Children's home run by Family Care Associates Limited in Preston

Inspection report children's home: SC063380 1 SC063380 Registered provider: Family Care Associates Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by an independent provider. The home provides care for up to four children or young people who present with complex behaviours following adverse childhood experiences and trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 2008.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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: 18 February 2020

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC063380 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2020 Full Good 19/02/2019 Full Good 19/02/2018 Full Good 23/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC063380 3

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outstanding

The staff are excellent at helping children move in and out of the home. When children are due to move into the home, they visit beforehand, allowing staff to start building effective relationships with children. When children move out, staff ensure that this is a positive experience. For example, staff provide food parcels, new clothes and bus passes and ensure that children have everything they need for the next chapter of their lives.

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outstanding

The children who have left, stay in touch and return to the home to visit staff and seek ongoing support long after they have moved out. Staff help children apply for small grants through a charity linked to the company. The charity funds driving lessons to aid independence, computers for studying and anything else that helps a child achieve a goal and make a positive difference to their life. This support can be accessed throughout their life.

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outstanding

The registered manager and staff specialise in supporting children to develop their independence skills, to prepare them for their futures. Children who have left the home have successfully moved to live in a family home or into semi-independent living. Those children have had successful outcomes as a result of the help they received during their time living in the home. For example, children have gone on to gain employment, learn to drive and become confident young people.

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outstanding

Children make exceptional progress from their starting points when living in this home. One child was on the brink of being permanently excluded from school. However, since living at the home, his attendance has significantly increased, and he is on track to achieve nine GCSEs. This is because staff have high expectations for children and provide clear and consistent boundaries that give children security and structure.

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outstanding

The staff are skilled at providing nurturing care that is therapeutic and individualised to the children’s needs. Staff work with a therapist to understand children’s behaviours and to identify strategies to support the children. This practice looks beyond the children’s behaviour and explores the children’s childhood experience. Staff’s focus is on what is causing the behaviour rather than the behaviour being displayed.

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outstanding

Staff are forward thinking in supporting children’s emotional needs and well-being. Children who previously struggled to share their emotions can now do so more effectively. Staff complete direct work with children that is underpinned by research- informed practice and overseen by a therapist. This ensures that direct work around anger management, behaviour, managing emotions and improving self-esteem are effective and beneficial to children’s development. Inspection report children's home: SC063380 4 Staff consistently show empathy and acceptance to the children. They are thoughtful and find creative ways to show children that they are thinking of them. For example, when children go to school, they put notes in their lunch box. The staff have made positivity jars where children and staff can share positive things about each other. Children can look at these when they want to. The positive reinforcement is evident

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outstanding

throughout the care provided and is done in such a way that it does not overwhelm children. This allows them to accept the praise from staff.

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outstanding

Staff cherish children’s memories and capture these in ‘here and now’ books, through photos and with souvenirs from places they have visited. Staff celebrate yearly anniversaries with activities and meals. When children do move out, this is celebrated and everyone gets involved. Staff and children have brilliant relationships with each other.

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outstanding

Staff teach children to cook, shop and budget and to learn general life skills. This is done at the child’s pace and staff lead by example. Children follow a healthy living programme, which includes staff cooking and helping children to cook all meals from fresh ingredients, avoiding processed food. This promotes children’s health now and in the future.

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outstanding

Safeguarding incidents in the home are minimal. Staff are skilled at de-escalating and managing children’s heightened emotions. Staff validate children’s feelings and explore with the children what is making them behave or respond in a particular way. Because of this, children feel listened to. Behaviours do not escalate to a level of risk that is unsafe. As a result, staff do not physically restrain children. A child who had left the home told the inspector that staff were always able to work through any problems with them.

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outstanding

Staff work with a therapist to understand children’s behaviours and experiences. This gives staff insight into the children’s behaviours and helps to develop different strategies to support children. Positive behaviour management plans and risk assessments are detailed and give staff a clear understanding of how to manage risks and behaviours. The children’s needs are continually discussed between the therapist, registered manager, children and staff to ensure that a joint approach is taken to manage risk.

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outstanding

Staff provide children with consistent guidance and boundaries. This helps children feel safe because they receive predictable care and responses from the staff who care for them. This is effective in managing children’s expectations and means children settle into the home quickly.

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outstanding

Children do not go missing from the home. However, staff understand the protocols and have had training ensuring that they know how to respond if a child does go missing from home. Inspection report children's home: SC063380 5 Staff have provided children with strategies to manage their emotions more effectively. Children who have previously self-harmed no longer do so. Staff prevent children from self-harming by providing nurturing and therapeutic care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is highly motivated, experienced and skilled. She is supported by an equally experienced deputy manager and together they lead a skilled and passionate staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home has a stable staff team. Staff rarely leave and have all worked in the home for many years. New staff are only appointed when the team is expanding. This means that the registered manager has been able to develop a dynamic and skilled staff team which delivers a consistently high level of care to children. A social worker told the inspector how pleasing it was to see the same staff team many years later when another of her children moved into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals are very positive about the service and told the inspector about the excellent communication from the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and staff have an extraordinary understanding of the children’s needs, the progress they make and how to support them. The registered manager is continually striving to improve her knowledge through research to ensure that she can continually meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive a range of training that is often delivered to incorporate and consider the needs of the children who are living in the home. This tailored training gives staff further insight and knowledge about the children they look after.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have regular supervisions and yearly appraisals. Children provide their views on staff practice and this feeds into the yearly appraisals. As such, children are always central to driving improvements in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and staff listen to children and ensure that their views are listened to and heard. One child was due to move to semi-independent living, but he asked to stay at the home so he could celebrate his 17th birthday there. The registered manager advocated for the child and he was able to remain at the home until after his birthday. All children have advocates and the registered manager promotes their involvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager’s monitoring systems are outstanding in terms of tracking children’s outcomes. In addition to this, she completes additional monitoring systems for a local authority and holds quarterly meetings with the commissioning team. This supports the local authority in their practice and improves their knowledge of the children. Inspection report children's home: SC063380 6 The registered manager’s development plan for the home strives for continued improvement. It demonstrates that she is aware of the home’s strengths and the areas for development.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC063380 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Family Care Associates Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 60 School Lane, Bamber Bridge, Preston, Lancashire PR5 6QE

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Inspectors

Lisa O’Donovan, Social Care Inspector Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC063380 8 to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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