Children's home run by Good Foundations Limited in Wirral

Inspection report for children’s home: SC067771 1 SC067771 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 with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and managed. The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2019.

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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: SC067771 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2022 Full Good 22/06/2021 Full Good 02/07/2019 Full Good 03/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC067771 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are four children living in the home. Two children have moved on since the last inspection, and two children have moved in. Children are welcomed to the home in a sensitive and planned manner. When children have left, they have been supported to move in a positive way. One child has returned to the care of his parent, and another child moved to semi-independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. Children have been involved in the recent refurbishment of the home and the decoration of their bedrooms. Children say that they like living in the home and have good relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a variety of activities based on their interests. They also have opportunities to try new things. This includes trips to the bowling alley, fishing activities and time at the fairground. Children have photo albums and memory books from their time in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. When appropriate, staff support children to spend time with their families in the community. Staff encourage parents to be involved in their child’s life in line with their care plans. Communication is reported to be good with family members. This supports children’s sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is promoted for all children. Staff encourage children to engage with their school provision and take children to their previous schools. This has enabled children to maintain their previous school placement and friendship group. Children who are not attending school are provided with alternative education plans, including tutoring in the home and informal learning, such as cooking, worksheets and crafts. The manager works well with professionals to source alternative education provisions based on the individual needs of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to attend health appointments to support their physical health and emotional well-being. Staff are proactive in their approach and prepare children for what they can expect at these appointments. This means that children feel able to engage positively, and it has resulted in previously unmet health needs being addressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to eat a balanced diet and exercise regularly. Children enjoy cooking in the home for themselves and each other. This develops their independence skills and strengthens the relationships between the children 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 strengths and risks for each child and take Inspection report for children’s home: SC067771 4 action to ensure that children are safeguarded. Staff share information with external professionals in a timely way to ensure that there is a multi-agency response to risks and concerns about children’s safety. Feedback from professionals and family members says that children are kept safe and that staff take necessary steps to protect children. One professional said, ‘The staff do not give up on children.’

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

Staff complete work with children to help them develop skills and strategies to recognise and manage risks. Children are provided with resources and support from external agencies, such as the drug and alcohol team, the police and the fire service, to further develop their understanding and reduce risks both in the home and the community.

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

Incidents in the home are managed well by staff, who are experienced and skilled in recognising potential triggers for children. Children are supported to understand their behaviour, and staff use a variety of effective strategies to de-escalate situations. This means that children are supported to feel safe in the home.

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

Staff provide positive rewards when children do well and incentives to support children to achieve their goals. This provides children with a sense of achievement and pride. When children make poor choices, staff use consequences that are appropriate and restorative in nature. However, records of such consequences do not always include the child’s voice, a timescale or a clear evaluation. This limits the manager’s oversight of the effectiveness of these consequences.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home have reduced in recent months. When children do go missing from home, staff follow the actions detailed in children’s plans to ensure that they return home safely. Children are provided with independent return home interviews that are arranged by the local authority. The manager has effective oversight of all records to ensure that these are detailed and that appropriate actions have been taken to safeguard children.

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

Written risk assessments and behaviour support plans are of good quality for three children. They provide staff with the information they need to act to safeguard the children in their care. One child’s plans do not include clear guidance and strategies for staff to follow. However, the current staff team is aware of the child’s needs and understands the actions it needs to take to keep the child safe.

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

The manager takes appropriate action when concerns arise about children’s safety. There has been one allegation since the last inspection, and there is a current internal investigation underway relating to this. The manager has taken appropriate action and followed procedures to ensure that children are safe, including liaising with the local authority designated officer.

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

Safer recruitment checks are completed before employing staff. However, the manager has not made reasonable attempts to seek references from previous employers. This could result in staff being employed who are not safe to work with children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067771 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She has a good understanding of the children’s needs and has high aspirations for the children and staff team. Practice throughout the home is nurturing and child-centred. Feedback from professionals and family members is positive. Communication is highlighted as an area where the manager and staff team excel.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for the children in her care. She will challenge services and professionals appropriately to ensure that the voice of the child is listened to when making decisions about children’s lives. Children say they can talk to the manager or other staff members to raise any concerns. There has been one complaint since the last inspection, which was managed sensitively, and the manager provided feedback and an outcome to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel valued and supported by the manager. Staff receive regular, good-quality supervision and team meetings. This provides staff with an opportunity to reflect on their practice, the needs of the children and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff receive good-quality training. Training is tailored to the individual needs and risks of the children. The manager has sourced external training to enhance the skills and experience of the staff team further, for example training on sexual identity, drug misuse and sexually harmful behaviour. This means that children receive care from staff who understand their needs and have the skills to support them appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of practice in the home. Quality of care reports are evaluative and include the views of children, families and external professionals. The registered manager has established systems in place for monitoring and review. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067771 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(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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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

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that employment checks include verification, so far as is reasonably practicable, of positions where a person has previously worked with children or vulnerable adults and why the employment ended. 4 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC067771 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that strategies recorded in written risk assessments are clear and specific for all individual children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that consequences for children’s behaviour are clearly recorded and evaluated to ensure they are proportionate and effective. Records should include children’s views and clear timescales for the consequence. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: SC067771 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6 Tower Quays, Tower Road, Birkenhead, Merseyside CH41 1BP

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Inspector

Jenni Gadsby, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC067771 9 regulates 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 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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