Children's home run by Footsteps to Futures Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2586969 1 Registered provider: Footsteps to Futures 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 provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties. One child has lived in this home for over three years. The home is owned and operated by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably experienced manager who registered with Ofsted in June 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 28 September 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2586969 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/09/2023 Full Good 20/09/2022 Full Good 05/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2586969 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The child receives an exceptionally good standard of care. Staff provide the child with care that creates positive memories and experiences. Staff have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the child’s individual needs. The child forms trusted relationships with staff and benefits from high-quality care and nurture.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff provide excellent support to progress the child’s education. Staff work in partnership with school staff and other professionals to ensure the child benefits from receiving the best all-round support. The child is currently on a reduced timetable. Staff provide consistency and routine to the child, despite the reduced timetable. Staff are creative in helping the child’s learning when undertaking educational activities at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff understand the importance of the child spending time with their family. Family time with immediate and extended family is well supported by staff and takes place regularly. Staff ensure the child and their family have fun and that the time together is valued. This is crucial to help the child maintain their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home environment is child-friendly, with photos on display throughout the home of the child enjoying activities. The home is warm and welcoming, and the child’s bedroom is personalised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support the child to take part in a wide variety of activities in and outside of the home. The child’s social worker said, ‘[Name of child] said he had a fantastic summer holiday and made some friends, which he was really happy about.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home’s staff follow a therapeutic model of care. This approach is woven into all aspects of care, including recording, and applied consistently by staff. Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of the approach and why it works for the child. Specialist support is in place for the child from external professionals, including a counselling and psychology service. In addition, this specialist support provides consultation to staff when needed. This contributes to further development of staff and an enhanced understanding of the child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff help the child to see the progress they have made. Clear goals are set and then reviewed by staff with the child. This enables the child to share their views, wishes and feelings about support they feel they need. Staff value the importance of the child’s views and focus on supporting continued progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are committed and enthusiastic about achieving the best outcomes for the child. They have an excellent understanding of the child’s care plan. The manager and staff work with external professionals and family members to progress the care plan for the child. Inspection report for children's home: 2586969 4

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

Staff understand the child’s risks and how to provide the right support, considering their individual needs. Staff know the child extremely well. Their knowledge about the child is embedded in their everyday practice and recording. Safety plans are detailed and provide information about the child’s experiences. Staff ensure that known risks do not impact on the child’s opportunities and experiences and their ability to make progress.

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

Physical intervention to manage the child’s behaviour is only used as a last resort. Incident reports are very detailed and help understand what happened for all involved. Staff help the child understand their emotions and how they can be best supported. After any incidents, both the child and staff are supported with their emotional well- being.

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

The child does not go missing. Safety plans do consider this, which ensures staff know what action to take if the child does go missing. There have been no complaints made by the child. If the child makes an allegation, the manager takes prompt and effective action. Investigations are carried out thoroughly. External professionals are informed by the manager and staff, and plans are put in place to ensure the child is helped to feel safe and listened to.

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

Staff support the child to develop positive and supportive relationships. The child is encouraged to talk openly about their feelings. The child said, ‘Sometimes I tell staff if I am sad, and they will help me.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A dedicated manager leads this home. He speaks with passion about the child, demonstrating a genuine commitment to meeting their needs. The manager has high expectations of staff and consistently high aspirations for the child. He is ambitious, enthusiastic and experienced. The manager ensures the home is managed efficiently and effectively. Staff feel supported by the manager and describe him as being ‘very approachable’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager inspires a nurturing team of staff, who keep the child at the centre of everything they do. The child receives outstanding care, support and guidance from a highly committed, competent and nurturing staff team. The stable and settled staff team promotes continuity of care and strong attachments for the child. One member of staff said, ‘We are like a work family, and we really support each other.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive ongoing support, professional supervision and constant guidance from the manager. Supervision is child-focused and includes reflection about practice and development. However, clear actions are not always set, which limits review of progress on areas for development. Team meetings are effective, and staff find them helpful to focus on what is going well and what may need to change. Inspection report for children's home: 2586969 5 Staff receive high-quality training to build their individual skills and knowledge. Training is provided by an internal training team and is specifically tailored to the needs of the child. Staff are committed to continuous professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent oversight of the daily records for the child. This provides him with knowledge of the child’s day-to-day experiences and the progress they make. Oversight is strengthened by the manager’s presence in the home and the positive relationships developed with the child as a result. Inspection report for children's home: 2586969 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure content and outcomes of professional supervision are clearly recorded and regularly reviewed. They should also ensure that both the person giving the supervision and the staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)

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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: 2586969 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Footsteps to Futures Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 5, Riverbank Business Park, Whatton-in-the-Vale, Nottinghamshire NG13 9FX

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Inspector

Kathryn Hurley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2586969 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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