Children's home run by Good Foundations Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: SC419808 1 SC419808 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

The home is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. The home is privately owned.

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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 for children’s home: SC419808 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/04/2022 Full Good 28/10/2021 Full Inadequate 18/12/2019 Full Outstanding 05/12/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC419808 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a spacious and homely environment in which children make good progress. It has a calm and relaxed atmosphere, which helps children to feel safe and secure. Photos of the children are displayed in the home, and two children keep small animals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and speak warmly and knowledgably about them. They build good and meaningful relationships with the children. This enables the staff to respond appropriately to children and promote their welfare.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to maintain good physical health. Children are encouraged to eat healthily and attend all their health appointments. One nurse said that there is good multi-agency working with the staff, and they reinforce the work that health professionals complete with the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional health and well-being are supported by staff. The children say they feel listened to and cared for by staff. Staff support children to find creative solutions to difficult problems, and positive behaviour is promoted. One child attends an emotional well-being club each week. This helps children develop confidence and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children attending school are making good progress. One teacher said that the communication is ‘excellent’, and staff regularly share updates about one child’s weekend. When children are not fully engaging in education, the staff will support them to access learning and attend alternative education provision. One child successfully completed a 12-week team programme with the Prince’s Trust and now has a part-time job.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are involved in decisions about their day-to-day care, and their views are acted on when appropriate. Individual work is completed with children on important issues, such as school, relationships and substance misuse. The children’s views are recorded. However, the records do not always evidence how the individual work is helping children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to see their family and friends, and they are welcome in the home. The staff maintain regular communication with parents and facilitate overnight stays for the children with family members. One parent said that the communication with staff is good, and they feel comfortable asking them questions. This helps the children to maintain their identity and continue to see the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to carry out daily tasks independently in line with their individual needs, such as budgeting, laundry, shopping and using public transport. This is helping the children prepare for adult life. Inspection report for children’s home: SC419808 4 Children who are new to the home are welcomed sensitively and with the best possible planning. When children are preparing to leave the home, staff support them to experience a smooth transition and positive ending.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to engage in activities, such as go-karting, hiking, canoeing and going to the gym. All the children went on holiday together last summer. This is helping the children to develop their social skills and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have memory books of their time in the home. This supports their ability to reflect on their experiences and progress.

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

Children currently living in the home say that they feel safe. They can talk to staff about any worries they have. The staff team educates the children to make safer choices and to keep themselves safe.

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

Assessments of risk and behaviour management plans are in place and updated regularly. There are strategies in place to protect children from harm. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques, and physical intervention is not used. One social worker said that there has been a reduction in self-harm for one child since 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 safeguarding and follow the statutory guidance for children who go missing from home. If children go missing from home, staff actively look for them and liaise with professionals to help minimise risk. Return home interviews are offered by an independent agency on each occasion.

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

The managers and staff know what to do in response to any allegations made. Referrals made are timely, and suitable action is taken to minimise the risk to the children to allow the necessary enquiries to be made.

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

Records of incidents are detailed. However, body maps are not completed when children have sustained a physical injury.

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

Searches of bedrooms are carried out sensitively by staff. All searches are recorded appropriately. The reasons for the searches are clear, and there is management oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced manager who is supported by a competent deputy manager. There is a stable and core staff team in place, and agency staff are not used. This helps promote continuity of care for the children so they can develop ongoing relationships with trusted adults. Inspection report for children’s home: SC419808 5 The managers are child-centred and keen to achieve positive outcomes for the children. The managers know the children well and are a good role model for both staff and children. Managers ensure that the children’s plans identify their individual needs and consider the local authority care plan for each child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and review systems are in place. However, robust management evaluation is not always evident within the children’s records. This means that the managers and staff cannot always identify and act on shortfalls to improve the quality of care that the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment is followed, and new staff coming into the home receive an appropriate induction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff receive training to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and meet the children’s individual needs. For example, staff have completed training in self-harm, child criminal exploitation and autism spectrum disorder. As a result, staff have a good knowledge and skill base to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff describe the managers as being supportive and say that they enjoy working in the home. Staff have regular supervision. However, the records do not always evidence that staff have had an opportunity to discuss the children and reflect on their practice on an individual basis. This limits the manager’s understanding of staff strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers work well with children’s families and all relevant agencies. The manager and staff engage in regular statutory care planning meetings. One social worker said that reports from staff are thorough and ‘bring [name of child] to life’.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that robust evaluation is undertaken of all incidents, including when children go missing from the home. The evaluation should identify any outstanding actions, gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff and what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of quality of care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should ensure that the outcome and impact of the individual sessions completed with the children are detailed within their records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s record of an incident includes a completed body map if a physical injury has occurred. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: SC419808 6 Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 63, paragraph

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision records include discussions with staff that reflect on their practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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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 for 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: Unit 6 TOWER QUAYS, TOWER RD, Birkenhead CH41 1BP

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Inspector

Dawn Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC419808 8 inspects 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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