Children's Home run by Future In Mind Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC063653 1 SC063653 Registered provider: Future In Mind Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider operates this home. It provides care and accommodation for up to two children who have experienced childhood instability, resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours. The manager was registered with Ofsted in June 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 26 to 27 November 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: 10 January 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC063653 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2018 Full Good 22/02/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 09/08/2016 Full Good 23/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC063653 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(a)(c)(d)(f)(h)) 28/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development; receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 28/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used, or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised

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Requirement Due date

person”) has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv)) 28/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC063653 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently provide children with personalised and nurturing care and this ethos permeates the home. Continual verbal praise, appropriate affection and understanding from staff mean that children learn to build strong and healthy relationships with adults. This supports children‟s development, and they grow in confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend school and they have excellent attendance. One teacher told the inspector that, „The school and the home work in partnership with each other and communication is excellent.‟ This proactive approach helps children to achieve and they make great progress from their starting points. Staff are very ambitious for children and continually celebrate their achievements. Consequently, children are ambitious for themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate that they follow children‟s health plans, which are detailed and individualised. For example, one child who requires encouragement to eat healthily is supported to develop her own cooking skills. This positive approach means that children are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from the in-house therapeutic service. A psychotherapist undertakes direct therapeutic work with children and works with care staff to enable them to deliver care which is underpinned by a thorough understanding of attachment. This provides children with bespoke and reflective care. Staff make sure that children‟s views, wishes and opinions are central to the formulation of their internal and statutory care plans. Staff work closely with children to help them to understand their specific targets and the support available to achieve them. This integrated approach to meeting children‟s needs means that children make sustained progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time with their families when this is appropriate. Staff understand the feelings of loss that some children associate with living away from their families and the impact that these feelings can have on their progress. A social worker told the inspector, „They have worked really hard to develop a positive relationship with mum and she feels involved in the care of her child. This has resulted in mum working with staff and supporting the boundaries they put in place.‟

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

Children are safe, and they say that they feel safe. Staff use comprehensive and effective risk assessments to ensure that children‟s risks reduce. The registered manager and staff ensure that these assessments emphasise children‟s vulnerabilities rather than focusing on negative behaviour. Children benefit from being supported to identify strategies that help them to manage their own behaviours and risks. This approach means that children begin to take age-appropriate responsibility for their own safety and to recognise the triggers that influence their actions. Inspection report children‟s home: SC063653 5 Children benefit from a programme of personalised incentives. These help them to understand how to make positive choices. Staff encourage children to consider how their behaviours may impact on others. As a result, children learn to live together and to appreciate and respect each other‟s feelings. Staff rarely use sanctions, preferring to

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

reward and celebrate positive behaviour.

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

Staff use restraint only as a last resort to prevent an immediate risk of significant harm. The manager and staff place emphasis on verbal de-escalation, and this approach further enhances children‟s feeling of safety and security. However, the records of restraint lack detail and it is not clear whether the user of the restraint has been spoken to after the incident. This prevents the registered manager from undertaking effective review of restraints and amending practice where this may be necessary.

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

Children make significant and sustained progress in reducing their risk-taking behaviour. They do not go missing from the home or behave aggressively. Staff provide children with structure and routine, and staff practice strikes a good balance between enforcing boundaries and nurture.

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

Managers ensure that there is a strong safeguarding culture in the home. Consequently, children feel that they are listened to and respected. Safeguarding policies are clear and succinct. Staff understand their own responsibilities for protecting children. This means that any allegations of abuse or harm are quickly investigated. This good practice promotes children‟s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is inspirational and ambitious for children and ensures that this ethos is cascaded to the entire staff team. The registered manager understands children‟s needs exceptionally well and constantly scrutinises and drives their progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager monitors the quality of care that children receive. However, she does not have effective systems in place which would enable her to identify trends across the service and to evaluate these to identify areas for development. While there is evidence of management oversight on children‟s case files, this is not consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff promote equality and diversity. They support children to appreciate and accept people‟s differences and to understand the negative impact of discrimination. The registered manager ensures that she embeds this good-practice approach in the day-to-day running of the home and children develop positive views of themselves as a result.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from effective training, development and inductions. Staff say that they feel supported by the registered manager and feel that she leads by example. Supervision is reflective and is of good quality when it happens. However, new members of staff do not have fortnightly supervision in line with the home‟s statement of purpose. Other staff do not benefit from regular supervision. For example, some staff have monthly Inspection report children‟s home: SC063653 6 supervisions, whereas other staff have supervisions once every three months. This means that some staff do not get sufficient opportunity to reflect on their practice and on the needs of the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager leads a staff team that provides high-quality care for children living in the home. She encourages staff to be ambitious for children and to reach their potential. The registered manager is visible and accessible to staff. She is influential in changing and improving children‟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: SC063653 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 65 Market Street, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 1AD

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Inspector

Annemarie Parker: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC063653 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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