Children's home run by Supporting Futures Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2658895 1 Registered provider: Supporting 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 is a privately owned home that provides care for up to two children who may be experiencing social and/or emotional issues and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted on 3 January 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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: 31 October 2023

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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: 2658895 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/10/2023 Full Good 22/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2658895 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a clean and welcoming environment. Staff help children to personalise their bedrooms, including displaying certificates and photos celebrating their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children feel that they have good relationships with staff and key workers. They say that the manager is helpful and supportive, and they would go to the manager if they were unhappy or wished to make a complaint. This demonstrates that children feel confident that the manager will listen to them and ensure that their needs are met. Both children highlighted one particular member of staff who they enjoy spending time with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop their interests and hobbies. One child has a passion for public transport and staff have supported them to have opportunities to develop this interest. The child is able to travel independently on local trains and buses, allowing them to take manageable risks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly attend school or another education provision. They are learning and making good progress, considering their starting points. There is effective liaison between staff and education professionals. One child is hoping to complete their exams early due to the good progress they have made. The child is learning three languages and has been provided with additional external tuition to support this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children spend good-quality time with people who are important to them. This includes supporting regular family time in the home. This means parents and children have a safe and familiar space in which to spend time together.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted before starting work. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home. Staff receive induction and relevant training which is in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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

Leaders and managers regularly review risk management plans to ensure that they meet the children’s needs and help to keep them safe. Staff amend risk management plans to reflect any changes to children’s needs and risks. This helps staff to provide a consistent approach to keeping children safe.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home are reducing. This means that children are likely to be more settled and invested in their home. The missing-from-home protocols and plans are of a high standard. This ensures that there is a consistent and thorough response from staff if children go missing from home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2658895 4 Physical intervention is rarely used, and when it is, the records are clear and reflective. The debriefs with children following the use of physical intervention give the children the opportunity to reflect with staff on the intervention and the reason why it took place. This helps children to have closure and rebuild relationships with staff.

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

Children’s needs are assessed effectively. Any existing or emerging risks are considered against the needs and wishes of the children. Staff and children work together to set boundaries which are flexible, depending on the child’s progress, for example, the time that children return home and the distance they can travel on public transport alone. This helps children to develop their independence safely.

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

Children’s mental health and emotional well-being are improving. One child said that they can manage their emotional health safely, which is progress from when they moved into the home. This is largely due to the support provided by staff for the child to attend health appointments. Staff also support the child’s parent to attend the health appointments. This helps the parent and child to develop their relationship.

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

Not all serious incidents are reported to the regulator. This means that, on some occasions, the regulator’s oversight is limited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager know the children well and they work hard to create a warm and homely environment for them to live in. The manager and staff have high aspirations for the children and the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular training that helps them to better understand and meet children’s needs. When additional training is needed, the manager ensures that all staff have access to this. This means that staff develop their skills to ensure that they implement good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working with relevant professionals is a key strength of the manager and staff team. Feedback from professionals is positive. One teacher said that the staff communication is excellent and helps bridge the gap between home and school.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular supervision and team meetings. This enables the manager and staff to reflect on incidents and identify areas for development. However, the impact children’s behaviour has on staff is not considered during every supervision. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that staff are appropriately supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive annual appraisals that consider a range of topics including the progress that they make. Appraisals are also an opportunity for the manager to ensure that staff are meeting the requirements of their role. However, appraisals do not include feedback from children, professionals and other staff. This limits the manager’s oversight of staff practice and progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2658895 5 A quality of care review is completed every six months. However, the quality of care review reports do not consistently include the opinions of children. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to consider and evaluate children’s views about the care they receive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2658895 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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if-

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child-

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 9 October 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review is evaluative and contains feedback from external professionals, children and their families. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weaknesses in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff have an opportunity to reflect on their practice during individual supervision sessions. This should be recorded, as Inspection report for children’s home: 2658895 7 appropriate, on the staff supervision record. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)  The registered person should ensure that appraisals consider, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member

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Recommendations

over the year and of children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: 2658895 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Supporting Futures Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sinclair, 300 St Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

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Inspector

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2658895 9 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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