Children's Home run by Eastfield Group in Sefton

Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 1 SC064663 Registered provider:

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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 operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 7 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, five children were 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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: SC064663 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2025 Full Good 13/05/2024 Full Good 05/03/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/08/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 3

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Summary of findings

Staff build positive relationships with children, effectively supporting their health and time spent with their family and friends. However, arrangements for education are not consistently sufficient.

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Summary of findings

Staff take appropriate action when there are concerns about children’s welfare. However, behaviour support strategies are not consistently effective or identified and addressed by leaders and managers.

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Summary of findings

There have been significant changes to the leadership and management of the home since the last inspection. However, these changes are recent and have not yet had sufficient time to demonstrate sustained impact on practice and outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build positive relationships with staff. Staff know children well and treat them with dignity and respect. Staff speak fondly and with pride about the children. Children say that they enjoy living at the home and feel respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to express their views, wishes and feelings through informal discussions, regular keyworker sessions and children's meetings. Children's views are listened to and acted upon where possible and when necessary, these are shared with relevant professionals to ensure that the child's voice is heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to take part in activities which support their hobbies and interests such as going to the cinema, go-karting, swimming, games nights and arts and crafts. Staff also respect that the older children often prefer to spend time in the community with their friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend routine health appointments and to seek specialist health support when needed such as emergency health care and the children and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS). When children do not attended appointments, staff speak to them about the importance of these appointments to help them make an informed choice about attending.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key worker sessions take place frequently and are used as an opportunity for staff to explore children's views, wishes and feelings. They are also used to follow up on any difficulties children are experiencing or significant events. However, there are limited sessions relating to vaping, substance misuse and safe sex, despite these being relevant and current risks for some children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children's education and most children attend school regularly. For one child who doesn’t attend education, the manager and staff are working with the placing Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 4 authority and virtual school to identify appropriate education arrangements for them. However, whilst the child is not attending education, staff do not offer sufficient encouragement for the child to engage in meaningful education opportunities to create structure and routine for the child during the school day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When new children move into the home, assessments are completed prior to them moving in. These factor in all relevant and necessary information about the child and the staff's ability to meet their needs. Staff support children to move into the home carefully and compassionately, taking into consideration their individual circumstances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When leaders and managers have made the difficult decision to end a child's placement at the home, they have done so with the child's safety and best interest at the forefront of their decision making. Where possible, they have worked with new placement providers to support the transition to be as sensitive as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff complete an independence pack with children. However, these are not individualised to the needs of each child and do not support children to gain the practical skills and knowledge they need to support their move to independence and adulthood.

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

When there concerns are raised, staff take suitable action and share information with relevant professionals, ensuring that children’s welfare is a priority.

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

When it has been necessary to physically hold a child, this has been reasonable and proportionate. Children are encouraged to talk about their feelings following such incidents. However, management oversight does not demonstrate reflective evaluation of these events and there is no record of the staff involved being spoken to about the measure used.

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

When children are missing from the home, staff do not always take suitable action to search for them. Staff work with relevant professionals such as the police and with family members, where possible, to help locate children. Missing from home protocols are in place; however, these are not personalised to each child’s individual needs and do not include sufficient information to ensure that staff search for children.

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

When children harm themselves, staff e respond sensitively, ensuring that children are offered emotional support and first aid where needed. When external specialised services are required, staff ensure that these referrals are made.

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

Staff often use the police to manage children's behaviour during incidents or difficult situations, rather than using their relationships with children, skills and training to support children and de-escalate situations. Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 5

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

There is no registered manager in post. There is a new manager who is in the process of submitting their application to register with Ofsted.

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

There have been changes to the leadership and management of the home since the last inspection. Leaders and the manager have identified areas for improvement and have plans in place to address these shortfalls. However, these changes are not yet embedded and their impact on practice and outcomes for children is not consistently evident.

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

There is insufficient management oversight of significant events. There are no reflections or lessons learned identified following these events. This means that shortfalls in practice are not always identified, challenged or addressed.

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

There is a stable and consistent staff team in place. This means that children are supported by staff who know them well. Although staff have completed a range of training, they have not all completed training specific to the individual needs of the children in their care such as trauma and attachment, online safety and substance misuse. In addition to this, staff spoken to during the inspection, do not have an awareness of regulatory guidance.

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

Staff take part in regular supervision sessions. These are child focused and are used to share information and updates about the children. However not all supervision sessions focus on staff practice and how individual staff understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children.

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

Team meetings are held regularly and are used effectively to share information, changes to the staff team and for staff to discuss any concerns or issues.

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

The manager and staff are committed to working together with relevant professionals such as placing authorities and schools. They attend regular meetings and reviews. This helps to provide a wraparound approach to supporting children's needs. Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 6

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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, 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 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 fulfil their potential; and

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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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that suitable systems are in place for the monitoring and oversight of the home to ensure that shortfalls and areas for improvement are identified.

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Requirement Due date

In addition to this, the registered person must have suitable systems in place for the oversight of significant events to enable them to reflect and identify any lessons learnt. 19 June 2026

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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

that staff— 19 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 7 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home's child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff do not use the police unnecessarily to support the behaviour management of children.

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 19 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 8 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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies;

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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)(ii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff take appropriate action to search for children when they are missing from the home.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child's education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child's learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child's education or training provider and the child's placing authority; 19 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 9 help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child's relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child's learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vii)(viii)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must support children who have non-attendance at school to engage in meaningful education opportunities in the home to support a return to education as quickly as possible.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

understand and develop skills to promote the child's well-being (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff support children to understand relevant risks and the health implications associated with vaping, substance misuse and sexual health. 19 June 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 fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 19 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 10 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff complete relevant training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to meet children's individual and specific needs.

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Requirement Due date

In addition to this, the registered person must ensure that staff are aware of relevant regulatory guidance.

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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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 (2)(iii) 19 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 11 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff support children to gain practical and meaningful independence skills to support them to successfully move into adulthood.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 19 June 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair, this includes speaking to staff involved about the measure used. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations’. 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: SC064663 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Shireburn Road, Liverpool L37 1LR

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Inspectors

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Rebecca Robson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC064663 13 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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