Children's Home run by Future Focused Ltd in Wigan

Inspection report children’s home: 2591916 1 Registered provider: Future Focused Limited 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 a private company and is registered to provide residential care for one child with social, emotional and/or mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since the home opened on 20 July 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 2 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 outstanding

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2591916 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to feel settled in the home. Staff listen and act on the child’s wishes and feelings, including regarding the child’s family dog, which now lives at the home. The child told the inspector they feel staff understand them and know how best to support them. Staff regularly spend focused one-to-one time with the child. The staff team has a good understanding of the child’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a sound understanding of the home’s therapeutic model and apply this to practice. The therapeutic placement plans for the child provide staff with in-depth guidance of how best to support them. These are further strengthened by the newly developed child-friendly plans which are written in an age-appropriate way. The child has an accessible plan which explains how staff will help and support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is promoted well by the staff team working effectively with the virtual school. Through this collaborative approach, staff supported the child to attend summer school following their arrival at the home. The child successfully started college following summer school and continues to engage well in their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child’s physical and psychological health needs well. The in-house psychologist and psychotherapist contribute to the positive support provided. Staff actively promote exercise through supporting the child to attend the gym regularly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child feels able to talk with staff about any worries they may have. They know how to make a complaint and how to access an independent advocate. However, the guide provided to children moving into the home does not reflect the home’s approach to care, including some language which is not particularly child friendly. This does not clearly explain to a child what they can expect when they move to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been supported well by the staff team when moving into, and on from, the home. The feedback from one social worker commented on the ‘child- centred’ support provided by staff when the child moved into the home. One child, who was supported to move on from the home, was very positive in their feedback about the care and support staff provided during their time living in the home.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the child’s vulnerabilities and the associated risks. They are provided with detailed guidance through the comprehensive individual risk management plan in place for the child. The child has their own accessible plan which explains their individual risks and how staff keep them safe from these. Although this is a good example of staff practice, the child’s plans did not include an emerging potential risk. This was a recording issue which did not Inspection report children’s home: 2591916 3 have a direct impact on the child’s safety. However, it is important the plans reflect all known information, in order to provide up-to-date guidance to staff.

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

The staff team’s response to a child who previously went missing was tenacious. Through very good partnership working with statutory agencies and specialist support services, the team identified emerging risks, with agreed action plans to address these concerns. One social worker commented on the good communication with the staff team when the child went missing. Staff were persistent in searching for the child and bringing them home.

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

Safer recruitment practice is in place for the majority of new staff joining the home. This includes all appropriate references being completed in accordance with regulation. However, a gap in employment for one staff member had not been identified during recruitment checks, which are undertaken centrally by the organisation. The recruitment process was reviewed during the inspection, with additional measures put in place to prevent this happening again. The reasons for the gap in the employment did not result in any identified safeguarding concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is passionate and empathic, and leads by example. They are a positive role model for the team through their own excellent practice. This is reflected in the registered manager’s admirable support for the staff team through the COVID-19 pandemic. Children have been cared for by a consistent team through the retention of staff since the home opened.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a detailed understanding of the child’s individual needs and vulnerabilities. They have an in-depth knowledge of how the home’s therapeutic approach helps to support any child who lives at the home. As a strong advocate for the child, the registered manager is confident in appropriately challenging professionals. This helps to ensure that the child receives the right support when they need it. Equally, the registered manager has developed excellent partnership working with services.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The committed deputy manager has helped to introduce good-quality child-friendly plans. The child contributes to these plans and is supported to see the progress they are making. The registered manager and deputy manager have worked very well together to develop effective monitoring systems to review the child’s progress. One particular noteworthy example is the detailed therapeutic plan, which the registered manager reviews regularly. This helps the management team to see how well the child is being both supported and safeguarded as a result of the work of the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive quality time and space to reflect on their practice. This includes regular individual supervision with the management team. Staff also benefit from the weekly group support provided to the team by the in-house psychologist. This helps to further strengthen the team’s capacity to reflect on how their practice impacts on the child’s experience of the care they receive. Inspection report children’s home: 2591916 4 The team all describe feeling very happy working in the home. One staff member told the inspector they ‘absolutely love working here’. Staff fully understand how their work directly supports the progress the child is making. Staff say they feel well supported by both the registered manager and the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A particular strength of the registered manager is their commitment to developing the staff team and enabling them each to progress professionally. As a result, staff feel really supported in their individual learning and professional development. The registered manager has a sound understanding of the strengths of the home and the areas for development. There is a detailed plan for continued improvements to the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2591916 5

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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, The 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(c)) 5 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d)) 5 November 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2591916 6 This particularly refers to ensuring that all gaps in employment are accounted for prior to a new staff member starting employment.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills to identify signs that children may be at risk, support children with agreed strategies to manage and reduce any risks and that all potential risks are recorded in the child’s individual risk management plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)

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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: 2591916 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Future Focused Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Maria Lonergan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2591916 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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