Children's home run by Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 1 SC036298 Registered provider: Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council

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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 short-breaks service is operated by the local authority. It is registered to care for up to five children at one time, who have physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children staying on the first day of inspection, two of these children stayed again on the second day. The inspector spoke with all three children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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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: 22 October 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: SC036298 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2024 Full Good 25/01/2024 Full Good 21/02/2023 Full Good 22/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who enjoy short-break stays are cared for by staff who understand and prioritise their needs. Positive relationships at the home support children to experience a sense of fun and safety. This is a real strength of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children who communicate non-verbally or are developing their communication to express their views and wishes. They use a variety of visual, tactile and verbal techniques to ensure that all children are supported to communicate with others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with cognitive or physical impairments to overcome barriers to participation and engage in a range of activities in the community and at the home. They are encouraged to be active, enjoy new experiences and have fun. There are photos of the children taking part in a variety of activities that are collated in a brochure called ‘The [name of the home] Times’. Children enjoy looking back on these memories, and this encourages other children to try new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions in and out of the home are well planned, and children receive consistent support at their own individual pace. Staff support children transitioning to adult services by helping them understand significant changes in a sensitive and meaningful way, using their preferred methods of communication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although children do not reside permanently at the home, staff communicate regularly with professionals and take part in a range of meetings about the children. This effective partnership working ensures that staff are fully aware of the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming for children and bedrooms are personalised for each child prior to their stay. Children have played an active role in helping staff create paintings in the home that capture a sense of fun. However, repairs are not always prioritised by senior leaders. Specialist equipment has been broken for some time and despite the manager requesting that it be fixed, this has not been acted upon. This means that children do not have access to all amenities during their stay at the home.

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

Staff help children to regulate their emotions and their behaviours. Physical interventions are rarely used by staff. When this does happen, they are used to protect children from harming themselves or others. There is good management oversight of incidents, and both children and staff are given the opportunity to reflect and share their feelings about what happened Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 4 Parents spoke positively about the care and support for their children at the home. Parents say their children are safe and staff understand their children’s risks and vulnerabilities.

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

Each child has a personal evacuation plan in place to help staff support them safely in the event of a fire. Children’s support plans are individualised and provide staff with clear information about how to support children and keep them safe. However, not all plans are dated or signed by the author.

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

Staff are trained to manage and administer medication to ensure that children’s health needs are met safely. There are systems in place for the admission and discharge of medication, and the manager takes immediate action if there is a medication error.

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

The recording of incidents is inconsistent. Incidents are recorded across several documents and, in some instances, there are gaps in information. Support to help children understand the impact of their behaviour is not always evident in the records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is ambitious for children. He leads by example and instils a culture of high aspiration for children throughout the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are used effectively to reflect on children’s experiences, when they stay at the home. Leaders and managers are inclusive and share information with the staff team about issues that are pertinent to the children and how any challenges may be overcome.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Permanent staff benefit from regular supervision; however, the quality of supervision is inconsistent. It is not always clear how supervision is used to support staff to improve their practice. Staff who are employed on a casual basis are not supervised in accordance with the local authority policy. This means that not all staff receive consistent support and the opportunity to reflect on their practice and care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains good oversight of the home and has enhanced the use of monitoring tools since the last inspection. This supports the manager to have a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 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, 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child (Regulation 6 (1) (c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that broken items are repaired or replaced without delay, notably the rise and fall bath. 13 January 2026

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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

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all records are succinctly recorded and support for children is clearly detailed.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all records are signed and dated by the author. 13 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff, including casual staff, receive regular good-quality supervision 13 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 6 providing them with the opportunity to reflect and develop their practice.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC036298 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Oriel Road, Bootle, Merseyside L20 7AE

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Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC036298 8 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 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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