Children's Home run by Family First Care Services Ltd in Haringey

Inspection report for children’s home: 2636743 1 Registered provider: Family First Care Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to three children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in July 2021.

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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: 18 December 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: 2636743 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2024 Full Good 11/03/2024 Full Good 21/03/2023 Full Good 09/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2636743 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, the inspector spoke to two of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs and demonstrate positive, nurturing relationships. Staff prioritise building trust and meaningful connections with children by creating an environment that focuses on their well-being and best interests. Regular key- work sessions help children understand their lived experiences. As a result, children respond well to staff and build secure, trusting relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff proactively plan for children’s education. One child regularly attends school and is preparing to take their GCSEs. Another child does not access their education provision consistently, but leaders and managers work closely with education professionals to support the child’s re-engagement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have personalised care and behaviour plans that address their needs, including religion, ethnicity and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health plans are regularly updated, and staff actively support children in attending their health appointments. When concerns arise regarding their physical or emotional well-being, children receive care from a range of professionals, including specialist services, to ensure that their individual health needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children require hospitalisation, staff go above and beyond to ensure that children continue to receive support from familiar staff while in the hospital. However, for one child, not all members of staff have read and signed their health protocol.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children in spending time with their family and friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff assist children in enhancing their independence skills. These skills have helped them learn how to budget, cook nutritious meals, and keep their bedrooms clean and tidy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported in understanding positive relationships.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home have reduced. When children go missing, staff make efforts to maintain contact with them and report them missing in accordance with the missing-from-home protocol. Managers request independent return home interviews.

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

Leaders and managers handle incidents effectively when they occur. They speak to children in a sensitive manner to help them understand the potential triggers for their Inspection report for children’s home: 2636743 4 anxiety and learn how to manage their behaviours with care. One-to-one discussions help children to feel heard, and they are encouraged to talk about their understanding of personal safety.

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

Staff work with children and the wider network to help them become safer. They create detailed risk assessments that reflect individual risk factors and outline actions for staff to follow to minimise the risk of reoccurrence.

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

When there are concerns for children’s safety, staff carry out bedroom searches and remove anything that could be harmful to a child.

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

Staff have supported one child in taking their prescribed medication. They have sought medical attention when concerns have emerged to ensure the child’s safety. However, they have not yet made arrangements to dispose of medication that is no longer in use.

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

Staff are carrying out weekly fire checks, although some checks relating to fire doors and fire escape routes have not been consistently carried out in line with the home’s timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced registered manager, and most of the staff have worked in the home for many years. The registered manager is enthusiastic about providing a good standard of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers know the service well. They understand the strengths and areas for development and have created a plan to address outstanding maintenance issues to ensure that a homely and welcoming environment is maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager understands the children’s needs, their individual plans, and the progress they are making towards achieving their potential. The registered manager and staff team have created a calm and supportive environment, ensuring that children are well cared for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a wide range of training, covering various topics and delivered either online or face-to-face. The training matrix has not been updated to reflect all training completed. Furthermore, some staff members require refresher training on core topics, including fire safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular comprehensive supervision sessions that are child focused and provide opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice, discuss the care of children, and review their learning and development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The permanent and stable leadership team has developed a positive workforce culture in the home, so staff turnover is very low. This ensures that children receive help from consistent, reliable and trusted adults who provide a high level of care and stability. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636743 5 A professional said that they found the home to be consistent in the care given to children, and they found all staff communicate well. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636743 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek scrutiny of the home and make the best use of information from internal monitoring to ensure ongoing improvements and that planned fire safety checks are carried out. In addition, ensure that staff read and sign protocols and guidance for managing children’s health. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that they make suitable arrangements to dispose of any medication that is no longer in use. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and that this information is captured on the training record. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2636743 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Family First Care Services Ltd

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Inspector

Ruth Okezie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2636743 8 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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