Children's home run by CF Support Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 1 Registered provider: CF Support Services Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to three children, aged from seven upwards, with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The previous manager left in November 2023. The new manager submitted their application to Ofsted in June 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/05/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were two children present at the time of the inspection and both were spoken to. Since the last inspection, six children have moved into the home and four children have moved on from the home. Two children moved out of the home as their needs were outside of what the staff could safely manage. Despite these unplanned endings, staff supported the children well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said they enjoy living at the home. They both said they feel listened to and are confident to share their views. One child was playing cards with staff, joking and laughing together. At times, they were singing and talking about other good times they had together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are promptly responded to. One child moved into the home three days before the inspection. Staff had already arranged for them to visit a dentist and health practitioner within their first week. This helped to support the child’s health assessment. The child’s social worker praised the speed at which the statutory visits were completed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff show children that they value education. One child is preparing for college in September. They have already applied for their place, supported by a specialist career adviser from children’s services. The newest child has already discussed their educational needs, and staff have started to contact schools in the local area to prepare for a start in the autumn term.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to set objectives as part of incentive plans. Staff use a person- centred approach that helps children earn extra money that they can spend or save for a special occasion. If children do not reach their intended goals, staff help them to consider why this has happened.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to increase their emotional resilience by participating in well- planned, one-to-one discussions with staff on a variety of topics, including being safe online, emotional well-being and planning for independence. Children are active participants in their discussions due, in part, to the enthusiasm of staff who provide reflective child-focused activities that support lively conversation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s life journeys and their time living at the home are captured in handmade books with stories, photos and reflections. These books clearly show the progress children are making towards adulthood. One child showed some of their pictures on the wall and talked positively about the places they had been with staff. The child has made long-lasting memories during their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The garden is not well maintained. There are weeds and nettles which detract from it being a nice place for children to spend time in. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 4

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

Children said they feel safe living at the home. They are becoming increasingly safe because of the support they receive from staff who know them well.

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

Children have good relationships with staff and can share concerns and worries with them. One child enjoys free time in the community as part of their increasing independence and preparation to move back to their parent. The increase in free time is due to the child showing that they are applying knowledge from one-to-one sessions with staff to help keep themselves safe.

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

There is a clear missing-from-care policy and guidance for staff. Missing-from-care episodes are managed well and have reduced significantly. Return home interviews are offered routinely. Risk assessments provide staff with good, clear direction on steps they should take when children go missing. Additional guidance for staff helps them to have open conversations with children about how they will work together to reduce risks.

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

All staff are first-aid trained and complete regular self-harm training to ensure they have the skills, ability and confidence to work with children who self-harm. When children self-harm, staff record incidents clearly and identify how they can support the child to reduce the behaviours.

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

Safeguarding issues are responded to effectively. Staff and managers involve the appropriate agencies when issues arise. Staff are confident in escalating safeguarding incidents and provided examples of when they would do this.

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

Staff do not use physical intervention. They use non-physical methods to manage incidents. Staff receive training in these techniques and how to apply conversational de-escalation.

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

On one occasion, leaders and managers did not effectively explore known risks when considering the compatibility of children moving to the home. As a result, staff did not successfully monitor the dynamics between the children, and risk-reduction strategies were not effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified to manage the home. She registered with Ofsted in June 2024. A confident deputy manager also plays an active role in the home’s day-to-day management. Staff feel supported by the managers and enjoy working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to providing a high level of care. She talks about the children with enthusiasm and positivity. She is ambitious for the children and encourages them to try new activities and leisure interests. This enthusiasm and Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 5 passion help to enable children to talk to her about their plans for the future and ask her for advice about becoming more independent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have expanded their use of monitoring and oversight to identify patterns and trends in behaviour. The home benefits from strong partnerships with social care and education providers. This helps with sharing information and ensures that meetings with the team around the child are well attended.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers use the visits from the independent person as an effective audit tool. They have been retrospectively reviewing unplanned endings for children. This is helping them identify learning and improve the quality of care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff advocate for children who live far from home to spend time with people they care about. One child is due to move back to live with their parent imminently. Staff have worked with both the child and their parent to ensure the move is planned and is a positive experience for both. This is helping the child to retain their sense of family relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they value their supervision and the opportunity this provides to have protected time to explore their learning. Supervisions are reflective, and there is an opportunity to discuss how therapeutic strategies are supporting them in their work with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are highly enthusiastic about the manager. They talk about her being solution- focused and passionate in her responses to children’s needs. The manager is not afraid to advocate on behalf of the children in her care. The responsible individual and manager have developed a very positive relationship that plays to the individual skills they have. This helps to support the close team dynamics in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 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 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— that staff— 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;(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that known risks are explored effectively when considering the compatibility of children moving to the home. 15 August 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing environment that meets children’s needs. In particular, they should ensure that the front and back gardens are well maintained and that the garden room is tidy and inviting for children to spend time in. (‘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: 2709417 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: CF Support Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Three Rivers Business Centre, Felixstowe Road, Foxhall, Ipswich IP10 0BF

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Joanne Henderson

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Inspectors

Trudy Potter, Social Care Inspector Russel Breyer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2709417 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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