Children's home run by F2L Investments Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2748820 1 Registered provider: F2L Investments 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 owned by a private company. The home provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is newly registered with Ofsted. The manager is registered with Ofsted.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2748820 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and suitably furnished. The child’s bedroom is individualised and reflects their interests. The shared spaces in the home would benefit from being more homely. They do not reflect the child who lives there. The garden is small but well kept, with areas to sit and relax.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have started to build positive relationships with the child in a short period of time. They create a positive atmosphere in the home. The child seeks time with the staff and has given them family roles and nicknames. The staff team is diverse. They offer different perspectives and experiences that the child connects with. The staff have been proactive in exploring the child’s interests. They support the child’s love of music and help them to access places where they can express that.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has missed significant time in education. The manager and staff have addressed this by identifying and securing a school place for them. The manager is realistic about the challenge of the child returning to school. In preparation for a return to education, the staff actively engage the child in learning through activities in the community and at home. The child has shown a love for cooking and regularly prepares meals with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the child well with their physical and mental health needs. The child attends health appointments with the staff. Due to the positive relationships they have formed with staff, the child has felt able to discuss concerns about their health. In response, the staff have arranged for more specialist support to be put in place to better support the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to spend time with their family. The staff understand the child’s experiences and that family time is important to them. Staff capture the child’s voice through regular planned discussions.

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

The child has a significant history of going missing from home and continues to do so. The child is at risk of exploitation when missing and there are concerns about their safety. The manager and the staff are taking all appropriate action to try to keep the child safe. The staff show initiative in their efforts to prevent the child from going missing. Missing-from-home protocols are clear and up to date and staff know what to do when the child goes missing. However, some information on risk in relation to going missing is spread across more than one document and needs to be centralised.

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

The staff are providing warm and consistent care to the child. The child knows that the manager and staff worry about them when they are missing and is responding to this. There has been a reduction in the length of time they are away. The child is now Inspection report for children's home: 2748820 3 returning to the home of their own choice. The child has a means to stay in contact with the staff and chooses to. They can contact managers at any time. This is a positive approach to helping the child feel cared for and it is reducing risk.

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

When the child has struggled to control their emotions, this has led to incidents. The child has responded positively to the consistent, caring and nurturing approach used by staff. investment from staff in relationships is the foundation to this progress. Staff understand and implement actions from the child’s behaviour support plan. This is helping the child to regulate their emotions more effectively.

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

The staff understand the importance of talking to the child about their past experiences. They respond to any new information and share it appropriately with relevant professionals. This helps build a picture of the child’s movements and risks and contributes to multi-agency safety planning. The staff would benefit from more training around child criminal exploitation and the reasons that children go missing.

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

The manager and staff support the child to reduce their drug and alcohol use. Staff have constructive discussions with the child that are well recorded. They are supporting the child to access services to help them address this. However, one incident when the child had substances in the home was poorly challenged. In response, the manager has ensured staff are now putting in boundaries and following protocols.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A committed registered manager leads the home. They are supported by a dedicated deputy manager. As this is a newly registered children’s home, the staff team is new and lacks experience. The manager and deputy manager know the strengths and weaknesses of the team and what they need to do to further develop the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have not yet received elements of essential training to meet the needs of the child. Behaviour management and exploitation training have not been prioritised by the leadership team. While staff appropriately follow risk assessments and behaviour support plans to keep children safe, they need training to fully understand the complexities of the child’s risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is adequately staffed and recruitment for vacant posts is being prioritised. The home’s statement of purpose does not fully reflect the care staff provide and needs to be updated, as required by regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff feel supported by the managers and enjoy working in the home. There is a strong ethos of teamwork and supporting each other to meet the needs of the child. The staff are not yet receiving regular supervision in line with the home’s policy. The staff lack regular opportunities to reflect on their development. The manager holds regular team meetings and there is a strong culture of group reflection. There are effective systems in place for communicating information. Staff read updates to care plans consistently and plan shifts well. Inspection report for children's home: 2748820 4 Overall, the manager has a robust approach to the safe recruitment of new staff. There was one occasion, however, when the manager failed to check references for a member of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Partnership working is strong. The manager and relevant professionals meet regularly to progress plans for the child. The manager challenges professionals in the best interests of the child. The managers actively seek expert support when required. They have identified that the child needs to stay safe and make progress living in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2748820 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to risk assessments around child criminal exploitation and going missing from home, that they must contain all the information required to equip staff to manage and reduce risk. 2 September 2024

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all staff receive training in de-escalation, restraint, missing from home and child criminal exploitation. 2 September 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2748820 6 The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a) (5)) 2 September 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They should ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. This specifically relates to references for employees being fully verified by the manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2748820 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: F2L Investments Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Bosworth Way, Leicester Forest East, Leicester LE3 3QQ

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Inspector

Chris Haines, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2748820 8 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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