Children's Home run by Future In Mind Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC067839 1 SC067839 Registered provider: Future in Mind Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider. The home provides care for up to two children who have experienced childhood instability resulting in trauma and associated complex emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to be registered with Ofsted. She holds a level 5 qualification.

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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: 6 November 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: SC067839 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2023 Full Good 03/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/07/2021 Full Good 17/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC067839 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out and two children have moved in. Staff build solid relationships with children and have high aspirations for them. They understand children’s interests and as a result, arrange bespoke activities for them to enjoy. Children are happy and settled and speak well of staff and the care that they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school and are making progress. The manager and staff are invested in doing all they can to support children’s education. Communication between staff and teachers is positive. This supports a consistent approach to children’s learning and educational development. One teacher praised the home for their professionalism and sharing of key information. This helps to support continued progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home are in good health. They have access to health services and attend all routine appointments. Staff identify if specialist health services are needed and assist children to access this support. In-house therapeutic support is available and accessed by children weekly. Staff are trained in the home’s therapeutic approaches to care and implement these. This promotes consistency and stability for children, through which they thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff treat children with dignity and respect. The manager and staff are sensitive to children’s individual preferences and embed a culture of acceptance. This helps children to express themselves and feel safe and accepted. Staff receive training in understanding diversity. This helps them to feel confident to support children’s individual needs. Because staff are supportive and informed, children feel comfortable to explore their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children arrive at the home, effective planning contributes to a positive experience, so children feel welcomed and safe. The manager visits children before they move into the home, even when they need to move quickly. Children learn about the home and staff team through reading the children’s guide. This helps to reduce anxiety and helps children to settle more quickly. Staff take time to get to know the children. They understand what is important to them and help children maintain relationships with their birth family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

On one occasion, a decision to move one child to another of the company’s homes was made without full and robust consultation with all professionals involved in the child’s care. While this has not had an impact on the child, the manager failed to ensure that the independent reviewing officer (IRO) had sufficient opportunity to review this plan and share their views. This led to a disjointed approach to care planning and conflict between the home and the child’s placing authority, which could have been avoided if the required procedures had been followed. Inspection report for children's home: SC067839 4

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

Staff work hard to ensure that children feel safe and protected. They understand children’s needs, risks and vulnerabilities and how best to support them. Children have strong relationships with staff and can identify staff members they can talk to if they are worried about anything.

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

The home has a clear and consistent approach to risk management. There are clear and individualised risk assessments in place for all children. The manager regularly reviews risk assessments, staff are knowledgeable about the strategies in them and implement these effectively when necessary. As a result, children’s safety and welfare are promoted.

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

The manager has created an individualised independence plan to keep one child safe. There are risks when the child spends time out in the community, but there is a good support plan that involves relevant agencies. This enables the child to enjoy increasing independence and autonomy in line with their age and stage of development, while balancing and managing risk.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are well managed and staff clearly follow risk management plans to support children’s safe return. The manager and staff ensure that there is a high level of communication with safeguarding agencies. There is clear managerial oversight of all incidents. When children return home, staff help them to think and talk about what happened so that they can use this information to keep children safer in the future.

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

The use of physical intervention is infrequent and it is only used by staff as a last resort. Overall, the manager has oversight of restraint incidents. However, a recent restraint incident had still not been reviewed 10 days after the incident. It is not always clear if the manager reviews incidents within the timescales set out in regulation. This limits opportunities to ensure that feedback, including any concerns about what happened, is understood and acted on promptly when needed.

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

Incidents of self-harm are well managed. Staff are confident and supportive in their approach and offer reassurance to the child after the incident. They are helping children to learn different ways of regulating and managing their emotions without hurting themselves.

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

Staff understand the risks to children when they use the internet. There are clear protocols around internet use which are proportionate to the age and needs of each child. This helps children to navigate the internet safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A child-focused manager leads the home. She has an excellent understanding of the children’s experiences, personalities, needs and risks. Children are cared for by a consistent and committed staff team, who demonstrate unwavering support to them. Inspection report for children's home: SC067839 5 The manager has a good understanding of the strengths of the home. Internal and external monitoring systems support the development of the home. Clear processes are used to track and review children’s progress. These range from daily and weekly discussions with children regarding their achievements, to monthly reviews by the manager. This helps to ensure that children’s progress is reviewed regularly and appropriate action is taken to support care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and benefit from the experience and support of an in- house training manager. Staff undertake the organisation’s mandatory training as well as specialist courses, so that they have the knowledge and learn the skills needed to meet children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home requires some improvements to ensure that a welcoming environment is maintained. Broken fencing in the garden is a safety issue and some damage needs repairing. Home improvement plans are in progress and the manager took prompt action to address issues during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have received support that has improved the quality of children’s records. However, shortfalls remain. Not all required records could be located during the inspection and some records were dated incorrectly. Changes in the provider’s electronic recording system are affecting the ease of accessing records. The manager is aware of these shortfalls and is taking action to make improvements. Inspection report for children's home: SC067839 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must ensure that all measures of control and discipline are reviewed and subject to scrutiny. In addition, the manager must ensure that records are signed and clearly dated. 17 July 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that significant changes to a looked after child’s care, such as a change of placement, should only take place following a statutory review of their care plan, chaired by their IRO. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.10) Inspection report for children's home: SC067839 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: SC067839 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Future in Mind Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Future in Mind, 65 Market Street, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 1AD

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Inspectors

Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Joanne Hawkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC067839 9 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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