Children's home run by Future Focused Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2693530 1 Registered provider: Future Focused Limited

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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 home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties. There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since June 2022.

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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: 2693530 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/08/2023 Full Good 20/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2693530 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently two children living in the home. Since the last full inspection, one child had a planned moved out of the home and another child has moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Improvements have been made, with both children and professionals using the words ‘significant’ and ‘brilliant’ to describe the progress of one child in the short time they have been in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education has been difficult for one child, with attendance being variable. Another child is not yet accessing formal education or training. Learning is supported by an alternative provision, where the children learn independence skills. Improvement is required for one child to support them to attend school on a more regular basis. Staff need to ensure that the education, health and care (EHC) plans for the children are accurate and up to date and fully reflect the children’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are promoted. As a result, children are in good physical health. Staff are aware of children’s individual health needs and work with professionals to ensure they are being well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to experience enjoyable and fun activities, and the home is creative in ways of trying to find age-appropriate hobbies that the children may enjoy, such as fishing, baking and bike riding. Staff ensure that memories are captured and recorded. This is important for the children and allows them to understand their journey while in the home and beyond into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to prepare for adulthood. The child who left the home enjoyed a positive move and had a detailed support plan in place. They are now settled in their new home and keep in touch with the staff. This ongoing contact reflects the positive relationships that staff have with the child. The child moving into the home was involved in the planning and the manager ensured that both children were suitable to live together.

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

Children are kept safe. Staff have a clear understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities of the children in the home. Staff respond appropriately and swiftly to emerging concerns and the manager has a clear oversight of risk management plans. Any allegations or risks are clearly documented in care plans and all staff are aware of how to deal with any risks associated with each child.

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

Children develop a sense of permanence and belonging in the home, and they can build trusted and secure relationships with the adults who are looking after them. One child Inspection report for children’s home: 2693530 4 told a teacher at school that they ‘love’ living at the home and said that they often talk positively about the staff.

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

Staff focus on promoting children’s positive behaviour. Children are encouraged to learn from incidents. They are helped with learning how to manage distressing emotions. Children are only held when necessary to protect themselves or those around them. The interventions are short in duration and staff offer emotional support throughout. All incidents are recorded, reviewed and monitored by the manager.

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

Children who go missing from the home have a well-coordinated response. Staff take suitable action to find and return them home, attempting to keep in contact with them throughout the incident. Reports are chronologically written, with precise details of all the actions taken and who is informed. Staff are trained and aware of missing-from- home procedures and the frequency of missing-from-home episodes for one child has reduced considerably.

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

Room searches are only carried out when necessary. Two staff members are always present, and the child is always given the option to be present if appropriate. Items found are then used as opportunities to discuss harmful behaviours and give the child an opening for self-reflection.

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

Staff are recruited safely, and recruitment processes ensure that the right staff are employed. Agency staff are not used. Staff who leave the home for progression elsewhere stay on as bank staff to help cover the occasional shifts. This helps the children with routine and consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and qualified manager in the home. She is a reflective practitioner who is therapeutically trained and child-focused. She inspires the staff, who say that she is supportive and wants them to achieve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager consistently monitors the quality of care provided to the children. She has established effective systems to maintain oversight of the home, allowing her to identify strengths and weaknesses. The manager and her deputy have a good understanding of the children’s needs. They were able to give a detailed overview of each child’s risks and care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive inspiring and adaptable support through regular supervision with the manager or another senior leader. Staff also take part in regular group supervision and occasionally work with the in-house therapist. During all supervision sessions, behaviours and practices are looked at and actions are agreed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that team meetings take place regularly. These meetings concentrate on practice and how this has an impact on the children. The manager is always looking for improvements and ways to develop her team, and this gives staff an Inspection report for children’s home: 2693530 5 opportunity to share their experiences and learn from any incidents or good practice that has occurred over the previous month.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an in-depth training programme, which staff complete in a timely manner. Staff have also completed specialised training to meet the specific additional needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works diligently with professionals to help the children make progress, concentrating on achieving positive outcomes for them. Feedback from external professionals has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly regarding the advocacy work on behalf of children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2693530 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(vii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children are encouraged to attend school regularly. Additionally, the manager must ensure that the EHC plan is up to date and accurately records relevant dates and the details of the child concerned. 30 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2693530 7

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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: 2693530 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Crow’s Nest Business Park, Ashton Road, Billinge, Wigan WN5 7XX

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Inspector

Nicola Jeffery, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2693530 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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