Children's home run by Supporting Futures Limited in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 1 SC381667 Registered provider: Supporting Futures 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 operated by a private organisation. It is registered to care for up to four children who may be experiencing social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in September 2008 and the manager registered in July 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Three 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: 17 January 2024

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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: SC381667 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/01/2024 Full Good 26/10/2022 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good 12/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s engagement in education and learning is good. All children have increased their education attendance significantly, which helps to ensure that children will have the best chance of succeeding in later life. Children have good aspirations for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see their families and people who are close to them. The staff maintain regular communication with parents and carers and keep them updated about children’s progress. This helps children to maintain their identity and continue to see people who are important to them. Children also have individualised life-story books that create a visual journey of their experiences. This will help children to remember the positive experiences that they have had since living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children say that they have good relationships with staff and key workers. They say that the manager is helpful and supportive and that they would go to the manager, deputy manager or operations manager if they were unhappy or wished to make a complaint. This demonstrates that children feel valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s wishes and feelings are sought through regular consultation and children are able to use ‘shout out’ cards to share their views with staff. There is evidence that the children’s views are considered in the day-to-day running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is in need of some maintenance work and decoration. This includes a burnt window restrictor, wires draped over a radiator, areas of damp in a bedroom that is not in use, and damage to the couch in the main lounge. Health and safety checks have failed to identify the damage and disrepair, which pose a hazard. However, there is evidence that there is a programme of repair, maintenance and renovation work and action was taken to rectify these issues during the inspection.

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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 to work at the home. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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

Staff use positive behaviour approaches, supported by therapeutic training. This avoids any use of negative or punitive measures to manage children’s behaviour. Children said that they enjoy receiving consistent rewards for positive behaviour.

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

Leaders regularly review risk management plans to ensure that they meet children’s needs. Staff amend risk management plans to reflect any changes to children’s needs. This helps staff to provide safe and consistent care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 4 Physical interventions have not been used since the last inspection, primarily due to the caring approach of staff. Staff are encouraged to use all available distraction or de- escalation techniques to prevent the need for physical intervention.

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

Leaders and managers do not consistently report safeguarding concerns to Ofsted without delay. This means that on some occasions the regulator’s oversight is limited.

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

Incidents are not recorded consistently. In some missing-from-home incident records, information is not clear, such as the date of incidents and/or the actions taken. This means the manager is not able to fully evaluate incidents effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led and managed by an ambitious and knowledgeable management team. Leaders and managers demonstrate a clear understanding of therapeutic approaches when supporting children with complex needs, and they ensure that staff implement these in their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported by the manager. They say that the new manager has brought a more organised and consistent approach to the home. One social worker said that the manager and deputy manager’s communication with them is exceptional. They said that the manager will often challenge decisions if they feel it is in the best interest of their child. One headteacher said that the manager and deputy manager keep them informed daily of any issues or incidents to help school prepare the right support for their children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision sessions are seen as an integral part of the support system for staff development. These sessions provide staff with time to reflect on their practice, discuss challenges and provide staff with constructive feedback. However, they are not always held in line with the frequency outlined in the home’s statement of purpose for probationary staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of care review report does not evaluate or analyse children’s achievements and the progress they are making. The report does not include or evaluate the opinions of children, their parents and the placing authorities. This is a missed opportunity to help the leaders and managers to evaluate the quality of care effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are gaps in the training provided to probationary staff. This potentially compromises the consistency of care provided to children. Staff are supported with additional training during team meetings, in which robust conversations and reflections take place. Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 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 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)) 28 February 2025

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 28 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 6 ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person ensuring that the home is well maintained to a high standard and any damage or maintenance issues are identified and rectified in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered provider must make sure that any new staff have completed training in topics relevant to children’s individual needs. 28 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review is evaluative and contains feedback from wider stakeholders. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘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 missing-from-home records are clear and accurate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.25)  The registered person should have systems in place so that supervision takes place in line with the timescales in the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC381667 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 Mary’s Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

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Inspector

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC381667 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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