Children's Home run by After Care (NW) Limited in Sefton

Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 1 SC042652 Registered provider: After Care (NW) 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 company. It provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. Both children were spoken to as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be 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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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/05/2024 Full Good 06/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/05/2023 Full Inadequate 09/08/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 3

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improvement to be good

One child has moved in and one child has remained living in the home since the last inspection. One child moved on from the home in a planned way to a semi-independent provision.

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improvement to be good

Care planning for children’s moves into the home is not thorough. One child moved into the home without the relevant legal documents and consents from the local authority. There was a delay in these documents being obtained, and the manager did not identify that these documents remained unsigned by the local authority. This highlights a shortfall in the manager’s oversight of essential documentation for children.

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improvement to be good

The children living in the home have made progress since they moved in based on their individual starting points. Children are supported to engage in education. For one child who had not been in education for several years, they are now engaging in education each week.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the importance of children’s relationships with people who are important to them. Staff support children to spend time with their family when it is in the children’s best interests. For one child, their younger sibling has had overnight stays at the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide opportunities for children to experience a variety of activities in line with their interests, including going to music concerts, the theatre, the beach and days out. The children capture these memories in memory books that they take ownership of.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the children’s individual needs. However, there was no local authority health assessment on file for one child, and there was no evidence that it had been requested. This limits staff’s ability to support the child’s health needs.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is welcoming, clean and comfortable. Children have been involved in the decoration of the living room. Children are supported to personalise their own bedrooms. In one child’s bedroom, their artwork is displayed on the walls.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding practice in the home is not always effective. Not all staff working in the home have an understanding of children’s specific risks and needs. This compromises the staff’s ability to safeguard children appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Appropriate action is not taken when children raise concerns regarding staff practice. Leaders and managers do not investigate allegations thoroughly, and records of any actions taken are poor. Leaders and managers do not always inform the outcome of investigations to the child or appropriate agencies. This leaves children at risk of feeling unsupported and that they are Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 4 not listened to. Following one allegation made by a child, local safeguarding professionals were not informed and Ofsted was not notified. This could leave children at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they feel safe in the home. Incidents in the home have been reduced. When children go missing from the home, staff respond quickly and effectively. Staff follow clear procedures to ensure that children return to the home quickly and safely. However, risk management plans do not always provide staff with clear guidance on how to respond to risk. On one occasion, staff did not complete a welfare check or obtain medical advice when a child was under the influence of substances. This placed the child at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children being physically held have been reduced. However, on one occasion, a child was physically held by a member of staff who had not undertaken the required training. This placed the child at risk of harm. Furthermore, records of incidents in which physical intervention has been used do not include all relevant information. Debriefs are not always completed with the child or staff involved. This is a missed opportunity to learn from these incidents and develop staff’s practice and check on their wellbeing. When children are spoken to following incidents, this is not always undertaken by someone independent of the incident.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not ensure that all recruitment checks are completed before staff work at the home. For example, references were not obtained from the most recent employer for one member of staff, gaps in employment were not identified and proof of identification was not in date. This means that children may be cared for by unsafe adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is led by an experienced registered manager who is child focused. She is committed to the children and knows them well. However, oversight in the home is not always effective, and shortfalls in staff practice are not always identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been changes to the staffing in the home since the last inspection. This means that the children have not been provided with care from a consistent staff team. Staff from other homes in the organisation and agency staff have been used to cover shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have access to a range of training, both online and in person. However, systems are not in place to ensure that staff who do not work in the home on a regular basis have the level of training, skills and knowledge to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff team members are positive about the support they receive from the registered manager. They benefit from regular supervision, which provides them with the opportunity to reflect on their practice and professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Systems are not in place to support leaders and managers in maintaining effective oversight of the care being provided in the home. This limits the opportunities for the manager to identify shortfalls in staff practice and any patterns or trends in relation to incidents. In addition, the review of quality of care has not been submitted to Ofsted within the timescales in line with regulation. Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 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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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

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all incidents are reviewed, that staff take appropriate action to safeguard children and that risk management plans are up to date, accurate and followed by staff.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff working in the home have the knowledge and understanding of the children’s specific needs and risks. 31 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to their full potential; and 31 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 6 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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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Requirement Due date

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; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that all staff working in the home, including agency staff, receive physical intervention training and have the skills, knowledge and experience to meet the children’s needs. Ensure that the manager has consistent oversight of incidents, records and documents. Where shortfalls in staff practice are identified, ensure that action is taken to address these.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response;

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Requirement Due date

describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

describe how and to whom staff are to report, without delay, any concern about abuse or neglect of a child. (Regulation 34 (1)(a) (2)(d)(e)(f)) 31 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 7 This specifically relates to ensuring that allegations made by children against staff members are thoroughly investigated and recorded.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; and

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that Ofsted is informed of all serious incidents in the home, including any allegations made by children against a person working in the home. 31 March 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; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the 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)(b)(3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that all steps are taken to obtain a reference from staff members’ most recent employer. Ensure that gaps in employment are explored, evidence of actions taken is recorded and forms of identification are in date. 31 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 8 In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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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 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they escalate concerns when local authority documents are not received. 31 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1) (3)(a)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that records of restraint are completed in full and that both staff and children receive debriefs following incidents. This should be undertaken by an independent person to the incident. 31 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 9 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.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that a quality care review is completed and shared with Ofsted. 31 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 10

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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: SC042652 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: After Care (NW) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 45 Kensington Road, Southport PR9 0RT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Timothy Blundell

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Inspector

Michelle McGrath, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC042652 12 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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