Children's home run by Good Foundations Limited in Wirral

Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 1 SC067771 Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a children’s home for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or learning disabilities. The home is owned and operated by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last full inspection, two young people have come to live at the home and one young person has moved on from the home. Compatibility assessments were completed prior to the new young people coming to live at the home. The assessments were robust and shared with placing social workers. This demonstrates that compatibility and individual needs are considered of high importance. The young person who left the home was very well supported by staff to move in a planned way. This allowed staff to offer the young person not only practical support but also emotional support while on his journey to achieving independent living.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

When a young person is new to the home, staff explore all avenues to find appropriate activities in the local community. This encourages young people to make friends and to develop their interests. A member of staff said, ‘It’s healthy for them to make new friends and enjoy doing what they like doing, after all they are individuals with individual Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 2 likes and dislikes.’ This has resulted in young people enjoying being members of various local clubs, such as army cadets, and football and rugby clubs. One young person proudly spoke of attending a weekend camp with the army cadets.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people have a very settled home life where they feel safe and secure. The staff team is consistent and provides young people with nurturing care with clear expectations, boundaries and structure. Young people have very good relationships and positive rapport with each other and the staff. This provides the foundation for helping young people to mature, develop and make good progress. A young person said, ‘The staff are amazing and the other lads are just like family to me.’ A parent commented, ‘When we were told my son was going into a care home we were filled with absolute dread, but the house is just a normal house, with normal people and normal rules.’

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

On the rare occasions when young people go missing, staff members are very proactive in their response. They actively search for missing young people and are fully aware of their vulnerabilities while out in the community. They respond appropriately and according to risk. The staff work well with the police and other professionals to ensure that young people are as safe as they can be. Staff spend time talking to young people about where they have been and whom they are associating with, helping young people understand why staff and others may be worried or concerned. This helps to improve young people’s understanding of potential risks and their safety over time.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

All young people have an identified educational provision. From their starting points, young people make very good progress in terms of their academic abilities, willingness to attend and in their understanding of the role that education plays in their future lives. When young people struggle with their education provision, staff are proactive in helping them to identify a provision which will suit their needs. For example, a young person who was struggling with attending school has now achieved 100% attendance. The young person commented, ‘The staff here are great, they worked out with the school a different programme for me and now I don’t bunk off.’

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff team benefits from regular supervision, which is both reflective and practice- focused. Staff described their supervision as, ‘valuable’, ‘useful’ and ‘appreciated’. Staff receive regular training and development opportunities. The manager has developed a culture of learning and development. This is crucial to improving care and the outcomes for young people. Fellow professionals are invited to attend team meetings to share their knowledge with the home’s staff team. For example, young people’s drugs service workers attended a team meeting to inform staff of their experience of working with young people who engage in drug-taking behaviour. This shared knowledge is used to inform care planning and to keep young people safe.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

All medication is stored and recorded appropriately. Consent for medical treatment and first aid is in place for each young person. The registered manager has a robust auditing system in place for overseeing the safe administration of medication.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and deputy manager have a good oversight of the home. They monitor placement plans and actions plans on a regular basis. Daily handovers, regular team Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 3 meetings, supervision and discussions with young people also provide additional avenues of information-sharing. The registered manager knows where improvements need to be made and has realistic plans to address these. He can also demonstrate where practice has improved for the benefit of young people. An area of development identified at this inspection is the introduction of a training matrix to demonstrate the skills staff have gained and their areas for further improvement.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is very well maintained and homely in appearance. The decor throughout is to a very high standard. Young people are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms to suit their individual tastes. Young people who live at the home are very proud to live there. Young people made the following comments about their home: ‘I love it because if you walked down the street it looks just like any other house, not a kid’s home,’ ‘It’s our home not a children’s home,’ and ‘It feels like a family home and it is.’

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/05/2017 Full Good 02/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 11/10/2016 Full Requires improvement 11/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 4 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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6 Tower Quays, Tower Road, Birkenhead, Merseyside CH41 1BP

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Inspector

Elaine Allison, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 5 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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