity for staff to come together and share information Inspection report for children’s home: 2541467 5 about children and operational matters at the home. All staff receive regular supervision, which is practice related to support their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have the necessary qualifications and skills to fulfil their roles effectively. Comprehensive records are maintained to ensure that staff training remains up to date and current. All staff are qualified or working towards their level 3 diploma in residential childcare. This ensures that staff continuously develop their skills and knowledge, enabling them to provide competent and good-quality care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place for the monitoring and oversight of the home. She uses these systems effectively to highlight positive practice, address any shortfalls and drive improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not addressed the independent person’s repeated failure to monitor children’s bedrooms during several visits. Additionally, the quality-of-care review does not include staff feedback.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff support children to take their prescribed medication to meet their health needs. However, some of the essential medication protocols designed to prevent dispensing errors are not fully implemented. Inspection report for children’s home: 2541467 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, 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 registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that systems in place to manage medication are consistently followed by staff and in line with the home’s medication policy. 18 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being;

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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 help each child to— 18 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2541467 7 achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(c))

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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. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when completing a quality of care review, staff feedback is taken into consideration and evidenced in the report. 18 December 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2541467 8 Staff should ensure there are effective systems in place to ensure that children’s bedrooms are clean and tidy; doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. In doing so, they will promote self-care and independence (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of independent monitoring (including independent person reports). Specific and measurable actions should support continuous improvement. All areas of

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Recommendations

the home should be monitored regularly, including children’s bedrooms (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that staff support children in line with their personal education plan or education, health and care (EHC) plan and recommendations from education and health professionals. For some children who have experienced severe trauma, have mental health difficulties or have been excluded or out of education for significant periods, it may be necessary to address and work through their past experiences and present needs before they can positively participate in learning activities and formal education. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.3)

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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: 2541467 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Barnardo Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Barnardo House, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 1QG

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Inspectors

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Sam Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2541467 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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