Children's home run by First 4 Care Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1256608 1 Registered provider: First 4 Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is operated by a private company. The home was registered in July 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 28 to 29 November 2017

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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 is delivering good help and care for children and young people.

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good

Date of last inspection: this is the first inspection since registration

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1256608 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people enjoy positive relationships with the staff team, which knows them well.  The young people’s interests and talents are nurtured and promoted. Consequently, their confidence and self-esteem improve.  The young people access specialist support to improve their emotional well- being.  The young people are learning a range of skills which help them to be independent in later life.  Safeguarding is effective. The staff undertake a range of courses which provide them with the knowledge of how to keep the young people safe.  Effective rewards strategies encourage the young people to behave well and achieve.  The management team is committed to providing stability and good care for the young people.  The staff receive regular supervision and appraisal. This helps them to reflect on their practice and to make improvements.  The management team maintains good relationships with other professionals

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Key findings from this inspection

such as social workers, therapists and the police. This ensures that the young people receive the specific care they need. Inspection report children’s home: 1256608 3

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)) Specifically, this is in respect of ensuring that debriefs are undertaken with young people following a restraint to help staff and young people reflect on the action taken and learn from incidents. 01/04/2018

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Recommendations

 Where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs (see regulations 5(c)). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8) In particular, continue to pursue a plan for permanence for one young person with their placing authority.

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Recommendations

 The information set out in the statement of purpose is an essential part of the process of agreement between the registered person and placing authority that a placement in that home is the right one for that child, and that the home will be able to respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6) In particular, specify physical intervention and behaviour management strategies. Add the range of therapeutic interventions provided.

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for deciding what each review should focus on, based on the specific circumstances of the home at that particular Inspection report children’s home: 1256608 4 time and any areas of high risk to the children that the home is designed to care for, such as missing or exploitation. They will also consider what information or data recorded in the home will form part of the evidence base for their analysis and conclusions. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4) In particular, ensure that the home’s development plan is ambitious, robust in self-challenge and appropriately focused on improving the quality of care in the home. This should be informed by the outcome of Regulation 44 and 45 reports.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are settled in the home and they feel able to explore and express their own identities. The staff have a good understanding of the young people’s very challenging needs and adapt their care approach for each individual.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people benefit from consistent care strategies as detailed in their care plans. One young person’s long-term plan is currently unclear and this is causing them to be anxious about their future. The managers are escalating this concern with the placing authority but a plan for permanence is not secured.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff actively encourage and promote school attendance and learning. They are successfully helping young people back into education after long absences. The young people who cannot access full-time education are well supported to engage in a range of practical activities. This encourages them to use their skills and helps them to integrate back into education. The young people learn a range of life skills such as cooking and home maintenance. This will help them to be as independent as possible in later life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people maintain good health. They are supported to attend all routine health appointments. The young people develop an understanding of how to keep themselves healthy. They are encouraged to take regular exercise such as bike riding. The young people’s complex emotional needs are well supported through direct work with specialist mental health professionals and the service’s own therapist.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people’s personal interests are nurtured. They enjoy spending time at an allotment, engaging in arts and crafts and exploring their own business ideas. The staff celebrate their achievements. This helps the young people to feel a sense of pride.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the young people to spend time with their families. They carry out work with families to help them develop their understanding of parenting. In difficult circumstances, in which the young people have not been in touch with loved ones, the staff act as advocate for the young people and facilitate contact taking place. This helps the young people to maintain a sense of identity. Inspection report children’s home: 1256608 5 The young people live in a well-furnished and spacious home. Their artwork and photographs on the walls make it feel homely. This provides the young people with a sense of belonging and helps them to take ownership of their home.

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

The young people’s anxieties reduce because of the individualised structure and routine. The young people respond well to clear boundaries and they enjoy working towards personalised rewards systems. This helps them to improve their behaviour.

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

The staff have good relationships with the young people. They use their positive relationships to try and manage challenging incidents of behaviour. When physical intervention is used, it is as a last resort and for the minimum necessary time to keep the young people and the staff safe. After incidents, the young people and the staff are given the opportunity to debrief. The reflection around this is not recorded clearly to demonstrate learning and inform future practice.

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

The staff team has a good understanding of the risks to the young people. There are high levels of staff support to meet young people’s individual needs. The staff take immediate action where necessary to keep the young people safe. Staffing levels are responsive to needs. Consequently, staff are able to manage difficult situations safely.

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

Staff help the young people to learn about keeping themselves safe, for example on the roads and online.

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

The staff undertake a range of training which helps them to understand the wider issues that the young people may face, such as radicalisation and child sexual exploitation. The young people rarely go missing from home. The staff demonstrate good knowledge of missing from home procedures and take immediate action to try to locate missing young people. The staff work closely with the police to help find missing young people. One police professional commented: ‘The staff are brilliant. There are no issues with missing practice. They go looking for the young people, attend meetings and take on board any concerns.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is committed to providing good care for the young people. It has aspirations for the young people to achieve. In very difficult times, they try their best to keep the placements stable. When it is time for the young people to move on, staff support this transition effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight and support for staff is very good. Quick action is taken when staff receive feedback about how they can improve the quality of services for children. However, the home’s development plan is not as sharply focused or self-challenging as it could be and it is not yet informed by a review of the quality of care in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The induction process for new staff includes a good level of training. This provides staff Inspection report children’s home: 1256608 6 with the knowledge that they need to support the young people well from the start. The staff receive regular supervision and appraisal. This helps them to reflect on their practice and develop their care skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has good working relationships with social workers, therapists and the police. This ensures that the young people receive the complex support they need. The management team acts as an advocate for the young people. It challenges other professionals and escalates concerns when the young people are not receiving the service they need. One independent reviewing officer commented that the manager has escalated issues with the school and she found the staff to be quite proactive at the young person’s first review.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This home is working within its statement of purpose. It provides a nurturing environment with good quality care. The statement of purpose lacks detail in places, particularly around behaviour management and the therapeutic support provided. This does not demonstrate fully the quality of care the home is providing.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: 1256608 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: First 4 Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 313 Goodison Boulevard, Doncaster DN4 6TP

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Inspectors

Jamie Richardson, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Sarah Urding, Senior Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1256608 8 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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