Children's Home run by Continuum Support - Care Services Limited in Warrington

Inspection report for children's home: 2732421 1 Registered provider: Continuum Support - Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is privately operated and provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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Information about this children's home

One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2732421 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2025 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2732421 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has trusting relationships in the home. Staff know the child well and offer high- quality care and nurture. Staff talk about the child with warmth and ambition. They offer encouragement, praise and realistic goal setting. This approach has contributed to the child having a permanent home for over a year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to have meaningful time with their family, which is important to them. Staff have supervised family time if this has been required. One family member said that they have no concerns about the care that is being provided to the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is provided with a nice home environment. The home is well maintained, with personal touches and photos. They have everything they need in a bedroom that is personalised to them, but they are also encouraged to share their views on any changes they wish to make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has appropriate educational provision in place. However, there are barriers to their attendance. Staff do promote the child's attendance through rewards and incentives to try and encourage them to attend.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to lead a healthy lifestyle and talk to the child about the importance of attending routine health appointments. Staff understand the child's experiences and interactions outside of the home. As a result, the child is attending appointments more regularly and engaging with health professionals to reduce risks associated with substance misuse.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is offered a variety of activities with staff. However, external pull factors limit the child's involvement in planned activities. Staff continue to think creatively and offer new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are supporting the child to develop their independence skills. They listen to the child's views and work with professionals to plan for the child's future.

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

Staff understand the child's risks and vulnerabilities and share information with other professionals as required. Staff are confident in addressing concerns and do not shy away from holding a difficult conversation. This helps the child to feel safe.

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

Missing-from-home incidents have reduced. Staff respond quickly and effectively when the child is missing. They actively search for the child, remaining in contact and offering support to return the child home safely. They coordinate a good multi-agency response and speak with family and friends. Staff discuss the reasons for the child going missing Inspection report for children's home: 2732421 4 and use this information to reduce further incidents. Staff ensure that the child understands the actions taken to return them home safely.

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

Staff respond proactively and consistently to any concerns relating to substance misuse. Bedroom searches are carried out appropriately and in line with policy, with the purpose of removing any harmful or illegal items. The child is either present during the search or is clearly informed of the reasons for it. When items are found, staff take prompt action by notifying the relevant professionals and ensuring appropriate follow-up.

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

The child is offered key-work sessions following any incident, room search or emerging concern. These sessions are detailed, reflective and clearly document the conversations held with the child about risks, safety planning and their understanding.

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

Staff have taken proactive steps to reduce fire risks associated with the child smoking. The home requested a visit from the fire service, who provided advice and resources to improve safety. Following this, staff implemented changes to the environment and updated the child's risk assessment. These changes were discussed with the child to ensure that they understood the reasons and were engaged in the safety planning process.

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

Staff have not needed to use physical intervention. Staff use incentives in line with the child's interests or aspirations to encourage positive behaviour. When consequences are in place, they are proportionate and are discussed with the child, so they understand the reason for the measure.

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

Risk assessments contain known risks for the child with guidance for staff to follow. However, they are not updated routinely to reflect actions taken by staff to reduce risk. This means that staff do not always have the most up-to-date information when caring for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child-centred and focused on supporting the child to make meaningful progress. They recognise periods of instability and respond proactively, using effective multi-agency working to ensure that the child receives the right support at the right time. The manager has a clear understanding of the home's strengths and areas for development and uses this insight to drive improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager recognises the child's progress, taking full account of their starting points. Small achievements are acknowledged and celebrated, helping to build the child's confidence and sense of accomplishment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection there have been changes in the staff team. There is now a stable staff team in place that provides consistent care for the child. Staff say that they enjoy coming to work and describe 'loving' their jobs. Inspection report for children's home: 2732421 5 Staff receive regular supervision sessions and attend team meetings. These sessions provide staff with ample opportunities to discuss the child and reflect on their practice. The manager tests staff knowledge during supervision through scenario-based questions to ensure that staff understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. Staff describe a learning culture in the home where shortfalls are addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a broad range of training opportunities. These are regularly reviewed and consider the child's individual needs and behaviours. Staff receive annual appraisals on their work performance. These include reflections of staff's strengths and areas for further development. The child's comments about the staff member are included.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Multi-agency working is effective. It has been used to seek additional support to help the child to settle and plan for the future. Professionals describe good communication with the manager and say that they are kept well informed about the child's care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When complaints arise, these are managed effectively. Records detail clear actions taken to address concerns, and there is clear rationale for decisions made. There is good managerial oversight of any follow-up actions to ensure that they are completed. Inspection report for children's home: 2732421 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are aware of the complaints procedure and reminded of this where necessary. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should ensure that they continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Risk assessments should be kept up to date and include details of the steps staff will take to manage any assessed risks. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 2732421 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Continuum Support - Care Services Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Sinclair Accounting Co Ltd, 300 St. Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

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Inspectors

Rebecca Robson, Social Care Inspector Leanne Carr, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2732421 8 regulates 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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