Children's home run by Good Foundations Limited in Wirral

Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 1 SC067771 Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns the home. It is registered for up to four children who may have behavioural and/or emotional difficulties. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 17 July 2019.

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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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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: Good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/07/2019 Full Good 03/10/2018 Full Good 03/05/2017 Full Good 02/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from well-planned, individualised care. The home offers children a warm and nurturing environment where staff work with them to build positive relationships. One child said, ‘The best thing about the home is the staff, they are friendly.’ One professional said that the home has ‘a family atmosphere’. This provides the child with a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements are celebrated in the home and captured in photographs albums and cards; this is helping the children build on their life stories. There are a range of activities on offer in the home and the children have recently been fishing and have had a trip to Blackpool. As a result, children are having enjoyable life experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child, who has lived at the home for a number of years, told the inspector that the staff have been supporting him to learn life skills such as cooking and washing, in preparation for his upcoming move out of the home as he reaches adulthood. This has helped the child to build on his independence skills and has made him more confident.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff in the home are all qualified and suitably trained. They know the children well and are able to meet the children’s needs. Staff have recently taken part in workshops that raised their awareness of county lines and criminal exploitation. In addition, the staff benefit from continuing professional development that covers diversity, culture and the rights of the child. This additional knowledge has meant that the direct work sessions between staff and children are more effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are being promoted in the home. Where there have been concerns around a child’s medical and emotional needs, effective partnership working has taken place to improve the individual’s health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with tutors to help overcome any barriers to the children’s engagement and learning in education. Staff ensure that there are structured daily routines in place. As a result, children are making good progress. The staff are keen for children to be in education. However, one child is engaged in learning, but not on a full-time basis. A recommendation has been made to carry on trying to increase this child’s engagement in education.

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

Good-quality risk assessments are in place to address all known risks and are updated regularly. Staff understand all children’s risks. Consequently, children are made increasingly safe from the risks posed by exploitation, substance misuse and smoking. Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 4 Good-quality direct work is undertaken to support children who are at risk of child criminal exploitation and substance misuse. Staff have worked hard to establish good partnership working with the police and other safeguarding agencies. As a result, children are supported to understand risks in the community.

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

Children say they feel safe in the home and have built secure relationships with staff. This means that children have a trusted adult who they can talk to if they have concerns, and who will listen to them and support them.

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

There have been incidents of children going missing. These incidents have been well documented and managed appropriately. However, the missing-from-care plans would benefit from including guidance on the timescales for reporting children missing from the home. A recommendation has been made in relation to this.

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

Staff help children to see the benefits of positive behaviour. There are clear expectations and boundaries in the home that are outlined in children’s plans. The good routines and structure mean that children are supported to take responsibility for the cleaning of their rooms, personal hygiene and helping around the home.

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

A professional was very complimentary about the staff and the work they had done on looking at effective strategies to help a child manage their emotions. As a result of this work, the child is much calmer and more able to take responsibility for their own behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced, passionate and child-focused registered manager. She supports and leads a skilled and content staff team well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although there have been staff changes, the team is now more stable. Consequently, children are receiving consistent of care from a committed staff team. The inspector observed good interaction between the children, the manager and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working with a wide range of external professionals is a key strength of the manager and staff team. A social worker said that communication in the home is good, and described the staff as ‘amazing’. The social worker also said that the registered manager keeps her updated regularly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is achieving its aims and objectives, which are set out in the statement of purpose. However, the manager must ensure that she updates the statement of purpose and sends a copy to Ofsted. A requirement has been made to address this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from monthly supervision and annual appraisals. This provides staff with the opportunity to reflect on and improve their practice. Team meetings are regular and well attended by the staff team. The content covers a range of topics and is relevant to the children’s needs. Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 5 The monthly external monitoring of the home is carried out by an independent person. This helps the manager to make improvements in the home. However, the independent visitor is not consulting with children, parents or a wide range of professionals to gain their feedback on the quality of care being provided. There is a requirement to address this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager needs to ensure that when she submits the quality of care report, it contains direct feedback, and opinions about the quality of care provided in the home, from the children, their parents, stakeholders and staff. There is a requirement to address this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a clear understanding of the progress that children are making, and she is a strong advocate for them. The culture of the home is one of high aspirations and nurturing for all. This is evident in the children’s comments and their continued progress. Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 6

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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 compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 7 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)) 7 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review, the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children; 7 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 7 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that children are in full-time education while they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained with the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)  The registered person must specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28) In particular, missing-from-care plans would benefit from including guidance on the timescales for reporting children missing from the home.

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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: SC067771 8

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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

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC067771 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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