Children's home run by Supporting Futures Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2795947 1 Registered provider: Supporting Futures Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted on 12 August 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2795947 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives individualised care from staff who are sensitive to their needs. The manager ensures that staff have access to relevant information from the local authority prior to a child moving in. This supports and guides the staff on how best to care for the child and meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are nurturing in their approach while maintaining the rules, boundaries, and expectations. One professional said, ‘I am going to say I think they provide [name of child] with excellent levels of care.’ Subsequently the child living in the home has settled well and is making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the child’s health and emotional health and well-being. Staff support the child to attend routine health appointments. The manager and staff work closely with health professionals to ensure that the child receives the support and medical treatment they need. For example, the child requires extensive dental treatment, the manager has ensured that the child is booked in to receive the treatment as a priority. As such, staff are supporting the child to attend a specialist dental provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and embed a culture of learning and informal learning such as, supporting the child to learn times tables and to be able to tell the time. They have been successful in supporting the child to achieve 98% attendance at school. This has meant the child is achieving their educational goals and targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family relationships for the child. They advocate on the child’s behalf to encourage relationships to form and develop in line with the child’s care plan. This supports the child to keep in contact with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a warm, comfortable, and stable environment that is free of hazards. Staff ensure that they create positive memories with the child and are building photo albums of the child’s time at the home. The child has enjoyed a birthday party at the bowling alley with their school friends and days out together with the staff.

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

Feedback viewed from the child states, ‘I am happy in the home.’ The manager and staff understand the child’s risks and vulnerabilities and follow careful thought-out plans to support the child to manage their emotions in a more positive way. The child is making progress in regulating their emotions due to a traffic light activity system the staff have developed to support the child when they are struggling to express their feelings.

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities regarding safeguarding practices. For example, what action to take if an allegation or disclosure is made and what they will do Inspection report for children’s home: 2795947 3 if a child goes missing from home. As such, when a previous child was missing from home, staff follow the relevant protocols and procedures and worked with the police to locate the child and return the child home safely.

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

Staff are trained in a variety of safeguarding matters, such as, physical restraint and de- escalation techniques, safeguarding and learning disabilities, child exploitation, child abuse, neglect, and self-harming behaviours. This supports the staff to know how to respond if any issues arise to meet the complex needs of the children.

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

On occasions one child has had to be held to prevent them from harming themselves. The management team have reviewed the appropriateness of the holds and spoken to staff about their practice and deemed the holds to be necessary and proportionate to keep everyone safe. However, on one occasion a description of the hold used was not included in the recording and the management team oversight was out of timescales. This does not consistently support the manager to review the effectiveness of the hold in a timely manner and take appropriate action to address any concerns that emerge.

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

Consequences are given to children to support them to change their behaviours. The consequences are fair and proportionate. However, the consequence has not always been reviewed by the management team in a timely manner, nor are the staff using the agreed consequence. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to reflect on staff practices.

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

The manager follows robust safer recruitment processes to ensure that the staff working in the home are safe to do so. This means that staff working in the home and new staff joining the team are assessed to be safe to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably qualified and ambitious manager manages the home efficiently and effectively. An equally efficient and enthusiastic deputy manager supports her. They have high aspirations for the children in their care and regularly advocate and challenge the local authority on behalf of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager leads by example and knows the child well. She balances the management duties of two homes alongside spending time with the child. As such, the child has a good relationship with the manager. This was observed to be positive and fun, both demonstrating a mutual respect.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff who were spoken to were positive about the leadership and management of the home. One member of staff said, ‘This is a really great team, and we support each other well. Our senior & deputy have been amazing too. Staff morale is high and the way we come together to support [child’s name] is fantastic.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular reflective supervision and attend regular team meetings. They have completed a thorough induction, training, and probationary period. This provides staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2795947 4 with a detailed programme and guidance in their new role and means the manager is assured that the staff are equipped to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager welcomes independent scrutiny of the home. An independent person visits monthly. The manager actions any recommendations made to support the development of the service. The manager has robust reviewing and monitoring systems in place to monitor the quality of care. This means the leadership & management team have a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2795947 5

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are reviewed in timescales and include how effective the consequence is. The registered provider should ensure that the user of the consequence is spoken to, to reflect on their practice and look for any patterns or trends around the use of consequences. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered provider should ensure that all records of restraint contain a description of the measure used and ensure that they have timely oversight of the restraint to be able to respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: 2795947 6

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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

Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2795947 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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