Children's home run by Future In Mind Limited in Bolton

Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC431315 1 SC431315

p.1

Registered provider: Future In Mind Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

An experienced manager has been appointed to manage the home. The manager has submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

p.1

Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC431315 2

p.1

Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

p.2

The care of children

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out, and at the time of this inspection, no children were living at the home. The child moved out of the home in July 2022, and the provider has used this time to focus on home improvements and employ a stable staff team to deliver care to children.

p.2

The care of children

The child had some positive relationships with staff, but not all. This is because the child experienced a high turnover of staff, and not all staff were consistent in their approach. As a result, the child found it difficult to build trusting relationships with staff. The provider has taken steps to recruit a new staff team so that new children moving into the home will experience consistent care.

p.2

The care of children

The child’s views, wishes and feelings were routinely gathered. Before she left, the child expressed that she did not want to live in the home. The manager took time to explore her feelings with her, and this informed her care planning. However, information relating to the child’s experiences in her final week at the home is not clearly recorded. This does not provide the child with a clear narrative of what has happened, should she want to access her records at a later date.

p.2

The care of children

The home has had a complete makeover. A new kitchen has been fitted, new furniture has been purchased and the whole house has been redecorated. As a result, the home is warm and homely, and this contributes to a welcoming environment for new children coming to live at the home.

p.2

The safety of children

Risk assessments provided guidance for staff to support them to understand the child’s risks. However, staff did not always take appropriate action when the child was at risk of harm. Staff were not confident in addressing risk or managing the child’s behaviours, which compromised her safety. In addition, consequences were not always restorative in nature.

p.2

The safety of children

The manager has implemented new systems to ensure that staff understand the actions they need to take to keep children safe. In addition, staff working in the home have completed necessary safeguarding training, and the manager has implemented restorative practice approaches to help staff think about appropriate responses to children’s behaviour. Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC431315 3

p.2

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Since the last inspection, senior managers took the decision to close the home while they recruited a stable staff team. They did this because they want to improve the continuity of care that children receive and ensure that there are sufficient staff to care for children. An experienced manager and a new staff team have been appointed. The new manager has implemented new systems to start to address the shortfalls raised at the last inspection. However, these are yet to be tested fully.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff have received a wide range of training to meet children’s needs. This has included training in the home’s therapeutic model of care, and all staff are now trained in first aid. In addition, the majority of the staff have the appropriate qualifications in caring for children. The new staff team has been carefully selected to help to ensure that children receive care from staff with a range of experience and skills.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The quality of care review report, completed by a previous manager, is not of good quality. The document does not capture the challenges faced by the home during the review period, the learning from this period and what actions have been taken to improve the quality of care that children receive. It also does not reflect feedback from external stakeholders. Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC431315 4

p.3

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 12/06/2019 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC431315 5

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review report reflects the feedback and opinions of children and professionals who work with them. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery in the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as tools for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64-65, paragraph 15.2) Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC431315 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Future In Mind Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Future In Mind, 65 Market Street, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 1AD

p.6

Inspector

Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC431315 7 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7