Children's home run by Supporting Futures Limited in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 1 SC381667 Registered provider: Supporting Futures Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and operated and provides care for up to four children who may be experiencing social and emotional difficulties and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since May 2023. The acting manager has been in post since October 2023 and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were three children living in the home.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 26 October 2022

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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: SC381667 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/10/2022 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good 12/02/2020 Full Good 06/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a clean and comfortable home. Staff have supported children to personalise their bedrooms to reflect their individual interests. One child was particularly proud of the sports theme of his room. He said this reminded him of a trip that he had enjoyed. This helps children to feel more settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children trust the adults looking after them. One child said, ‘They [staff] are good you know. They do listen.’ The staff team builds trust through a consistent approach to care. Children feel safe to share their worries with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s emotional needs. Staff attend regular, reflective meetings with a consulting psychologist. This forum is used to help staff understand the reasons for children’s behaviour and explore different therapeutic ways to care for them. Children are making progress because staff understand how to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff form effective working relationships with other professionals. One social worker said, ‘The entire team have been amazing for [name of child].’ A teacher said, ‘It is a fabulous service; I wish they [residential children’s homes] were all like that.’ Staff communicate well with other professionals about children’s needs. This helps to ensure that children receive a consistent approach to care from all adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children’s views about their relationships with their family members and friends. Staff advocate on behalf of children to ensure that they can safely spend time with people who are important to them. Staff are helping children to have more positive social experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to make healthy choices. When children are experiencing barriers to good health, staff listen to children to find creative approaches to support them. Staff support children to understand their own health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have an inconsistent experience of education. Two children are in full-time education and are being supported to make good progress. However, one child has been out of education since the summer term of 2023 and there is no clear plan for how they will be supported back into education, employment or training. In addition, staff have not provided informal opportunities for learning for this child. Staff do not always support children to reach their potential in education.

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

Staff understand the risks and vulnerabilities of the children they are looking after. This helps staff to know what to look out for that could indicate increasing risk. Staff share any emerging concerns with other professionals quickly. Children experience a coordinated response to risk. Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 4 Staff use a consistent, positive approach to supporting children’s behaviour. Each child has a personalised behaviour management plan, which reflects their individual character and needs. This helps staff to get to know which approaches work best for each child so that they can successfully diffuse difficult situations. Children experience nurturing care.

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

Careful staff recruitment procedures mean that children are only cared for by adults who are safe to work in the home.

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

The manager has recently improved children’s missing-from-home procedures. However, prior to her appointment, procedures were unclear. As a result, there have been instances when staff have not taken all necessary steps to bring children home safely. Also, staff have not always kept an accurate record of the actions they have taken. Children have experienced an inconsistent response when they have been missing from the home.

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

The manager has completed a detailed assessment of the risks linked to the location of the home. However, she has not used information from the local authority’s local offer in this assessment. This is a missed opportunity to consider local resources for children with additional needs.

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good

The manager is a very experienced leader. She is enthusiastic about improving the care children receive and leads by example. The manager has a clear vision for the type of therapeutic care she wants this home to offer. Her leadership is already inspiring staff to reflect on and improve their practice. Staff were not provided with consistent leadership prior to her appointment.

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good

The manager is establishing systems for effective oversight of the home. However, there remain variations in the quality of written records, including gaps where important information is missing. The manager has a plan in place to address these issues.

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good

Leaders and managers have not used their oversight effectively to help staff learn from challenging situations. Staff have not received important feedback that would help to improve the quality of care for children.

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good

Children are cared for by a stable, experienced team. The morale in the team is improving and staff report feeling more supported by leaders and managers. Staff work well together and regularly share best-practice ideas. Children experience consistency of care.

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good

Leaders and managers are improving their oversight of staff training. Staff have completed core safeguarding training and some training in relation to the specific Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 5 needs of the children living in the home. The manager is gathering a clearer picture of the skills of her team.

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good

Staff supervision has not been taking place regularly and has been inconsistent in quality. Staff have not received an annual appraisal. The manager has improved the format of supervision, so that it is now more child-focused and reflective. Supervision is now taking place with improved regularity. Formal oversight of staff practice is improving. Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(vii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff always follow children’s missing-from-care procedures when children go missing from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff keep an accurate and detailed record of actions taken in response to any missing-from-care or other safeguarding incidents. 23 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; 23 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 7 support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all drift and delay is avoided in making plans for children who are out of education.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each 23 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 8 child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s written records are of a consistently good quality. When local authority or other important documents are missing, these gaps should be identified and addressed quickly.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 23 March 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that managers and staff are aware of the local offer setting out the support available for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 26, paragraph 5.4)

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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: SC381667 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Supporting Futures Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sinclair, 300 St Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

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Inspector

Nicola Shaw, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 10 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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