Children's home run by Forte Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2798010 1 Registered provider: Forte Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who may have emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in September 2024 and has not previously been inspected.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a permanent registered manager, who is working towards obtaining the required qualification in leadership and management.

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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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2798010 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living at the home. The child has lived there since September 2024 and is making progress, particularly with regards to their emotional well-being. The child was present during the inspection and the inspector spoke with them and obtained their views about living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s move into the home was well planned. Any potential risks were considered. The child was given the opportunity to meet staff and visit the home before moving in. This enabled staff to carefully consider the child’s needs and ensure that they could meet them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have built positive relationships with the child, which has helped them to progress. The child is more confident in speaking about their feelings and emotions so that staff can better support them. Staff have also facilitated improved relationships between the child, their family and with external professionals, helping them to have their wishes heard and gain support for their general well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to ensure that the child’s relationships with people important to them are maintained. The home is a long distance from the child’s family and friends. Staff ensure that the family is kept well informed and involved in decision-making. Despite the distance, staff facilitate regular contact for the child to spend time with their family. The child has also been able to have a friend from their hometown visit them. This helps the child to feel loved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a calm, warm and welcoming environment. The home is well maintained and furnished to a high standard. The child’s room is personalised. Potential risks within the home have been considered and measures have been put in place to minimise those risks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to maintain good health. They are registered with various health professionals for their physical and emotional needs and regularly attend appointments. The child told inspectors that because they could talk to staff, there was less need for external professionals to support them with their emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide opportunities and encourage the child to participate in activities which they enjoy. The home is well equipped with arts and crafts. Artwork completed by the child is proudly displayed. Staff have also secured a place for the child at a local football club, and they take them to football matches. This helps the child to build their self-confidence and have fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and leaders prioritise and recognise the importance of the child’s education. Before moving into the home, the child had been out of formal education for a considerable amount of time. However, leaders were proactive and worked closely with education Inspection report for children’s home: 2798010 3 professionals to identify appropriate provision, which was specific to the child’s needs. As a result, the child has been provided with opportunities to learn and make progress.

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

The child told the inspector that they felt safe living in the home. They are cared for by the staff in the home, who understand their needs and who they have built trusting relationships with. This has enabled the child to speak openly about their feelings so that staff can help them to manage risky behaviours and build on their emotional resilience. Strategies put in place by staff have supported a reduction in the number of incidents occurring in the home and lessened the need for restrictive practices to be implemented to keep the child safe.

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

Staff promote positive behaviour. Clear routines and boundaries help the child to understand what is expected of them. Rewards and incentives are also used to encourage positive choices and reach personal goals. For example, the child was rewarded with a celebration cake and gift when they had not self-harmed for a month.

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

Staff have a good understanding as to what they must do if the child goes missing from the home. For example, they were able to describe the processes in place to support the child’s safe return home. Return home interviews are offered to inform strategies to help reduce the risk of the child going missing again.

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

When incidents occur, staff work sensitively with the child to help them move forward. For example, the child is given opportunities to discuss and reflect on incidents and to provide their account of events. They are also given feedback in relation to the outcome of any concerns raised, and reconciliation is facilitated following an allegation to help the child and member of staff to move on. This gives the child the confidence that they will be listened to and their concerns acted on.

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

Staff and leaders do not always ensure that external agencies and Ofsted are notified in a timely manner when safeguarding incidents occur. For example, there have been some delays in notifying the local authority and Ofsted following allegations and safeguarding incidents. This does not ensure that there is always effective external oversight in keeping the child safe.

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

Appropriate checks are carried out on new staff before they work at the home. This ensures children are cared for by suitably vetted staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has high aspirations for the child to do well and continue to make progress. In turn, they have high expectations of staff, who have successfully implemented the home’s therapeutic model, leading to improvement in the child’s well- being over a relatively short period of time. Inspection report for children’s home: 2798010 4 The registered manager has provided strong leadership and is well respected. Feedback from external professionals, staff and others is unanimous in their praise of the home’s leadership, therapeutic approach to providing care and ability to build positive relationships. Staff say they enjoy their work. Since the home opened, there has been a largely stable team in place, helping to provide consistency of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported and are given opportunities to learn and develop. All staff are enrolled and working towards obtaining a qualification in residential childcare or an appropriate leadership qualification. Staff have access to a range of training to support them in their role. This includes access to an in-house therapist for additional support and guidance in caring for the child. However, while there has been good uptake of the home’s mandatory training requirements, this has not consistently been the case for all child-specific training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions. These provide opportunities for staff to reflect on their performance, learning and development. Where issues have been raised in supervision sessions, these have been followed up to ensure that staff receive additional support needed. This helps equip staff with the guidance and support needed to provide good quality care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. Overall, the systems for monitoring and providing oversight of the home are good and help to maintain standards and keep the child safe. However, on some occasions, these systems have not always been effective in identifying some areas for development. For example, there have been some delays in notifying Ofsted, gaps in staff training, and ensuring that all relevant documents are up to date, to ensure children receive accurate information. Inspection report for children’s home: 2798010 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

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

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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)(c)(e)) 9 May 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure the children’s guide contains up to date information for escalating concerns and complaints and includes details as to how the young person can contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner should they want to raise any concerns. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)  The registered manager should ensure that the local authority is promptly informed of all allegations and safeguarding concerns that come to an employer’s attention. This specifically relates to delays in notifying the local authority following an allegation made by the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.18)  The registered manager should ensure that staff access all appropriate resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the

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Recommendations

training and development of staff in the home. This specifically relates to staff accessing child specific training. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children’s home: 2798010 6

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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: 2798010 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 213 Station Road, Stechford, Birmingham B33 8BB

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Victoria Chinchen

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Inspectors

Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2798010 8 regulates and inspects to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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