Children's Home run by Supporting Futures Limited in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2812627 1 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

The home is operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in December 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: 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: 2812627 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home opened, three children have moved in. Children’s moves into the home consider all relevant information and are well planned by the manager and staff. Staff ensure that children are given the opportunity to meet the staff and children already living at the home before they move in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff consider children’s needs and wishes. This demonstrates the manager’s awareness around the importance of robust transition planning. The manager and staff are sensitive to children’s individual needs. This helps them settle living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff who were spoken to demonstrate a clear understanding of the children’s individual needs. Individualised care plans are followed by staff and reflect children’s social and emotional needs. This helps children to make progress. Children say that they feel safe and secure in their home environment. Professionals who were spoken to say that staff are caring and are good advocates for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional needs are prioritised. Staff support children to attend routine and specialist health appointments. Therefore, children remain in good health and their well-being is promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children are in full-time education. One teacher said, ‘The staff send an overview of the child’s weekend, which allows them to be included in show and tell as they struggle with verbal communication. It also allows us to understand if the child’s had a settled weekend.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff capture the children’s views during key-work sessions and direct work. The children can attend activities that interest them, for example play centres, swimming and walks along the beach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children’s relationships with their family and friends. Staff support the children to spend time with their family members and friends, and they invite them to visit the home. One family member said that staff communicate well and that they are updated about their child’s life, which makes them feel included. This supports children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. It is decorated and furnished to a good standard. The children have personalised bedrooms, and outdoor play equipment has been adapted so all the children feel comfortable to use it. Inspection report for children’s home: 2812627 3

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. They are aware of children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. They know how best to manage and respond to these to ensure that the children remain safe. Staff follow robust risk management and support plans. This practice has helped reduce risks in relation to children.

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

Due to the positive relationships that the manager and staff have built with the children, they are able to de-escalate incidents effectively. This has led to a reduction in incidents where staff have had to hold children. When incidents do occur, staff speak to children about the incident. This helps children to reflect and share any worries or concerns they have. Staff give children the opportunity to share their views about how the situation could have been managed differently. This helps the children to manage their feelings and emotions effectively.

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

Staff communicate well with children. For example, with one child, they communicate by writing or using pictures to advise them of changes in the home or to their care and to request their wishes, feelings, and worries. The social worker for this child said, ‘[Name of child] has made amazing improvements in the short time they have lived there; it is so wonderful to see them progress with their personal self-care.’

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

Staff receive training in child protection and safeguarding practices. They also receive specific training on topics specific to the children’s needs.

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

The manager has good oversight of incidents and acts appropriately when serious incidents occur. Notifications are made to Ofsted in a timely and effective manner. This helps the regulator to monitor the home effectively.

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

The manager regularly reviews the home’s physical environment to ensure it is safe and secure. However, one child has not engaged in fire evacuation drills several times, with no effective consequences or risk assessments being completed. The manager acted swiftly to address this shortfall when it was identified during this inspection. The manager has requested the local fire safety officer to attend the home and talk to the children about fire safety and the importance of participating in fire drills.

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

The cupboard that stored the cleaning materials and hazardous chemicals was unlocked due to the lock being broken. The manager took sufficient action to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong leader. He is confident and advocates strongly for the children in his care. He leads an enthusiastic, motivated, and committed staff team. Children are extremely fond of him, and this is reciprocated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2812627 4 The manager is child focused and ensures that staff provide children with care that meets their individual needs. The manager recognises the importance of staff needing to feel valued, trusted and listened to. This approach helps to ensure that staff are happy in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager spends a lot of time in the home. Children and staff benefit from his supportive day-to-day oversight. The manager leads by example, takes on tasks and works directly with the children. Due to this proactive approach, staff feel supported, valued and have confidence in the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions, team meetings, training, and a planned yearly assessment of their performance. This provides the manager with information for him to remain confident in the abilities of the staff team to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. The manager uses external monitoring effectively. This helps the manager to continue to improve staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals and parents is extremely positive. The manager and staff work positively with relevant professionals. This informs decisions about the children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2812627 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children feel safe and are safe. Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety, both inside and outside the home, to the extent that any good parent would. This is specifically in relation to the fire evacuation procedure and taking part in fire drills. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff lock the doors to hazardous materials as a safety precaution and as part of the normal routine of the home. This is specifically in relation to ensuring that substances hazardous to health are contained within a lockable cupboard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 50, paragraph 9.62)

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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: 2812627 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

Deborah Turner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2812627 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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