Children's home run by Supporting Futures Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2687920 1 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 owned and managed by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were spoken to as part of this inspection.

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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 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: 2687920 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2687920 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A dedicated and committed staff team care for and nurture the children. Children have strong relationships with the staff who care for them. One child said, ‘We are like a family.’ A social worker said, ‘The staff know [name of child] well and they get individualised support. I would place another child at this home. They are fantastic.’ Another social worker said, ‘I am really pleased with the placement and [name of child] is thriving there.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand individual children’s health needs and manage them well. As a result, children make significant progress to improve their health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are thriving in their education settings. All children have excellent attendance at school. Staff help children to overcome any barriers to education to help them achieve their goals. As a result, children have increased self-confidence and have aspirations for their futures. One child said that they wanted to work as a sports therapist and another child wants to be a pilot.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a wide range of activities in and out of the home. For example, they enjoy attending rugby matches, playing football and going to funfairs. This promotes children’s social skills and their health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children see their families regularly. Staff sometimes support children to see their brothers and sisters as part of care planning with placing authorities. Children have grown in confidence and have made new friends within the local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children create individualised scrapbooks and photo albums. This helps the children to recall memories now and in the future. Children have made good progress while living in this home, for example, one child was able to return to foster care after a period of stabilisation here. The team work with placing authorities to support children to move to their new home in a planned way. However, staff do not record how this progress was achieved. This does not help children to understand their journey and what staff did to secure good outcomes for them.

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

Children feel safe in the home and the local community. They can identify a trusted adult in the home. One child said, ‘I can talk to any of the staff and tell them about anything.’ Children also know how to raise their concerns by using the complaints process.

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

When safeguarding concerns arise, the manager and staff follow clear procedures and protocols. They work with a multi-disciplinary team to ensure that children are safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2687920 4 Staff receive regular training in numerous safeguarding topics. This means that they have the skills and knowledge to identify and respond to any safeguarding concern.

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

Children benefit from positive relationships with staff. Staff are able to de-escalate negative behaviours at an early stage and prevent incidents from occurring. As a result, there have not been any missing-from-home incidents or physical interventions.

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

Managers and staff have a good understanding of children’s vulnerabilities. Staff update plans for each child on a regular basis. However, there is little information about the positive aspects of a child’s behaviour in these records. This does not help children to have a positive view of themselves.

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

Staff encourage children to take age-appropriate risks. This helps to develop children’s confidence in the community, while also developing their independence.

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

Staff develop close working relationships with external agencies. This helps children to access tailored support services related to their specific needs. As a result, children make good strides in achieving their targets.

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

The manager follows safer recruitment processes and completes all relevant safety checks. This helps the manager to reduce the risks to children from unsuitable adults working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified. The manager and deputy manager provide strong leadership for the team. They have effective oversight of practice in the home. Staff say that they feel supported by leaders and managers and that team members are supportive of each other. This provides consistency for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a full induction when they start working for the company. This helps them to gain the necessary skills and knowledge for their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff access training to equip them to meet the individual needs of children, and keep it up to date. This supports their practice by improving their understanding of children’s specific needs and how they should respond. Staff either hold or are working towards the relevant qualification for their role. The manager’s workforce development plan and regular monitoring of staff training is providing her with good oversight of the team’s learning needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions, appraisals and team meetings allow staff to reflect on practice as individuals and as a group, to share good practice and promote consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working with relevant professionals is a key strength of the manager and staff team. A social worker said, ‘I have no concerns regarding the home or the support that they offer. They use their initiative and deal with things quickly. They Inspection report for children’s home: 2687920 5 have a dedicated staff team led by a manager and deputy who are very child focused and always ensure [child’s name] voice is heard and respected.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal and external monitoring of the home is effective. This helps the manager to make improvements in the home. Managers follow up and escalate concerns if responses from agencies are not satisfactory. This helps to ensure that children receive the right support to meet their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2687920 6

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that the steps taken by staff, to secure good progress and outcomes, are clearly recorded within the children’s documents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered manager should ensure that the home’s records show the positives of each child’s behaviour, allowing their needs, aspirations, experiences and strengths to be recognised. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.35)

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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: 2687920 7

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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

Pam Nuckley, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2687920 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 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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