Children's home run by Good Foundations Limited

Inspection report for children's home: SC065789 1 SC065789 Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 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: SC065789 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/04/2022 Full Good 09/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/08/2019 Full Good 07/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC065789 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. The children have been involved in decisions about how the home is decorated and they have personalised their bedrooms. Children enjoy living in their home. They feel supported by the staff team. One child said, ‘I love the staff because they love me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend full-time mainstream education. From their starting points, they have all made progress in education. Staff support and encourage the children to read and complete their homework together. The manager and staff are effective in their communication with education professionals. When incidents have occurred, such as bullying or rivalry in school, residential and school staff have worked together to resolve issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop new interests and hobbies. Children enjoy doing activities together, such as swimming, and going to parks and the beach. Staff also encourage children to pursue their individual interests. All the children have their own hobbies, such as golf, gymnastics, and football. When children take part in a team activity such as football or a school performance, the staff attend to support the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and regularly attend medical appointments. Staff are aware of children’s individual health needs and work with partner agencies to ensure that children’s health and emotional well-being areare supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The day-to-day plans in the home are arranged with the children. The children are encouraged to make choices about what meals they would like and what activities they want to do. As a result, the children feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to understand their behaviour. However, on occasions, the staff response to children is punitive and does not show sensitivity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family members are welcomed into the home. Staff respect children’s relationships with those people who are important to them and advocate on their behalf for them to maintain existing relationships. Staff support the children’s siblings and provide practical support, such as taking them on days out.

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

Staff understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities. They work together as a team to keep children safe. Staff have positive relationships with children. They make themselves available to talk to children if they are worried or upset. This provides children with emotional support when required. Inspection report for children's home: SC065789 4 Staff understand underlying factors that impact on children’s behaviour. Behaviour management strategies are child-centred and include techniques such as reassurance, listening to the children and occupying them with an activity. These measures are agreed in consultation with children. As a result, children are supported in times of distress, in line with their wishes.

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

When children are in crisis and become upset or struggle with their emotions, staff are skilled in helping children to understand their feelings. As a result, there have been no incidents where children have been restrained.

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

Risk assessments provide strategies for the staff to ensure the children are kept safe. There have only been a few incidents since the children went to live at the home.

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

The manager and the staff have advocated for the children to attend a community youth group. The staff ensured that a robust risk assessment was in place before the children attended. This allows the children to maintain positive experiences of places that mean something to them, in a safe and supported way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably qualified and experienced manager manages the home. A deputy manager supports the manager. Together, they lead the home and the staff team in a child- focused way. They both speak highly of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partner agencies are consistently positive about their experience of working with the managers and staff. They describe communication as good and are complimentary about the progress children make. One professional said they ‘couldn’t be happier for the children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are clear plans in place for children. The plans reflect the children’s needs and the plans of the local authority. The manager regularly reviews the children’s plans and updates them with current information. However, children do not benefit from education plans, which limits the manager in being able to effectively evidence children’s progress. The manager had identified this before the inspection and has a plan to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s case records are not always consistent, and information is not always accurate. This fails to provide clarity for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children are cared for by a consistent and stable staff team. The manager follows safe recruitment practice, to ensure only suitable adults work with children. Staff speak highly of the home. They enjoy working in the home and feel well supported by managers, senior managers, and their colleagues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions and team meetings take place on a regular basis and are well attended by the staff team. These allow staff to reflect on their practice and consider the quality of care the children receive. When there are issues with staff practice, the manager quickly addresses this and ensures development opportunities are in place. Inspection report for children's home: SC065789 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 registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 7 November 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that measurements of progress include qualitative information such as how well the child is being prepared for their next stage of education. Other metrics can also be taken into account, such as rewards and recognition of achievements, improvements in attendance and, where appropriate, reduction in behavioural incidents, including exclusion. The child’s personal circumstances, individual needs and educational history are relevant in considering (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 26, paragraph 5.2)

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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: SC065789 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6 Tower Quays, Tower Road, Birkenhead, Merseyside CH41 1BP

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Inspector

Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC065789 7 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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