Children's Home run by Formations Care Services Limited in Bradford

Inspection report for children’s home 2668482 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 is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties. Two children are currently living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led and managed by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager who is dual registered and has management oversight of a sister home located nearby.

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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: 25 January 2023

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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: 2668482 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2668482 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have left the home and two children have been welcomed in. The registered manager and staff support children during these key times through sensitive planning which considers the children’s individual needs, and their wishes and feelings. This helps children to experience new chapters in their life in a positive way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff provide a homely environment for children. The home is furnished to a very good standard and is clean and well maintained. Children are supported to develop a sense of belonging and permanence through personalising their bedrooms and contributing their ideas to the décor of the home. Children’s photos are present within the home, and this enhances their sense of being valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s preferred styles of communication are well understood and respected by the registered manager and staff. This promotes an inclusive environment in which all children are helped to communicate their needs. This approach supports children to build trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of relationships between the children and staff are good. Staff are visible within the home and enjoy spending time with the children. The registered manager and staff provide the children with a wide range of opportunities to have fun and take part in new experiences. This helps to promote the development of positive relationships between the children and staff and enhances the children’s day-to-day experiences. One professional said that they have seen the child develop into a ‘happy child’ since living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make good progress with their health. They have access to universal and specialist health services and staff support them to attend all health appointments. Actions from meetings with health providers are captured within the children’s individual health plans, and this helps staff to meet the health needs of the children on an ongoing basis.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff support children to attend education. This helped one child to increase their attendance at their education provision and gain a formal qualification. Where children have no identified education provision, the registered manger appropriately challenges this through the virtual school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with numerous opportunities to participate in decisions about their day-to-day lives. They are supported by staff to take part in key meetings and contribute to their plans. This enables staff to deliver care that is sensitive and tailored to each child’s individual needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668482 4

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

Staff understand the children’s needs and risks well. Care planning is cohesive. The children’s care plans, risk assessments and behaviour support plans align and reflect their needs and risks identified in formal assessments undertaken by other professionals. The children’s plans reflect their specific vulnerabilities and support staff to keep the children safe.

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

Staff have a good understanding of contextual safeguarding and the personalised details in children’s missing-from-care plans. This helps to keep the children safe online and while in the community. There have been no missing-from-care incidents, but staff know how to respond should this happen.

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

Children are supported by the registered manager and staff to develop positive relationships. This is achieved through the staff following the children’s behaviour support plans, modelling positive behaviours, and providing the children with clear and consistent boundaries. As a result, there have been no incidents in the home that have required the use of physical intervention.

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

There has been one significant incident since the last full inspection. The registered manager and staff followed safeguarding procedures and plans were quickly put in place to reduce the risk of harm to the children. One professional said that the child is ‘very, very safe’ in the home. Another professional commented on the effective way that this safeguarding incident was responded to by the registered manager and staff.

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

There have been no allegations made in respect of staff. Staff are aware of safeguarding procedures and the whistle-blowing policy should they have concerns about the conduct of a member of staff. Staff are recruited in line with safer recruitment procedures. This reduces the risk of unsuitable adults working with the children.

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

Key-work sessions help the children to understand how to keep themselves safer. They align with the children’s known and emerging needs and risks. They help the children to make progress and promote their safety and well-being.

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

The locality risk assessment is comprehensive and is informed by information shared by external agencies. This provides transparency to placing authorities and supports staff to keep the children safe while in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and dedicated leadership team that is passionate about caring for children. Leaders and managers are visible, the staff hold them in high regard and have confidence in them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the children’s needs, understands their starting points, and can identify the progress that children make Inspection report for children’s home: 2668482 5 in their care. This, combined with their ambition for children, helps them to direct staff on how to meet the needs of the children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and feel supported in their role and are highly motivated. They value regular practice-based supervision, team meetings and training as this enables them to meet the specific needs of the children and helps the children to make progress. The staff team is established and cohesive, and its members enjoy learning from one another.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The members of the leadership team know and understand the home’s strengths and weaknesses and take effective action to address any shortfalls. Its members value feedback from children and key stakeholders and use this to improve the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The models of care as stated in the statement of purpose are well embedded within the staff team. This enables the home to achieve its stated aims and objectives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of professional relationships is good, and professionals spoken to were very positive about the registered manager and staff, and the positive impact they have on children’s lives. One professional described the quality of care provided as ‘amazing’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children’s case records reflect their everyday lives and the work that staff do with them. Case records reflect the children’s achievements and relate to their plans for the future. They are written with care and respect and with an aim to increase the children’s understanding about their life story and experiences. However, the current system for storing records is not easily accessible to those with a legitimate need to view them, including the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668482 6

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Recommendation

 The registered manager must ensure that information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and be produced in a legible form. Doing this supports the transparency of the quality of care provided in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2).

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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: 2668482 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: 2668482 8 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 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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