Children's Home run by Family Care Associates Limited in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2496251 1 Registered provider: Family Care Associates 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 run by a private provider. It provides care for up to 4 children who may have learning disabilities or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2024.

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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: 2496251 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2025 Full Good 23/07/2024 Full Good 18/04/2023 Full Good 16/08/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2496251 3

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, children have moved in and out of the home through well- planned, individualised moves.

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Summary of findings

The home is spacious, well maintained and tailored to children’s needs. Children attend and enjoy education, make good progress and are supported to maintain important relationships. Their health needs are well met, with staff responding proactively to concerns.

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Summary of findings

A nurturing culture ensures that children feel valued, and there is a strong focus on improving quality of life through positive behaviour support and reducing restrictions.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding practice is strong and leaders provide effective oversight, although some areas for development remain, including oversight of physical interventions, inclusion of agency staff, fire drills and the role of the independent visitor.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 2 children have moved into the home and 2 have moved out. Children’s moves in and out of the home are well planned and carried out in line with their individual plans. One child lived at the home for a short time. Their plan was to move closer to their family and into one of the organisation’s other homes. During this time, the child was supported to visit the home and to meet the new staff regularly. Another child successfully moved to adult services. The child who has recently moved in has joined a child who has lived at the home for several years.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large and spacious. It is well kept and clean. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and tidy. There are several communal areas for the children including a living room, playroom and large garden. The home is full of the children’s favourite things including sensory toys, musical instruments and comfy bean bags.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are enrolled in appropriate education provisions, which they enjoy attending. Staff work closely with education providers to ensure that children’s targets align with their education, health and care plans. Children make meaningful progress because of well-planned, regularly reviewed targets, with staff providing consistent and encouraging support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their families and staff recognise the importance of maintaining meaningful relationships, including friendships. Staff actively advocate for and plan opportunities for children to see family and friends. As a result, one child has been able to have overnight family visits and regularly spend time with friends engaging in enjoyable activities. Inspection report for children’s home: 2496251 4 Generally, children’s health is good and staff ensure that all health appointments are attended. One child was recently admitted to hospital after staff identified changes in their behaviour and acted on their concerns. During the admission, the manager ensured the child received continuous support from familiar staff and appropriately challenged involved professionals when needed. This ensured that the child was consistently supported by familiar people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are celebrated every day. There are several systems in place that show the children how proud the staff are of their achievements and progress, no matter how big or small. One child was treated to a microphone following their kindness towards another child when they were unwell. This practice ensures that children feel valued and cared for.

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

The children and staff are supported by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable positive behaviour support lead. As a result, there is a very clear ethos of improving children’s quality of life and developing their skills.

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

Generally, incidents are rare and, for one child, incidents have reduced since they moved into the home. There have been several incidents of the staff having to physically intervene, for example lifting children off furniture to keep them safe, which have not been recorded as physical interventions or reviewed by the manager.

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

One child’s liberty is significantly restricted to ensure their safety. However, staff are aware of the impact of these restrictions and are committed to reducing them through regular multi-agency reviews. Staff have successfully reduced several restrictions, enabling the child to develop skills and strategies to keep them safe. Reducing the use of restraint is a clear priority for the team and this will continue to be reviewed to further improve the child’s quality of life.

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

The environment is safe for the children and it meets their individual needs well. However, when children refuse to leave the home during a fire drill, this is not revisited in a timely manner to reassure the staff that children know what to do in the event of a fire.

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

There is a strong culture of positive safeguarding practice in the home. Children’s safety and wellbeing are paramount. The staff have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and it is a topic that is discussed in team meetings and supervisions. The manager ensures that they follow safer recruitment processes to reduce the risk of unsuitable individuals working with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: 2496251 5 The manager was on leave during the inspection. However, they are suitably experienced and qualified. They are supported by a deputy manager and team leaders. Additional support is provided by the organisation’s positive behaviour support lead. Together, they are a strong leadership team with clear aspirations for the children and the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff say they feel supported and that their induction was thorough, providing them with time to get to know the children at their own pace. The staff say that they receive regular supervision, which is reflective and allows them to develop their practice. However, agency workers supervision sessions are inconsistent. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that all staff are supporting the children appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person visits monthly. However, they do not always speak to the children or find appropriate ways of communicating with the children or their parents. This is a missed opportunity for any concerns to be raised and addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager escalates any concerns she has appropriately with the relevant professionals. This ensures that people are held accountable for delays in the children’s care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good oversight of the children’s experiences and outcomes. There are robust monitoring systems in place that allow the manager to track children’s progress in different areas of their lives and take necessary actions to implement support where necessary. Inspection report for children’s home: 2496251 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

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all children participate in regular fire drills. 10 July 2026

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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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 10 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2496251 7 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.

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Requirement Due date

Paragraph (3) does not apply in relation to restraint that is planned or provided for as a matter of routine in the child’s EHC plan or statement of special educational needs. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c) (4))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that all incidents of restraint are evaluated and appropriately recorded.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that the independent person obtains regular feedback from the children and their parents. 10 July 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that agency staff receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 2496251 8

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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: 2496251 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Family Care Associates Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Floor Offices, The Unit Berry Way, Euxton, Chorley, England PR7 6RA

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Inspector

Kerri Lynch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2496251 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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