Children's Home run by Future Focused Ltd in Wigan

Inspection report children’s home: 1241634 1 Registered provider: Future Focused Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for young people of both sexes up to the age of eighteen, who have a range of complex needs based on their previous experiences, including attachment difficulties.

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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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/08/2017 Full Good 13/02/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1241634 2

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff–

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

if they 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 (a) (c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the need for a child’s up-to-date pathway plan to be in place. 19/07/2018

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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)(b) and (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to the need for staff to attend ligature training, to ensure that they have the skills to care for young people who display self-harmful behaviours. 19/07/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1241634 3

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a homely, safe environment, where they are making good progress with their social and emotional development. Staff know the young people well and have developed positive relationships with them. Consistent care has assisted young people to increase their self-confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff welcome young people into the home. They understand young people’s specific needs. They plan young people’s care, taking into account their histories. Staff consider the needs of all young people who live in the home. This has helped the young people to build positive relationships with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people who have moved on from the home have settled into semi-independent living. Staff work together with placing authorities to devise clear plans. They support young people to attend meetings and to give their views on their long-term placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education attendance has improved since the last inspection. Staff are very proud of the progress young people make, praising them for their positive attitudes to learning. Young people are happy with their achievements, such as attending the Prince’s Trust programme. This has increased young people’s confidence and given them a desire to gain good jobs in their adult lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people tell staff their likes and dislikes. Staff support the young people to develop their talents and hobbies and encourage them to make positive friendships with other young people who have similar interests. Young people have joined the local football team and enjoy watching their favourite team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are making good progress developing independence skills. Staff prepare them for adulthood, teaching them how to budget, do the weekly food shopping and cook tea. Young people are enjoying their journey to independence and one young person said, ‘I can budget my shopping and I’m a great cook.’

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

Young people are using their free time well. Staff teach them how to use the internet safely and how to keep safe in the community. The local police visit the home on a regular basis. They talk to the young people and staff, giving information and advice on Inspection report children’s home: 1241634 4 different parts of the community that young people should avoid.

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

Young people seldom go missing from the home. When this happens, staff follow the missing-from-home procedures. There was one occasion when staff from the home, rather than an independent person, conducted a return home interview. This does not demonstrate that young people have someone to talk to who is independent from the home.

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

There is clear evidence of preventative work being carried out with young people in relation to drug use. The community nurse visits the home and talks to young people about the dangers of drug use. She offers advice and strategies to help young people to withdraw from use of substances. This has helped young people to reduce their cannabis use.

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

Staff identify when young people are anxious or upset because they know them well. Young people trust their staff and seek their advice. Staff devise individual behaviour management plans with the organisation’s clinical psychologist. Young people tell staff what they need them to do when they get angry. This is helping young people to manage their behaviour in a calmer way. It has reduced the need for physical intervention.

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

There have been some changes in the staff team since the last inspection. Young people’s care was not compromised because these changes were made gradually.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was registered in February 2018. She is currently doing the level 5 diploma in leadership and management qualification. The manager is experienced and has a good understanding of young people’s needs. She is an enthusiastic and motivated leader who has good oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is approachable. It is evident that the young people have good relationships with her and are comfortable in her presence. She gains young people’s views on their care and supports them to attend their meetings and share their opinions on their care and long-term plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works well with education staff, social workers and health professionals to ensure that young people receive holistic care. This is effective in helping young people to make positive progress in terms of their individual goals, including keeping themselves safe from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is no pathway plan in place for a young person. This means that the staff team is not following a clear local authority plan. This document is pivotal to young people in helping to map out their future. The manager has made many efforts to engage a placing authority. She is keen to escalate this issue to a higher management level.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed training in relation to self-harm and mental health. Staff skills and Inspection report children’s home: 1241634 5 knowledge would be further enhanced if they attended ligature training. This would also reflect the needs of the young people in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff hold monthly meetings where the manager and staff reflect on practice issues. The manager provides staff with quality supervision. Monthly staff meetings provide a forum for staff to discuss young people’s progress and any practice issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager strives to make continuous improvement in the home. She uses the monthly reports from the independent visitor as input to the plans for improvement. She evaluates care practice and monitors and reviews the quality of care. She considers how she can develop the service to improve young people’s lives.

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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: 1241634 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 45 Findley Cook Road, Wigan WN3 6GJ

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Inspector

Jo Hornby, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1241634 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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