Children's home run by CF Support Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 1 Registered provider: CF Support Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to three children, aged from seven upwards, with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 30 January 2023, when the home registered.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, there was one child living at the home. Since the home opened, two children have moved into the home and one child has moved on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child benefits from a high staff ratio in line with their needs. At the time of the inspection, the child had lived at the home for three weeks. Staff are starting to build positive relationships with the child. The child is receiving consistent and individualised care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how to respond to potential health concerns. Staff understand the importance of seeking health professionals’ advice promptly. Staff monitor the child’s health closely and respond appropriately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child had a long period of not attending school before moving into the home. Since the child has moved to the home, the manager has made appropriate referrals to schools. The manager is in the process of referring the child to an interim provision. Staff encourage the child to engage with informal learning and life skills. Education is promoted and the manager is proactive to help avoid unnecessary delay for the child to start progressing their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are actively encouraging the child to participate in activities. The child has enjoyed going out for ‘bubble tea’ and going swimming and is planning a day trip with staff. Staff are using the activities to help get to know the child and understand what they enjoy doing. The child is enjoying new opportunities and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has listened to the child’s views about their preferences of time with their family members. A meeting has been arranged to explore how this time can be supported. The child regularly enjoys time with their friends. Staff help the child to spend time with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved into the home with good planning, despite being emergency situations. Both children met the manager and the staff and had a tour of the home either face to face or virtually. One child moved out of the home in an unplanned way. This was due to safety concerns for the child that were out of the manager’s control. The child wrote a letter to the staff to thank them for the care that they received. Difficult moves are managed well. The child moving out of the home had an opportunity to let the manager and staff know how they felt, giving the chance to have closure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious, welcoming and well decorated. The child has various communal rooms to relax in. The child has chosen their bedding and soft furnishings for their bedroom. However, the front and back garden need weeding and there is a Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 4 fence panel that needs to be replaced. These issues detract from an otherwise homely environment.

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

The manager and staff have taken appropriate action to help keep children safe. However, despite every effort being made, situations out of the staff’s control have meant that, at times, children have been exposed to risky situations. The police have been appropriately used on a few occasions to help manage difficult situations. An officer fed back that they are impressed with how well safeguarding incidents are managed. The staff are confident and well equipped to manage safeguarding incidents.

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

The manager shares risk assessments with all relevant professionals so that children who are at risk of exploitation are safeguarded. Regular review of the risks that children are exposed to and agreeing protocols through joined-up working has enabled an effective multi-agency approach to safeguarding children.

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

There have been several incidents of children going missing from the home. The manager has worked closely with the police to agree effective protocols. The staff alert the British Transport Police when a child has gone missing, and search the local train stations and any areas that they think the child may be. The staff manage incidents well and welcome children home. At the time of this inspection, the child living at the home had managed several consecutive days without a missing-from- home incident, which is good progress for the child.

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

Physical intervention has been used on one occasion since registration. The intervention was used for minimal time and was appropriate and necessary. Staff use de-escalation techniques to help prevent the need to use physical interventions.

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

Impact risk assessments and risk assessments are generally very detailed and give staff good guidance. Although some identified risks have not been considered in children’s impact risk assessments, they are reflected in the child’s individual risk assessment. However, one child’s risk assessment does not contain enough information on how staff should manage a specific safeguarding risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager registered at the same time as the home in January 2023. She is experienced and has a relevant level 5 qualification. The manager is supported by a deputy manager. The manager receives good support from the responsible individual and operations manager. The manager understands the children’s needs and is a good role model for staff. Staff said that the manager is very ‘hands-on and really cares about children’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they receive good-quality and regular supervisions. They said that managers have helped them to develop practice and that they can ask for supervision any time. One staff member said that, following a difficult incident, she Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 5 was encouraged by the manager to have a one-to-one session with the home’s appointed clinical psychologist. Staff feel motivated and supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager chairs regular and interactive team meetings with staff. She uses the meetings to explore safeguarding scenarios and the quality standards and includes role plays on physical interventions. Staff are supported to continually develop their practice .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent reviewing officer was impressed with the personalised care that the staff provide. She said that the manager is a strong advocate for the child. Children feel well cared for and listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training for staff is generally very good quality and includes specialist face-to-face training. Staff either hold a relevant level 3 diploma or are working towards a diploma within the required timescales. However, staff have not had knife awareness training, despite this being an area of risk for one child. The staff have not all yet completed trauma-informed care training, despite providing trauma- informed care. Both training sessions had been booked before the inspection but had not yet been delivered. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing environment that meets children’s needs. In particular, they should ensure that the front and back garden are well maintained and replace the broken fence panel. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements to protect them. In particular, they should ensure that impact risk assessments include all identified risks and that the current child’s risk assessments include steps to take to manage the use of weapons. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff access resources to support their training needs. In particular, they should ensure that staff receive knife awareness

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Recommendations

and trauma-informed care training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2709417 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: CF Support Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Three Rivers Business Centre, Felixstowe Road, Foxhall, Ipswich IP10 0BF

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Joanne Henderson

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Inspectors

Amy Miles, Social Care Inspector Emily Stevens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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