Children's Home run by Family Care Associates Limited in Manchester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2664826 1 Registered provider: Family Care Associates Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company and provides care for up to four children who may have physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023.

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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: 18 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: 2664826 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2664826 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home provides a consistent, safe and nurturing environment in which children thrive. The atmosphere in the home is calm and relaxed. Children choose how they want to decorate and personalise their bedrooms. One child said, ‘I like my home, there are lots of areas I can play, I help to decide what we have in the rooms.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from imaginative, sensory based activities that engage and stimulate them. Staff are resourceful and creative. They actively seek opportunities for children to engage in important childhood activities, such as reading stories, playing games and sensory play. Additionally, staff have created photo books that capture important experiences, such as birthday celebrations, going on holiday, and learning new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s body language shows that they feel comfortable and relaxed in the presence of staff. Staff know the children’s likes and dislikes very well and carefully arrange activities to suit, such as going on holiday, visiting the bike parks, swimming, and youth clubs. Consequently, these opportunities enhance children’s experiences, particularly as some of the children previously found trips of this nature challenging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are dedicated to promoting children’s independence by focusing on self-care and healthy snack preparation. By integrating these goals into individual plans, the children make significant progress, this includes improved communication, making choices, and learning about feelings. Regular reviews of their objectives, along with celebrations of accomplishments involving parents and social workers, boost the children’s self-esteem and independence, fostering a positive and nurturing environment. However, children with physical disabilities cannot use the back door to access the garden because it is not wheelchair accessible, making them less independent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with people who are important to them. The manager advocates for children and supports increased time spent with loved ones. In addition, staff support children to spend time with friends when it is appropriate to do so. This ensures that children maintain important relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaged in education on a full-time basis and make excellent progress. Their attendance is always excellent. The staff and managers work very closely with education colleagues. Because of this, staff and managers understand the areas to help children work on and strengthen, and they give children the support they need to make excellent progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2664826 4

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

Staff have a thorough knowledge of the risks in the children’s lives. Detailed strategies are in place to support children to keep themselves and others safe. The strategies are tailored to meet the needs of individual children. This approach reduces the risks in children’s lives and helps them when they are struggling with their emotions.

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

Staff support children with their emotional well-being. Clear plans help to guide staff in how to care for children when they feel upset, worried or anxious. Staff are able to quickly identify when something is not right for a child.

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

Staff only hold children as a last resort, to keep everyone safe. Staff have received appropriate training. Children are offered debriefs afterwards and staff try to understand the reasons for the behaviour to prevent reoccurrence. Managers also provide debriefs for staff after difficult incidents.

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

Restrictions are in place including the fobbed front and back doors, and bedroom door sensors to prevent children from leaving and encountering potential harm. These measures are based on comprehensive assessments of each child’s unique needs and are carefully documented. However, these assessments are not frequently reviewed to consider their continued relevance and effectiveness in ensuring the safety of the children.

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

Staff work collaboratively with other professionals, parents and family members to understand children’s complex needs. Managers and staff are strong advocates for children. Staff communicate well with relevant professionals to provide an all-round approach to children’s care.

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

Staff understand the importance of meeting children’s health needs. There is a well- managed system for administering and recording medications in a safe and controlled way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably experienced manager has started since the last full inspection. The manager was swift in applying to register with Ofsted and has worked incredibly hard to build positive relationships with the children, staff team, parents and relevant professionals. The staff welcome his leadership and the change and challenge that this brings. This change was managed well to ensure that children continued to receive continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some changes in the staff team. The staff team is now consistent and stable. When there have been vacancies, these have been covered by the existing staff team or staff known to children from the agency. Staff say that the manager is approachable and that they feel valued. Inspection report for children’s home: 2664826 5 The manager shares information with other people who are important in the children’s lives. One social worker said, ‘The new manager is great, his top priority is the children [and] he keeps me informed about [name of child’s] progress and areas the staff are supporting them with. [Name of child] has made so much progress.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and leaders understand their strengths and areas for improvement. They use monitoring tools and action plans to demonstrate how they are listening to ideas and driving quality forward. A member of staff said, ‘The managers complement each other. Their support is available whenever it is needed, and they are always coming up with new supportive ideas for children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are used as a forum for learning. The manager is not afraid to challenge and address staff practice. This helps staff to reflect on their performance and to identify areas for improvement. Staff receive regular, reflective supervision, and these discussions support future developments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are cared for by a committed and enthusiastic staff team. Staff are either suitably qualified or enrolled on the relevant training. Staff are trained and receive ongoing mandatory training, however, not all staff have received training to meet some of the children’s specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers conduct annual appraisals, during which staff members reflect on their work and establish targets for the upcoming year. Positively, these appraisals also take into account the perspectives of children, this supports the managers’ understanding of the children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers follow up and escalate concerns if responses from agencies are not satisfactory. This helps to ensure that children receive the right support, and their needs are met. The manager has addressed the requirements made at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2664826 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 ensure that— children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

Is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, bedroom door sensors, and the fobbed door system should be detailed in the child’s relevant plans and kept under review. 30 March 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the design of the home includes any necessary adaptation to meet the needs of children with physical disabilities, this includes adding the disabled access from the home into the back garden. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, Page 17, paragraph 3.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate resources to support their training needs, and that the training available meets the needs of the children that are in their care, this includes autism, and makaton. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 53, paragraph 10.11). Inspection report for children’s home: 2664826 7

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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: 2664826 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Family Care Associates Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Family Care Associates Ltd, Business Centre, 60 School Lane, Bamber Bridge, Preston, Lancashire PR5 6QE

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Inspector

Jennifer Quest, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2664826 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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