Children's home run by Future In Mind Limited in Bolton

Inspection report children’s home: SC431315 1 SC431315 Registered provider: Future In Mind Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a private organisation and provides a specialist programme of therapeutic techniques under the supervision of a qualified therapist.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 20 to 21 February 2018

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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: 24 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC431315 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people feel safe and are safe.  Young people develop positive and trusting relationships with staff.  Young people make excellent progress from their starting points, in different aspects of their development.  Staff provide young people with emotional and practical support so that they maintain positive relationships with their families.  Young people receive good support from the organisation’s therapist, which promotes their emotional well-being.  The registered manager is a positive role model to young people and staff and they benefit from her strong leadership.  Staff promote education and support young people’s learning well.  With staff support, young people develop some excellent independence skills and prepare well for adulthood.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Ensure that young people’s risk assessments are reviewed and contain sufficient detail to manage and reduce known risks.  Ensure that concerns are escalated when partner agencies do not act swiftly and decisively to meet young people’s needs.  Ensure that all staff, including the manager and agency staff, receive regular supervision and that a record of supervision sessions is kept.  Ensure that the home’s statement of purpose accurately reflects which staff work in the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/08/2016 Full Outstanding 30/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/01/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC431315 3

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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 registered person must, if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans (Regulation 5 (c)). 13/04/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the home’s statement of purpose is kept under review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  Ensure that managers and staff continually and actively assess risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them and their placement plan must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  Ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) In particular, ensure that the manager and agency staff receive regular supervision, the manager receives an annual appraisal and supervision records are kept.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two young people have lived at the home for several years and remain very settled. Both young people make very good progress from their starting points. A young person’s Inspection report children’s home: SC431315 4 grandparent said, ‘The staff have helped my granddaughter more or less in everything: her behaviour, looking after her, getting her independence and getting her a place to live where she wants.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people develop positive relationships with staff and they recognise how well the staff care for them. A young person said, ‘The staff have supported me well.’ Committed staff genuinely care about the young people and want the best for them. A young person is due to move on from the home imminently. The staff arranged a farewell meal at a local restaurant. Many of the staff attended because they wanted to celebrate the occasion, despite not working at the home that evening.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are very aware of the young people’s needs and show them great understanding. A young person said, ‘There is always a member of staff we can go to with any problems.’ This helps young people to feel safe and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good therapeutic support helps young people to develop emotional resilience. The registered manager and staff team work closely with the organisation’s therapist and implement new ways of working with the young people. For example, a young person was having difficulty expressing herself during therapy. The therapist introduced writing exercises such as a feelings book and writing letters to staff as a way to help the young person to develop her communication skills. This led to improvements, for example the therapist said, ‘[Name of young person] now engages really well and talks quite openly.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both young people are in education and work hard to achieve good results. For example, a college tutor said, ‘[Name of the young person] is a quiet and polite member of the group, who responds well to the support provided and is producing work to an excellent standard.’ Young people enjoy taking part in different activities. A young person said, ‘I have been here for a few years now and am still in the police cadets. I want to be a special constable.’ As a result, young people develop new interests, learn new skills and have aspirations for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with young people’s families. Furthermore, they provide young people with both practical and emotional support to maintain contact, or reconnect, with family members. For example, when a young person went to meet her parents for the first time, she was supported by the registered manager and her therapist.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people develop some excellent independence skills. They learn how to manage their money, make health appointments, prepare meals and do their laundry. Independence plans are tailored to meet the young people’s individual needs. A young person said, ‘I feel confident in making my own decisions. I am very independent and can do a lot for myself.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and the staff team are learning from their first experience of moving a young person on to adulthood. They plan to reflect on what has gone well and what they may do differently in future. For example, one young person said that she feels that she has occasionally missed out on some leisure activities with staff and other young people because she has not had enough money left out of her weekly independence Inspection report children’s home: SC431315 5 allowance to participate. The manager and staff will think about how they can strike the balance between promoting independence and retaining young people’s involvement in the home.

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

Young people are safe and told the inspectors that they feel safe. Staff work well with partner agencies. For example, staff work well with the police and share information with them to minimise and manage risk. This helps to protect young people’s welfare.

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

Staff do not always review risk assessments to ensure that they contain the most relevant and up-to-date information. Furthermore, some records do not show what action staff have taken or need to take to reduce and manage risk. Shortfalls in recording practice undermine otherwise good safeguarding practice by staff.

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

Staff undertake some meaningful work with young people about difficult topics. For example, they talk to young people about healthy and safe relationships and understanding what it means to consent to sexual relationships. Staff also educate young people about how to keep safe on line.

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

Young people rarely go missing. Since the last inspection, there has only been one such incident. When young people go missing from home, the staff take appropriate action to search for them and ensure their safe return.

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

Staff undertake safeguarding training and they understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe. Staff follow procedures and report concerns to relevant agencies.

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

Staff provide young people with clear and consistent boundaries. As a result, young people know what is expected of them. The staff know the young people well and understand their needs and vulnerabilities. By using praise, rewards and consequences young people learn to understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. The staff work very closely with the organisation’s therapist to help young people to learn to regulate their emotions and behaviour. Furthermore, staff monitor and track the progress that young people make. This helps them to target the support that young people need, which helps with their ongoing development

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate about achieving the best outcomes for young people. There is a shared ethos among the staff. The staff and young people speak highly of the manager and benefit from her strong leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good monitoring systems enable the manager to understand the strengths and needs of the home. The manager has a rolling three-month plan that helps the home to continue to improve. The staff and young people are asked to have their input into this plan. As a result, the young people and the staff contribute to the ongoing development of the Inspection report children’s home: SC431315 6 home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Agency workers are used to supplement the number of staff on duty, when necessary. The registered manager uses the same agency workers to provide consistency for young people. Managers support the core staff team well. Staff receive regular supervision, allowing them the opportunity to reflect on their practice. Records do not clearly show that agency staff receive supervision in line with the home’s policy and procedure. This means that some staff are not receiving feedback regarding their practice. In addition, the registered manager does not receive regular supervision and does not have records of her supervision. This does not help the provider to effectively oversee the registered manager’s performance and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home operates in accordance with the aims and objectives set out in the statement of purpose. Staff understand the home’s values and these are delivered in practice. The registered manager does not always update the statement of purpose to reflect changes in the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff work well with a range of partner agencies. Professionals and parents speak highly of the service. However, when placing authorities do not act swiftly or decisively, the registered manager does not escalate her concerns effectively. For one young person, this has led to some confusion about the arrangements for moving on from the home and has caused her some anxiety. Although the staff are supporting the young person, raising this matter sooner could have prevented this from happening.

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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: SC431315 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Future In Mind Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Future In Mind Limited, 65 Market Street, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 1AD

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Inspectors

Sarah Junor-Fitzpatrick: social care inspector Michelle Spruce: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC431315 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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