Children's home run by First 4 Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1256608 1 Registered provider: First 4 Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by a private provider. It registered with Ofsted in July 2017. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children with a learning disability. At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home does not have a registered manager. An interim manager is in post, and they have applied to become the registered manager.

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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: 30 November 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1256608 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2021 Full Outstanding 18/12/2019 Full Good 05/02/2019 Full Good 28/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1256608 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child likes the home and had a positive experience of moving in. The child has personalised their bedroom in bright colours that reflect their interests and personality. They do a range of activities that they enjoy and are starting to attend new groups in the local area, which will enable them to make friends and spend time independent from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is generally in good health. The staff support the child to attend routine medical appointments. The child has good attendance at school, and staff are working with education staff to plan for a new education placement for the next school year. The staff support the child with keeping in contact and seeing their family regularly, both at the home and out in the community doing activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to the child and their views. They use this information to plan the child’s care in line with their wishes and feelings. Staff complete daily records, which are written like a letter to the child. These keep the child in mind, are positive and are child-focused.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a large, spacious home. The home is generally well maintained. However, the entrance and kitchen floor tiles are not well maintained as they are worn and cracked. During the inspection, a lock was removed from the kitchen door, and a bathroom door lock was changed. These changes help to reduce unnecessary restrictions in the home and make sure that staff can enter the bathroom quickly if needed.

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

The child feels safe at the home. The staff understand the child and their individual needs well. As they get to know the child, they are learning and developing strategies that help and support the child with managing their feelings and emotions. Staff supported the child to create a ‘worry box’ to help them communicate their worries to staff. This allows the staff to intervene as needed.

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

Staff are positive in their approach with the child. When the child is upset, they have a calm and relaxed approach. Staff defuse and de-escalate potential incidents well and curtail incidents through using clear strategies, such as a change of face and having a low reaction. Staff have not used any holds, and there has been no use of consequences. There have been no incidents of the child being missing from home.

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

The child is learning about things that may affect their safety and the safety of other people. The staff complete activities and hold conversations to help the child to learn these new skills. They also have natural conversations with the child to address any issues or concerns, including with the child’s behaviour. This helps the Inspection report for children’s home: 1256608 4 child to understand the potential impact of their actions and how they can handle situations better in the future.

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. When an allegation was raised, the manager took appropriate action to report this to the relevant organisations and investigated thoroughly.

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

The manager does not always ensure that staff are suitably checked before they work in the home. There were shortfalls in two of the staff files that were reviewed in relation to employment history, and there was no evidence that historic disciplinary concerns had been sufficiently explained and verified. This means that there is a risk that adults who are unsuitable may be able to work with children living at the home.

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good

The home has newly reopened after a long period of closure. A qualified manager leads the home. The staff team is newly formed, with some staff new to their roles and the organisation. The staff have completed the required training and are undertaking relevant qualifications. Managers hold regular team meetings where they set out their expectations and have honest discussions with staff about how to care for children. Although staff receive regular supervision, it is not child-focused or reflective, and there is no discussion about safeguarding children.

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good

There is a lack of effective oversight of the running of the home. During the inspection, there were many shortfalls identified in the paperwork and recording of the child’s care and running of the home. None of these had been identified through the checks and audits in place. These shortfalls included inaccurate information in the child’s records about their names and pronouns, needs and care, and gaps in recording the action taken when medication is refused. The children’s guide also contains the names of other children’s homes, and there is a lack of staff understanding about what constitutes a positive reward. The manager has not addressed this through his oversight.

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good

The home has its own medication policy, which staff have signed to state they have read and will follow it. This differs from the provider’s policy and incorrectly contains references to another regulator.

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good

Although managers took appropriate action to report an allegation of abuse to relevant agencies and to investigate it, they did not complete an incident report of the allegation. This meant there was no record in the child’s records relating to the allegation.

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good

The location of the home is comprehensively assessed and supported by feedback from the consultation with relevant professionals. This helps managers and staff to understand the risks in the local area and put plans in place to reduce the risks to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256608 5

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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 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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each 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)(f)(h)) 22 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character; 23 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1256608 6 full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(d))

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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. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 22 April 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should make sure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment. In particular, they should make sure the flooring in the kitchen and hallway is well maintained and free from damage. (‘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: 1256608 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 St. Wilfrid’s Road, Bessacarr, Doncaster DN4 6AA

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Inspector

Honor Hamshaw, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1256608 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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