Children's home run by Good Foundations Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2724946 1 Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 20 February 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2724946 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2724946 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved out of the home and three children have moved in. Children live in a home that is warm and welcoming. Staff build trusting relationships with children and moves in and out of the home are supported well by staff. As a result, children have positive relationships with each other and are making good progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide opportunities for children to pursue their interests and take part in activities of their choice. For example, children attend a variety of activities, such as golf, dance classes and youth groups.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are ready to move on from the home, staff support them to develop their independence skills. Children are encouraged to cook, and staff talk to them about different skills to help prepare them for adult life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff promote children’s education. Most children attend education in line with their individual plans. When there are barriers to children attending education, the manager and staff work with partner agencies to identify alternative provision or informal learning which could better support the children. For example, staff educate children about life skills in preparation for their adult lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend routine medical appointments. Staff know children’s individual medical needs and when they require medication. Children also have access to specialist support, such as child and adolescent mental health services. This ensures that children’s health needs are met.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them. They work positively with parents and others to promote meaningful and safe arrangements so children can spend time with their family and friends.

p.3

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

Children said they feel safe living in the home. They all said they can speak to staff if they have any concerns about their care or if they were worried about anything.

p.3

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

When risks are identified, staff undertake thorough risk assessments and follow procedures to keep children safe. Staff work closely with relevant agencies to safeguard children.

p.3

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

Staff understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities. They talk to children about these and educate them on how to keep safe, for example healthy relationships and internet safety. This helps children understand risk and helps them to make safe and informed choices. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724946 4 Incidents in the home have reduced. The registered manager escalates concerns with external agencies effectively to consider children’s needs and vulnerabilities. This ensures that children are kept safe.

p.3

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

Children’s missing-from-care risk assessments do not include all actions that staff need to follow in practice to ensure children return home safely. Some plans do not include details of children’s individual needs. However, staff do know what to do in practice to search for children and return them home safely. Recording in plans does not always capture the actions that staff take.

p.4

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

Since the last inspection, there have not been any incidents when staff have had to hold children. The staff use de-escalation techniques which they are trained in to support children’s behaviour. Positive behaviour is praised and promoted by staff.

p.4

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

The home’s recruitment procedures follow safer recruitment guidance. This ensures only adults who are suitable work with the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified for the role. He is supported by two deputy managers who help to oversee and supervise the staff team. The home consists of a full staff team. Most of the staff have been in post since the last inspection. This provides children with consistency and continuity of care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they enjoy working in the home and feel well supported by the management team. The registered manager delegates tasks to members of the staff team to develop their skills. This gives staff a sense of shared ownership.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive specific training to meet children’s individual needs. This enhances the care staff provide for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions and team meetings take place regularly. These forums provide an opportunity for staff to reflect on children’s care and their practices. Any concerns about staff practice are managed sensitively by leaders and managers.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager uses monitoring tools to have oversight and develop the quality- of-care staff provide for children. These monitoring tools are robust and consider the children’s needs as well as administrative tasks. However, during the inspection, it became apparent that information provided by the independent visitor, who provides external scrutiny of the home, was inaccurate. A recommendation has been made to improve this area. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724946 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them when there are concerns about children going missing from home, relevant plans must include details of the steps the home will take to manage the risk. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. This includes ensuring information in the independent visitor’s report is accurate and pertinent to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 55, paragraph 10.24)

p.5

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: 2724946 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspector

Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2724946 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

p.7

Inspector

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7