Children's Home run by Attivo Care Ltd in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2828870 1 Registered provider: Attivo 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 and operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2828870 2

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall experiences and progress are affected by inconsistencies in staff practice and weaknesses in leadership and management. While there has been progress from children’s starting points, this varies between children. One child is making good progress, whilst progress for another child is limited. One child was spoken to during the inspection and said that they enjoyed living at the home and like the staff team.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers carefully consider each child’s needs and the skills of the staff team before agreeing a move into the home. Where possible, children are supported to visit the home prior to moving in. This helps children to settle more easily.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with their families and recognise the importance of these connections. However, staff do not record when they have supported children to spend time with their families. This means records are incomplete and opportunities to capture positive memories are missed.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. When children struggle to attend health appointments, staff continue to encourage them and rescheduled appointments to ensure that they have access to appropriate health care.

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improvement to be good

Both children are accessing education and have good attendance. Staff work closely with children’s schools and offer professional challenge when required. A professional from one child’s school reported that communication from the staff team is good and that they are kept regularly updated on the plans to safeguard the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff hold meaningful conversations with children about topics important to them. For example, both children have been encouraged to think about their futures beyond education and have been offered advice and guidance to support this. When children struggle to engage, staff persevere in their efforts to build positive relationships with them.

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improvement to be good

Consequences used by staff to promote positive behaviour are not always proportionate or effective. Although leaders and managers have identified this at times, there has been no learning and ineffective or disproportionate consequences have been repeated.

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improvement to be good

There has been an ineffective response to substance misuse. Gaps within risk assessments mean that staff do not have sufficient guidance on how to respond Inspection report for children’s home: 2828870 3 when children may be under the influence. Staff also do not take appropriate action when informed by parents or school that a child is under the influence.

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improvement to be good

When children are missing from home, staff search for them and report them missing to the police in line with their plans. However, the recording of these incidents is poor. Not all actions are documented, which limits effective management oversight and hinders the development of staff practice.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond inconsistently when children stay out of the home without authorisation. They do not always complete in-person checks and when concerns arise that a child may be misusing substances in a family members home, the staff team do not follow this up. Leaders and managers challenge this practice in some instances.

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improvement to be good

Staff responded well to an incident of self-harm. They visited the child in school to check on their welfare and offer emotional support. They ensured that the environment was safe by carrying out room searches and making sure that the child was aware of this.

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improvement to be good

On one occasion, staff did not adequately supervise a child during their time with their sibling. This lack of supervision contributed to the child’s time with their sibling cut short due to their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The leadership and management of the home is ineffective. The home does not have a stable leadership team to oversee children’s day-to-day care, which means shortfalls in staff practice are not identified or addressed. At the time of this inspection, no manager was in post and the provider is in the process of recruiting for this role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and review systems at the home are ineffective and management oversight and evaluation remains inconsistent. Leaders and managers show some insight into areas for development, but they overlook several shortfalls in staff practice. These shortfalls continue to be repeated and there is little evidence of learning to improve the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Recording and reporting at the home are poor. Records do not always accurately reflect all actions taken during incidents and there are gaps in children’s daily records. One child’s care plan is not updated regularly. Children’s records are not consistently signed and dated, making it difficult to identify the author. This lack of clarity prevents accountability and limits effective scrutiny of staff practice and the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff team is unstable with several members of staff leaving within a short timeframe, including managers and the deputy manager. This instability contributes to inconsistency in staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2828870 4 Staff speak positively about working at the home and say that they feel supported in their roles. However, they do not receive regular supervision. This lack of supervision does not help them develop the knowledge and skills needed to provide good quality care to children. When supervision does take place, it is used to address staff practice, however, at times this focus overshadows reflection on the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers recognise the need to develop the staff team. Training opportunities are good and generally well attended, with only a small number of gaps for two members of staff. Leaders and managers are beginning to introduce reflective practice, encouraging staff to consider what is working well and what needs to improve to support their development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2828870 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, 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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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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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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have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare.

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(Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)).

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In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff take effective action in response to children being under the influence of substances. They must ensure that children’s risk assessments offer staff clear guidance to respond to safeguarding concerns. 13 February

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The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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promotes their welfare. 13 February Inspection report for children’s home: 2828870 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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(Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(f)(h)).

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In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is effective oversight of children’s care. They must ensure there are effective monitoring and review systems in place to understand the quality of care provided to children and enable them to identify and address shortfalls in staff practice.

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The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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there is no registered manager in respect of the home.

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If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the

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home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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the name of the person so appointed; and

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the date on which the appointment takes effect.

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(Regulation 27 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)). 27 February

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

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include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; 13 February Inspection report for children’s home: 2828870 7 are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans are regularly updated and that children’s records accurately reflect their experiences and the actions taken by staff. They must ensure that records are signed and dated by the author, particularly in regard to management oversight.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with a homely, domestic environment, which is personalised and maintained to a high standard (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9).  The registered person should ensure that consequences given to children are fair and proportionate. They should ensure there is good quality management oversight to monitor the effectiveness of consequences given (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 46, paragraph 9.36).

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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: 2828870 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Attivo Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Attivo Care, Office 1, 41-43 Liverpool Road, Manchester M44 5BQ

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Inspectors

Hayley Smith, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Danielle Allen, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2828870 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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