Children's Home run by Future Focused Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report children's home: 1270301 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

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private company. The registered manager has been in position since the home was registered with Ofsted in January 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 outstanding

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 1270301 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

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety; full and satisfactory information must be available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2; a full employment history, together with a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment, in writing. (Regulation 32(1)(3)(d)) 31/07/2018

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress and are safer as a result of living at the home. For one young person, historic periods of going missing from home have been reduced as the young person enjoys positive relationships with staff, listens to guidance and accepts boundaries for returning to the home on time. Young people’s progress is a result of their positive relationships with staff. They invest in their relationships with staff and enjoy the rewards and praise that they receive for their efforts. Young people appreciate the strong male role models provided by the staff team. Young men have a stronger and more positive male identity and hold female staff in high regard. This gender awareness develops positive self-esteem and also impacts on young people’s relationships with family members and female friends. Young people are confident in the ability of the manager and staff to listen to and resolve any concerns and complaints that they may have. They appreciate that the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

manager is always available to listen to them and take part in activities with them. Their views are further canvassed in weekly house meetings, key-working sessions and daily conversations. The registered manager and staff work hard to address young people’s educational needs in light of poor provision by local authority education services. This includes the lack of an up-to-date personal education plan for one young person. Young people are engaging with education to a far greater extent than in previous placements. Staff are creative in their support of young people’s education when in the home, including supporting young people who are not in full-time education. Young people enjoy a range of activities. Their need to play on the computer games console has significantly reduced, and their acceptance of boundaries is much improved, Inspection report children's home: 1270301 3 resulting in calmer behaviour. They now thoroughly enjoy beating the staff at a game of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

pool, meaning that staff have had to treat the young people to a trip to their favourite ice-cream parlour. One young person was awarded player’s player of the season at his football club. These new experiences mean that the young people grow in confidence, develop good social skills and understand the importance of fairness and gamesmanship. Young people benefit from good health because staff support them to eat healthily and take exercise. Young people’s health needs are protected with effective medication procedures and well-trained staff. Young people live in a well-presented and comfortable home. They enjoy the privacy of well-furnished and personalised bedrooms.

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

Young people are safer due to a strong and consistently reinforced safeguarding framework. Staff are well trained and have easy access to clear guidance about how to identify, respond to, report and record any safeguarding concerns. Management oversight is robust and partnership working is strong. Social workers hold the manager and staff in high regard as staff implement agreed behaviour boundaries consistently. If young people go missing, staff are proactive and spend time following and looking for them, and demonstrate effective partnership working with the police. The extensive risk assessment and management format feeds into individualised management plans to guide staff in their day-to-day support of young people. Agreed contracts with young people provide a meaningful and child-centred approach. Young people are progressively more accepting of staff interventions. Young people are progressively more accepting of staff interventions, and take more responsibility for their

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

own behaviour and safety. Safer recruitment procedures are implemented effectively in order to protect young people living in the home. However, gaps in employment have not been fully scrutinised, and do not always have a written explanation. As a result, staff have been employed without full knowledge of their work history.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is aspirational for the young people in his care to achieve to the best of their potential. Together with his skilled and enthusiastic senior management team, he inspires the staff to build upon their knowledge and constantly improve practice. The registered manager strategically and successfully manages his stable staff team. All staff appreciate clear benchmarks for staff performance and conduct, and effective leadership has embedded throughout the team. Managers and the staff team, in conjunction with the use of consistent casual staff, are willing to change shifts in order to provide consistent care and a sense of permanence to young people. New staff are motivated and well inducted. The staff team embraces the management team’s vision for the home. Managers and staff have high aspirations for the young people and themselves. A social worker said, ‘In my experience of working with placements, this placement stands out due to the staff’s passion for meeting the needs

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Inspection report children's home: 1270301 4 of the child.’ Young people are looked after by well-trained staff. Staff induction is well organised. A loyal and committed staff team receives regular, high-quality supervision. Training is focused to meet the needs of the young people, including scheduled training in caring for young people at risk of being criminally exploited. The care planning framework is extremely well organised and provides concise and informed guidance for staff to follow. Records are factual, accurate and child-centred so that, if they wish in the future, young people can understand their looked after experiences and journey while at the home. The registered manager has a clear understanding of his monitoring responsibilities. Ongoing monthly audits by the registered manager are carried out consistently, according to the regulatory framework. Independent monitoring reports are comprehensive and positive, and any recommendations are quickly addressed by the

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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: 1270301 5

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Elaine Clare, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 1270301 6 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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