Children's home run by CF Support Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2532532 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 two children who are unable to live in either mainstream residential care settings or in a foster placement.

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Information about this children’s home

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

Date of last inspection: 9 November 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: 2532532 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/11/2022 Full Good 05/10/2021 Full Good 11/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2532532 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. One child has lived at the home for two years and the other child has lived at the home for almost six months. One child has moved into semi-independent living since the last inspection and remains in touch with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with lots of outdoor activities, such as fishing, camping and paintballing. Staff encourage the children to take part in community-based events. As a result, children have participated in fun runs and night-time walks, as well as other fundraising events for local causes. This enables the children to feel part of the local and wider community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take photos of all activities they do with the children and add these into a ‘positivity book’, with nice messages from the staff. This provides children with fond memories to look back on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress at this home. Staff have helped children to understand their behaviours and have supported them to develop new ways to manage their feelings. One child spoke openly about the progress they feel they have made since living there, including having new opportunities and more freedom. This shows that staff build trust with the children they care for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with bespoke education packages that meet their needs. These packages are varied and include animal care, music production and tutoring. Staff use creative ways to encourage children to access education. Staff are committed to meeting children’s educational needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure there are plenty of fun things to do at the home. At the children’s request, staff turned a summerhouse into a working gym and landscaped the garden to provide safe areas to play football and basketball in. This helps children to feel listened to and enables them to stay fit and live a healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, the home has undergone some decoration. New flooring has been laid throughout the home and walls have been painted. The leaders have a plan for further works, including changing the style of the doors to make the home more homely for the children. However, one child’s bedroom has some damage to the walls and wardrobe, and this has not yet been rectified. This is not in keeping with the standard of care the home has shown to the children.

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

Children who live at the home have complex needs and have gone missing from home frequently. The staff and manager work closely with external agencies to bring children home safely. Staff use detailed risk assessments to help them understand Inspection report for children’s home: 2532532 4 the additional risks to children in the local community. When children return home, staff welcome children with care and express worries for their safety. This gives children a sense of belonging, and shows them that they are always in the staff’s and manager’s thoughts while missing from the home.

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

Staff are attuned to the children’s needs and help them to understand their feelings. When staff find children’s behaviour difficult, they are creative in the responses they offer to children to help them to settle. This includes effective redirection of the behaviour and supporting children to have conversations at times when they feel comfortable. The manager has good oversight of any incidents that take place and speaks to staff and children about them.

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

Children struggle to build and maintain peer relationships, and they have experienced peer bullying. When this has taken place, staff have been quick to act to keep everyone safe. Leaders and managers have addressed any bullying concerns immediately. They have helped children to understand their behaviours and come up with alternative strategies that will reduce reoccurrence.

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

Staff and managers make sure children are referred to appropriate external professionals and support services to help them to work through their difficult feelings and vulnerabilities. Staff are committed to supporting children’s needs and helping them with their behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is registered with Ofsted and holds a level 5 diploma, as does the deputy manager. The manager was not present during the inspection, which meant that the deputy manager and the responsible individual assisted during the visit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some challenging incidents at the home but the staff team have acted consistently for the children. The staff are well led, and are committed to working with the children and helping them work through their challenges.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works closely with her team and knows them well. One staff member said, ‘I have complete trust in the management. They are dedicated and passionate in their roles and this sets a good example to the team. They are both accountable and approachable.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to improving the practice and knowledge of her staff team. Team meetings take place monthly and provide staff with the opportunity to discuss children’s needs and any worries or concerns. The manager uses this information to identify further training needs. This helps to ensure that staff receive specific training that helps them to understand children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers work closely with external professionals. The missing-from- home coordinator said that the manager and staff ‘keep me updated with [children’s] associates, patterns of behaviour, known locations, etc’. The manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2532532 5 has effective strategies in place and good links with external professionals to help keep children safer. Inspection report for children’s home: 2532532 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. In particular, the registered person should ensure that children’s furniture is maintained to a high standard that demonstrates a homely feel, and that damaged furniture is replaced in a timely way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2532532 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: C F Support Services, 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

Rebecca Hannell, Social Care Inspector Dan Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2532532 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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