Children's home run by Fullwood Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066916 1 SC066916 Registered provider: Fullwood Care

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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 children’s home is operated by a private provider and provides care for four children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2011.

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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 October 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC066916 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/10/2022 Full Good 21/06/2022 Full Inadequate 15/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC066916 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have choices, and their individual needs are respected. Children can choose how their bedrooms are decorated, the food they eat and the activities they enjoy. This helps children to gain confidence in their decision-making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s relationships with their families. When in line with care plans, staff enable children to spend time with their families. This means that children retain their sense of identity and maintain their relationships with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have education plans, although not all children are accessing education. Staff work with partner agencies to help develop education plans that tap into children’s interests. The positive emphasis on education supports children to develop healthy routines to see their peers and have friendships outside the home. However, children’s engagement in education is not consistent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are offered a variety of activities, such as going to watch football, attending a drama club, go-karting and music classes. Staff spend time with the children. For example, they watch films and enjoy takeaway nights. This broadens children’s experiences and helps them to develop confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to develop independence skills. This includes guiding children to use public transport, going food shopping, keeping their rooms clean and helping in the kitchen. This helps to support children when they move on to live independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a minor repair that needs to be addressed, and some of the walls are marked and would benefit from redecoration.

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

There have been significant worries about a child frequently going missing from home overnight. The staff’s response to missing episodes is strong. They ensure that all agencies are notified and try to contact and locate the child. Staff know some of the child’s networks and contact places where they think the child might be. However, this has not been successful and the child has continued to go missing. The manager has escalated their worries to partner agencies, but this has not been effective in preventing the child going missing.

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

There has been one incident where a child has been held to keep them safe. A social worker said, ‘[Child’s name] is a lot calmer since he’s lived at the home, he’s settled.’ Staff focus on building relationships with children and helping them to feel at home. They are effective in managing children’s behaviours. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066916 4 There is a useful location risk assessment that staff use to help them understand the risks in the local area. The police provide up-to-date information which assists staff in keeping children safe.

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

When staff have safeguarding concerns, sometimes, they will conduct a search of children’s bedrooms. Harmful items are removed and staff help children to understand potential risks. This helps to educate children and keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This home has a stable staff team. Some staff have worked at the home for many years. Staff work well as a team and communicate well with each other. Staff say they ‘love’ their job. Children are supported by a cohesive staff team who know them well and are invested in their happiness.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have regular formal supervision and say that their manager is always available if they need informal support. Staff have annual appraisals, which help their professional development. Staff feel supported in their roles and have good opportunities to reflect on their work with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors children’s progress in the home. She makes use of the independent visitor, and recently changed the home’s visitor when she felt that the visits were not effective. She oversees the work that staff do with the children and makes suggestions to support this work. She also has oversight of any concerns about children. She knows the children well and ensures that they receive good care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have either completed the relevant professional qualification or are working towards it. Staff have access to online training and face-to-face training that meets children’s individual needs. Staff are experienced and are kept up to date with relevant training so that they can meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Diversity is respected and staff work hard to meet children’s individual cultural needs. Children’s diet and religious needs are met. Staff have taken the time to understand the complexities of children’s backgrounds and journeys so that they can relate more closely to them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066916 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that when partner agencies are not responding as they should to keep children safe, this is appropriately challenged. Where appropriate, the registered person must escalate concerns to the relevant agencies. 18 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC066916 6

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Recommendation

 The home should be homely, clean and comfortable, with any repairs being completed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ Paragraph 3.9 Page 15)

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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: SC066916 7

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066916 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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