Children's home run by Good Foundations Limited

Inspection report children’s home: SC419808 1 SC419808 Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited

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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 is a privately run children’s home. It is registered to care for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 to 19 December 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 5 December 2018

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC419808 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2018 Full Outstanding 06/12/2017 Full Outstanding 28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/11/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC419808 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact care is having on outcomes and improvements for children. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weaknesses in the home’s care, which is captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next 6 months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 64 and 65, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.4)  It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) This is about making sure that a full record is kept of the discussions in supervision, including those for the registered

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Recommendations

manager, in line with the provider’s policies and procedures.  The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people said they love living at the home and described the team and each other as ‘a family’. The staff work extremely hard to create a caring and nurturing home atmosphere in which young people can thrive. As a result, young people make excellent progress in all areas of their lives, from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Education is a key focus in the home, and the team works well with schools and colleges to ensure that young people have every opportunity to achieve in line with their academic ability. One independent reviewing officer noted that a young person’s college transition ‘went better than expected, due to [the young person’s] increased resilience’ from living at the home. Close working relationships between the home and a school has enabled a young person to integrate into, and maintain attendance, a mainstream education setting. She is thriving in an environment that she had not been expected to cope with. Another young person has done well in mock GCSE exams and recently received an unconditional college offer to pursue her chosen course. Inspection report children’s home: SC419808 4 Young people enjoy good and improving health. All attend their health appointments and staff ensure that any medication for young people is administered safely. The staff have

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

an excellent understanding of each young person’s emotional well-being needs and liaise with external services, such as the child and adolescent mental health services, to ensure that young people are referred, when appropriate. Young people enjoy choosing meals for the menu, as well as helping to cook. The young people are members of a gym and enjoy going with the staff. They have all recently completed a local ‘Santa run’ to raise money for charity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Time with family members and friends is well supported, as an important part of young people’s lives. The staff liaise with parents of school friends to ensure that visits and activities can be enjoyed safely. The young people enjoy a broad range of other activities, in line with their interests, so that they have opportunities and experiences like their peers who are not children looked after. They also enjoy activities together, such as going to a hair and beauty salon, skating, theme parks, and holidays away with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager is proactive in ensuring that transition planning with placing authorities takes place at the earliest opportunity, so that young people move on from the home positively. Young people also engage well in learning skills for independent living, to give them confidence in their abilities as they approach adulthood. On arrival, young people moving into the home say they feel welcomed. One said that the home has ‘completely changed my life’, and another said, ‘Nothing could be better; couldn’t ask for a better place. I am respected and treated like an individual.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are at the centre of practice in the home. Their involvement in their own care planning is evident throughout their records. They provide regular feedback and contribute their views in group meetings and individual monthly consultations with the manager. They also comment on individual staff members’ performance as part of the annual appraisal process, and the team’s performance against the quality standards. Young people’s investment in, and contribution to, the home’s ethos means that they have every opportunity to fulfil their potential and experience very positive outcomes.

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

Young people’s risks and vulnerabilities are well understood by a team who have a very thorough understanding of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. Risk management plans are clear. They are reviewed on a regular basis or in response to any specific events or emerging concerns. Young people are aware of any concerns that the staff may have and engage well in direct work to address arising issues. The staff adapt resources and sessions to meet the individual needs and abilities of the young people. Consequently, risks identified prior to young people moving into the home reduce significantly from the point when they arrive.

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

Young people do not go missing from the home, or engage in associated risk-taking behaviours such as alcohol or substance misuse. One young person, who requires close supervision, did manage to leave the home undetected. However, a swift and coordinated response meant that she was located quickly and returned safely to the Inspection report children’s home: SC419808 5 home.

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

The staff have an extremely good understanding of young people’s needs and vulnerabilities. In one situation, the excellent communication between a young person’s school and the home prompted an immediate response, to ensure that appropriate measures were put in place to safeguard young people in the home. The additional safeguards were sensitively conveyed so that a vulnerable young person knew that they were in place. The additional measures were immediately removed once they were no longer required.

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

Young people respond extremely well to expectations and boundaries put in place. One said that the rules are ‘100% fair. If we think they are not, then [the manager] explains why.’ Another said they are ‘good rules, to keep us safe’. Relationships between young people and the staff are clearly genuine and caring. The young people said they feel able to speak to any of the staff. Young people feel safe, secure and respected by the staff, so that they very rarely exhibit negative behaviours. When they do raise their voices, staff respond calmly, and young people readily apologise. As a result, young people are not given negative consequences, and physical intervention is not required to manage behaviour in the home.

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

The young people have excellent relationships with each other and warmly welcome new young people to the home. They describe each other as ‘amazing’ and ‘like sisters’ and enjoy doing activities together. They will have occasional disagreements, but these are soon resolved, and the staff subtly monitor dynamics to ensure that more confident individuals do not dominate others.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by a very experienced and knowledgeable registered manager. She is supported by her deputy in managing a small, cohesive and dedicated staff team. The whole team is highly ambitious and aspirational for the young people to fulfil their potential, and to experience the highest quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel extremely well supported by both the manager and deputy in developing their skills and practice. Newer staff readily seek advice and guidance from more experienced colleagues. The staff value opportunities to reflect on practice individually in good-quality supervision, and collectively in monthly team meetings. Records of meetings and individual supervisions are comprehensive and child focused. However, the registered manager has not herself received recorded individual supervision from her manager. This issue is being addressed as a result of a requirement raised at another of the provider’s homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Training is well planned in advance, and the staff are expected to complete monthly continual professional development tasks, to broaden their knowledge and expertise. A particular focus since the last inspection has been on complex trauma and how this may affect young people living at the home. The staff said that this has influenced their practice in how they respond to young people’s behaviour, so that they are able to help Inspection report children’s home: SC419808 6 young people build greater resilience. The deputy has also used research to develop awareness training around knife crime for staff, which has also been adapted to use with the young people. The manager has had some opportunities to take on additional responsibilities in her role. However, there is no current clear plan for her ongoing professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Relationships with external professionals are particularly strong. Social workers commented that they value the weekly reports from the home, as they help to track their young people’s progress. Social workers and an independent reviewing officer noted that the home has been transformative for young people who live there, commenting on the highly individualised care. They consider that young people’s emotional needs are met extremely well, resulting in significant and positive changes in behaviour. The manager will also act as a strong advocate and challenge other professionals, for example as she did when she believed a fixed term school exclusion was excessive. The headteacher reduced the length of the exclusion in response to the challenge, which focused on the young person’s overall achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Highly effective monitoring systems are in place. This contributes to the manager’s excellent understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. External independent monitoring provides further support to drive forward continuous improvements. The manager has ongoing development plans for the home. However, she misses the opportunity to include these in an action plan as part of the review of the quality of care report.

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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: SC419808 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6 Tower Quays, Tower Road, Birkenhead, Merseyside CH41 1BP

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Inspector

Karen Willson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC419808 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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