Children's home run by Future Focused Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 2495397 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 run by private company and it is registered to provide residential care for up to two children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a registered manager who has been in post since registration on 3 October 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2495397 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/03/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 2495397 3

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Recommendations

 Where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. If no education place is identified by the placing authority, the registered person must challenge them to meet the child’s needs under regulation 5 (engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from having a range of positive experiences. With the support of staff, children are making good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Educational placements have been disrupted since the last inspection and children are currently being home tutored while an alternative placement is sought. Promoting learning and education through a range of informal activities, as well as formal education, remains an area for development and the recommendation from the previous inspection has therefore been repeated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress with their emotional health and well-being. Staff work collaboratively with other agencies to support this. One professional said of an individual child: ‘[Name of child] made progress and has a more positive attitude to her situation.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have nurturing, trusting relationships with staff. A key strength of the staff is their ability to demonstrate resilience and offer secure placements to children. One child said: ‘I do have good relationships with staff. They go out of their way to keep me safe.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are reflective and understand the triggers for children’s behaviour. Staff work creatively to consider the reasons for children’s behaviour. A new behaviour management tool has been introduced, which has resulted in staff being more aware of triggers for children’s behaviours, so that they can prevent matters from escalating.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have been managing the dynamics between the children at the home, which have at times been difficult. These dynamics have impacted on the children in different ways, but staff have worked to ensure the well-being of each individual child. Inspection report children’s home: 2495397 4

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

The environment is homely and nurturing. Children’s personal spaces in the home are kept clean and are respected by staff.

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

Risks to children are well known and understood. Staff work with children to support them in reducing their risk-taking behaviours. As a result, the number of times children have been reported missing has significantly reduced. Currently there are no episodes of children going missing from home.

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

When there are incidents of bullying between children, staff take this seriously and facilitate individual sessions with children and organise workshops to discuss bullying.

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

There is evidence of staff working collaboratively with other agencies to try and promote positive change for children. A child sexual exploitation worker said: ‘The team have been very proactive and are very supportive to the children they work with.’

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

Staff work positively with agencies who are involved in the care of children to ensure that the holistic needs of all children are known and met. Placing social workers receive regular updates on the progress made by children, and any relevant incidents or events. Staff and managers challenge agencies to ensure that children receive the services and support that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate and inspiring and is appropriately qualified and experienced. He has quickly got to grips with the shortfalls identified at the previous full inspection and he is driving the service to achieve better outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has challenged the placing authority to change a child’s education placement to a more specialised provision. This is because the child’s needs were not being met in the mainstream school.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have focused on stabilising and developing the staff team and improving immediate safeguarding practice. The registered manager recognises that the home is still on a journey, and there is a clear development plan in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team feels well supported by managers. The managers are very accessible and offer positive support to staff. Regular and formal supervision for staff is provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection have been met, except for one recommendation. Children still do not spend their time in educational activities when they are not engaging in formal education. Inspection report children’s home: 2495397 5 The registered manager has worked hard to network and gain support from other partner agencies and consultant services.

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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: 2495397 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office 1, Crows Nest Business Park, Ashton Road, Wigan WN5 7XX

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Inspector

Elaine Clare: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2495397 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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