Children's home run by New Roots Children’s Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2699772 1 Registered provider: New Roots Children’s 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 private provider. It can provide care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 2 children living at the home at the time of this inspection. Both children were seen, and one child was spoken to, but the other child declined to speak to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 6 November 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2699772 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2024 Full Good 05/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2699772 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff provide children with care that is warm and nurturing, and praise is constantly given. Children’s individual needs are at the forefront of everything that happens in the home. Staff work hard to get to know the children so that they can provide individual care and support. One professional praised staff for meeting children ‘where they are at’, allowing them to be themselves and helping them to feel safe and comfortable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make excellent progress from their starting points. Staff use their knowledge of the children to prioritise helping them in the areas where they need it most. This is aided by the creation of a detailed care plan, when children move into the home, with input from the in-house psychologist. This plan is central to the care that the children receive and is used to identify areas where children need the most support and to then track and monitor any progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are encouraged to develop self-care skills and to learn how to be independent in line with their ages and stages of development. Two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection in a planned way. Staff supported the children well with their move to their next home, and because of the strong relationships developed, staff continue to provide ongoing emotional and practical support. Children and young people speak positively about their time living at the home. Furthermore, children’s memories are well preserved by the staff, who make creative memory books and keep mementos for them. One child who has moved on from the home expressed how much they valued the memory book that staff had created.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s health needs are met very well and where previous health needs have not been met, action is taken to address this. Staff receive bespoke training to meet children’s individual health needs to ensure that they can confidently and safely care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Education is prioritised in the home and staff are creative in engaging children with their learning, including helping them to access learning from home. Children that have not attended school for a significant time prior to living in the home, now attend full time. Staff work closely in conjunction with education staff to ensure that the children have the support that they need to achieve their education goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff prioritise children’s ongoing relationships with family members and friends. This includes staff taking children to see people that are important to them. When appropriate, children’s families are also welcomed into the home. Children’s time with their family has progressed as a result, including time spent with their sisters and brothers. Furthermore, the manager advocates on behalf of the children, when changes need to be made to these family-time arrangements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2699772 4 Staff ensure that children are offered and take part in a variety of activities. This includes clay pigeon shooting, boxing and bowling. The children’s friends are encouraged to participate. This is helping children to develop social skills and further develop their friendships, while having fun.

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

Children are kept safe in the home. They are rewarded regularly for positive achievements, and clear boundaries are in place that help children feel safe. The children have detailed safety plans that comprehensively consider any risks pertinent to each child. These are updated regularly, and staff have clear guidance, which they follow, about what actions they must take to help keep the children safe.

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

Staff receive specialist training when needed, for example in respect of substance misuse. This means that staff are not only equipped to deal with the presenting issues to offer the right support, but they can work directly with a child who is refusing to engage with external support services. Staff work with children to understand the impact of the drugs on their body. As a result, the concerns around drug misuse have decreased for one child.

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

Children no longer go missing from the home. However, staff know what action to take to find them should they do so. When a child last went missing, staff followed the missing protocol and used the child’s network of family and friends to try and locate the child. The intervention of staff means that children no longer feel the need to go missing from the home as they recognise the risks.

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

When there are concerns about a child’s risks and vulnerabilities outside in the community, staff complete liaise closely with external professionals. This helps staff to understand the relationships and influence of peers and other external factors on children. By sharing and discussing this with the child, there has been a reduction in the risks from the community. Additionally, staff develop trusting relationships with the child’s family members and peers. This creates an open environment, where friends and family now feel able to share any worries about the child’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There have been 2 managers during this inspection period. The previous manager moved on from the post in December 2025 to another role in the organisation but still plays a supportive role in the home. The new manager has progressed from within the home in a planned way, having previously been a deputy manager. This has ensured continuity for the children and there has been no negative impact on them as a result of the change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have a very thorough understanding of each of the child’s needs, of what is working well for them and what needs to be improved. They are aspirational for the children in their care and advocate for them to have their needs met to the highest Inspection report for children’s home: 2699772 5 standard. The children’s welfare is the utmost priority, and this permeates through the staff team. Managers are tenacious in ensuring that children are properly supported by the right services, and they advocate strongly on their behalf, when there are shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is fully staffed, and staff say that they really enjoy working here. Staff are recruited safely and careful consideration is given to the skills that they can bring. Managers ensure that there is a gender balance in the staff team, as one child has expressed a preference for male workers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

New staff have a comprehensive induction. Staff feel well supported by the management team and say that the managers are approachable and that they feel able to confidently progress in their careers. Staff are enthusiastic and remark that the best thing is about how well the children are cared for and the ethos in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Supervision sessions for staff are regular and reflective, and the manager also facilitates additional reflective supervision with the psychologist for the staff team. This is their space to explore any practice issues in depth, and they use these opportunities well. Training for staff is up to date and additional training is sourced when evident gaps arise, such as when a child had a particular medical condition. The psychologist provides specific training around areas of significance, where necessary, and this helps staff to feel confident that they have the right knowledge and skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers in the home have continual oversight of what is happening and make good use of monitoring tools and independent visits to make improvements to the home. Managers and staff learn from incidents to try and prevent them from occurring in future. They advocate for children, when necessary, and challenge professionals appropriately, leading to effective change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Some staff are not within timescales for completing their diploma qualifications, but this has been due to issues with the assessors. There are now clear action plans in place and staff are making very good progress towards their qualifications, with support from the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals are very positive about the care that the children receive and the way that staff look after them. They say staff go above and beyond. Inspection report for children’s home: 2699772 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). The registered person may extend the time period if the member of staff has not worked in the role for a prolonged period, such as when on sick leave or maternity leave, or if it is not reasonable to expect the member of staff to complete the qualification in this timescale due to the nature of the hours they work. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.12) Inspection report for children’s home: 2699772 7

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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: 2699772 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Roots Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 139 Stoney Lane, Rainhill, Prescot L35 9JY

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Inspector

Amy Groom, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2699772 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 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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