Children's Home run by Garway Young People Limited in Knowsley

Inspection report for children’s home: 2729537 1 Registered provider: Garway Young People 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

The home is privately operated. It provides care for up to two children who experience social and emotional and/or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection. One child was present and was spoken to by the inspector.

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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: 29 January 2025

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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: 2729537 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/01/2025 Full Good 05/12/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2729537 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they like living in the home. Staff take the time to get to know the children, their likes and interests to help them develop positive relationships. Staff are creative with direct work to gather children’s views. One professional said that this has helped their child to make progress with their emotional well-being and reduce risks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional well-being are a priority for staff. The children are registered with local dentists, doctors and opticians. Staff have supported the child to stop vaping, which is positive progress for them. When children have needed additional support staff have worked with multi agency professionals to refer to external professional services. This has meant that children receive timely support tailored to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they can participate in a variety of activities. Staff involve them in planning activities, and their interests are considered and actively encouraged. One child has developed new interests and now regularly goes to the gym and swimming. This helps children to explore their interests and enhance their positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with education professionals to help children learn. When children are not attending school full time staff provide them with structured activities that offer alternative learning opportunities. Staff work well with multi-agency professionals to identify the right support for children to help support them back into an education setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with family members. Staff promote children spending time with people who are important to them, which includes paying for activities the family can enjoy together. One parent said, ‘staff are very supportive of both me and my child’. This helps children to have positive relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before a child moves into the home, the manager does not consider the child’s individual needs and vulnerabilities or how staff will meet these needs. The manager does not fully consider the impact that a child moving into the home may have on children who are already living there. This led to an increase in risks for two children and resulted in one child moving on from the home in emergency circumstances with no preparation. Furthermore, staff did not follow up with the child to support a positive ending to their time at the home. One professional said that this left the child feeling angry.

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

Risk assessments help staff to understand and respond appropriately to each child’s individual risks. Assessments are up to date and have clear guidance for staff to follow, Inspection report for children’s home: 2729537 4 which includes any indicators that a child may be at risk. This helps staff to intervene effectively when a child is at risk of harm, helping children to stay safer.

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

Staff encourage positive behaviour at the home. Staff know the children well and implement a positive structure to support children understand routines and boundaries. One professional said, ‘the child has a better understanding of boundaries and likes them as they never had these before’. This has helped the child reduce risks and adhere to boundaries in the home.

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

When an allegation is made against staff the manager takes appropriate action and works with professionals to ensure children are safe. The manager seeks the children’s views and identifies learning for staff when there have been concerns. Children are spoken to after an investigation takes place to provide the child with the outcome and reassurances.

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

Staff use effective de-escalation strategies to support children when there are incidents of concern. Children are held by staff when this is necessary to keep everyone safe. Staff are building their understanding of the child and how to respond in the best way. This has led to a reduction of incidents within the home. However, following the use of restraint, children are not always given the opportunity to discuss the incident and share their views with an independent person. As a result, the impact on children is not always understood by the manager or staff.

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

When children go missing from home, staff understand what to do. Missing-from-home protocols are followed by staff who actively search for children to help them to return home safely. When children return home, children are offered support and a warm welcome from staff. However, they are not always offered the opportunity to speak to an independent person or have a return home interview. This prevents children from having the opportunity to share any worries they may have.

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

Safer recruitment checks on staff are not always undertaken. There are gaps in staff employment history and agency staff from overseas do not have relevant checks completed. This means that all staff working with children are not vetted as safe to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by an experienced manager who knows the children well. The manager is committed to supporting children to achieve the best outcomes. The manager is ambitious for the future of the home and wants to continuously improve the care they offer to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear audit process in place to review the care children receive. All safeguarding incidents are reviewed thoroughly in monthly audits, and the needs of children are considered. There are clear actions and escalation can be seen to progress any shortfalls. This helps children receive care that meets their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729537 5 The manager and staff have developed strong working relationships with multi-agency professionals and parents. They have provided appropriate challenge and advocated for the children where this has been required. For example, gaining the right support for children to access education and to progress health assessments. One professional said, ‘the manager has been like a dog with a bone to get the best outcome for [Name of child]. This challenge has been effective in helping children to achieve better outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly. The findings from audits that the management team have undertaken and is fed through to the staff team and clear actions set. They provide staff with clear and consistent messages on expectations. This helps children receive consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s files do not have up to date information. Staff do not always record the support they have offered children or ensure that children’s essential documents are held on their files. This includes up to date care plans for children from their placing authorities and health assessments. This prevents staff and children from being able to read important information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are not always provided with regular support. There are gaps in some staff’s practice-related supervision sessions, this includes new members of staff. When supervision takes place, this is not always reflective. Supervisions are brief and actions are not always followed up or set from one supervision to the next. This prevents staff from having the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729537 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iii)) 29 April 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 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

The requirements are that— 29 April 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729537 7 the individual is of integrity and good character;

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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)(a)(d))

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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)) 29 April 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 kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 29 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure children who have been restrained are given the opportunity express their feelings about their experience of the restraint, ideally within 24 hours. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint. Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this (regulation 7(2)(b)(iii)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered manager should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return

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Recommendations

home interview. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729537 8 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: 2729537 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Garway Young People Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 23 Immingham Drive, Liverpool L19 2HB

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Inspector

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2729537 10 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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