Children's home run by Formations Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2700358 1 Registered provider: Formations Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It was registered in October 2022 to provide care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties. One child is currently living in the home. This is the only child to have lived in the home since it registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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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 for children’s home: 2700358 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2700358 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff are aspirational for children. Through careful planning and liaison with other professionals, they develop a good understanding of children’s needs before they move into the home. This means that care is tailored to the individual needs of children and allows them to make progress from their starting point.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff enable children to develop a sense of permanence. Children have input into their daily routines and are involved in decisions about the decoration of the home. The child told the inspector that they ‘get on with the staff’, have fun and are like ‘one big family’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and monitor children’s progress through outcomes scales. This promotes the child’s understanding of the progress they have made, helps them to celebrate their achievements and enables them to work towards new goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand and value children’s preferred style of communication and how they learn. They support this daily through appropriate methods such as visual prompts and planners. This has supported the child to make progress with their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff support children with their education. Communication with education providers is good. In addition to supporting formal education, the staff provide a range of educational opportunities in the home and in the community. This has meant that the child has made good progress with their education. One professional said that in terms of promoting the child’s education, the manager and staff go ‘above and beyond’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s physical health through healthy eating, exercise and attending routine health appointments. Children’s emotional well-being is promoted through positive parenting, regular key-work sessions and weekly chats.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take part in a wide variety of activities that are in line with their specific interests. This enables children to have fun and gain new skills and enhances their day-to-day experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide care that is sensitive and responsive to children’s identity. They support children to spend time with family members. This allows children to maintain and develop relationships with those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to collect photos and mementos of their time at the home, including of activities they take part in and time spent with their family members. This helps the child to develop a positive self-view and sense of identity. Inspection report for children’s home: 2700358 4

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

The child has been helped by the manager and staff to build trusting relationships with them. The child feels able to talk to them if they have any worries. They know how to make a complaint. The child said that one of the good things about the home is the respect that they get from the staff.

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

The manager and staff work in partnership with local authority social workers, independent reviewing officers, education providers and family members to promote the safety of children. There is a strong and proactive response to reducing risk. One parent said that the home has brought their child along in ‘leaps and bounds’, and they feel their child is safe.

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

Staff understand the individual needs and risks of children. Risk assessments are up to date, clearly detail the child’s vulnerabilities and set out what action staff should take to manage risks. This enables staff to take a proactive role in reducing risk and supports them in responding quickly and effectively when safeguarding concerns arise. Children are encouraged to understand how to keep themselves safe through regular key-work sessions and weekly chats.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted through the implementation of clear routines and boundaries in the home. One professional noted the positive impact of reward charts on the child’s emotional well-being and behaviour. The individual crisis management plan guides staff on how to positively support the child. It is kept under regular review and amended in line with any changes in the child’s behaviour. This has reduced the need for physical interventions.

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

There have been no allegations made against staff. Staff are aware of safeguarding procedures and the whistle-blowing policy should they have concerns about the conduct of a member of staff. This promotes the safety and welfare of children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by an experienced and strong leadership team, which is ambitious for children. Leaders and managers understand the needs of the child well. They are passionate and committed to promoting the child’s safety and welfare and helping them to make progress in all areas of their life. The managers are visible and have good oversight of practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a culture of high expectations in the home, and staff have confidence in managers when reporting safeguarding concerns. Staff understand the model of practice as stated in the home’s statement of purpose and can link this to the positive impact that it has on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home. They feel listened to by managers and feel that their well-being is promoted. Practice-related supervision and team meetings take place on a regular basis. Staff value these as a space to reflect on the care they give Inspection report for children’s home: 2700358 5 to children and make changes to their practice where needed. There is evidence of managerial challenge in supervision and team meeting records when staff practice needs to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training that is tailored to the individual needs of children. They value training opportunities as they enable them to feel confident in understanding and meeting the needs of any child living in the home. The manager has oversight of staff training through the training matrix.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work proactively and positively with other agencies and professionals. They build strong working relationships and communicate effectively with parents and the local authority social worker to secure positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that the physical environment is maintained to a very high standard and replicates a family home for children. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and the communal areas. The child has contributed their ideas to the development of the home, which supports their sense of belonging and being valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and responsible individual use learning from practice and feedback to improve the experiences and care of children. They actively monitor the quality of care provided. However, they need to ensure that those employed to carry out external scrutiny have access to all the relevant information to form an impartial judgement about the home’s quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Case records reflect the day-to-day life of the child, their achievements, changing needs and plans. Staff encourage the child to contribute to these records in their own words. While the records are easy to understand, they are not always written in a sensitive manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The most recent local authority care plan for the child was not on the child’s case records. The manager escalated this during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proactive in notifying relevant professionals and parents of significant events that relate to the child’s safety and welfare. However, they have failed to notify the regulator of such incidents. This prevents the regulator from having oversight of and being able to evaluate the safety and welfare of the child living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2700358 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, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 31 July 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person they appoint has the skills and understanding necessary to relate to children in a home’s care, assess all relevant information and form an impartial judgement about the quality of the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s records on each child are a significant contribution to their life history. They must be written in a way that is sensitive and non-judgemental and enables the child to understand their time at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should ensure that they and their staff engage proactively with the placing authority to contribute fully to the relevant plans for the child’s care on an ongoing basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including

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Recommendations

the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.2 and 11.3)

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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: 2700358 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Formations Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Formations Care Services, 2 St. Pauls Road, Shipley BD18 3EP

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Victoria Crabtree-Phillips

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Inspector

Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2700358 8 and 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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