Children's Home run by First 4 Children Ltd in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2711236 1 Registered provider: First 4 Children Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in March 2023. An experienced manager leads the home and has been registered since November 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection; all of whom were seen during the inspection and two children were spoken to.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2711236 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/07/2024 Full requires improvement to be good 15/11/2023 Full good 22/08/2023 Full inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2711236 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The same three children have remained living in the home since the last inspection. Staff have developed positive, nurturing relationships with the children which helps them to feel safe and cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is supported well by staff and the manager. One child is making excellent progress at school. This has been maintained since the last inspection, with the child making significant progress from their starting point. When there are barriers to one child attending school consistently, the manager takes all practical steps to encourage them to attend. Incentives and creative ideas are used to motivate them to attend school. Staff ensure that there are clear boundaries to maintain structure to the child’s day when they do not attend school. There has been a delay in completing the education, health and care plan for one child which has caused delays in finding a suitable school for them. The manager has taken proactive steps to challenge the placing authority and advocated for the needs of the child. As a result, daily tutoring has been provided, and specialist provision has been identified.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The chosen model of therapeutic care is clearly embedded in the home. In-house clinician support and reflective sessions with staff have helped to shape practice and formulate in-house plans. This has ensured a child-centred consistent approach is provided by staff, and children benefit from clear boundaries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. Staff support and encourage children to attend all routine health appointments. When specialist support is required the manager advocates for the needs of the child. Children’s emotional well-being and self-esteem are promoted with sensitive and personalised care, which enables children to explore their identities. One child has been supported to explore different faiths and cultures, including her birth family’s heritage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to get involved in clubs and activities. Their interests are supported and promoted, and they are encouraged to try new things and gain new experiences. This helps to build confidence and develop greater resilience as they develop their social skills independently outside the home.

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

There is a clear understanding of safeguarding thresholds and processes in the home. Staff understand their responsibilities and how to keep children safe. Recent challenges in the home have resulted in a sudden increase of incidents, after a long and settled period. Leaders have prioritised the needs of the children and arranged for additional staff to support children at night. Staff have responded with resilience and demonstrated their ability to work with confidence when incidents arise, keeping children at the forefront of their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2711236 4 The home has a clear and consistent approach to risk management. There are detailed individualised risk assessments in place for each child. The manager and responsible individual regularly review risk assessments to ensure they are reflective of the care children need. Staff are knowledgeable about the strategies required to support children

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

and implement these effectively when necessary. As a result, children’s safety and welfare are promoted.

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

Incidents of physical restraint are rare. When restraint is used by staff, it is proportionate and detailed reports are completed. The manager has good oversight of incidents and evaluates the effectiveness of holds used by staff. This evaluation is used to support staff learning. For example, the manager recently identified a hesitation to intervene in an incident, resulting in one child causing significant damage to property and harm to themselves. The manager has arranged further training to ensure confidence across the staff team.

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

Episodes of children going missing from home receive well-coordinated responses. Staff understand each child’s individual protocol and know children’s plans well, so can respond accordingly when a child is missing from home. This contributes to the speed with which children can be located and mitigates the risks they may be exposed to when away from the home. The manager has proactively challenged the children’s placing authorities to ensure care planning arrangements are established to address concerns of children going missing together. Additionally, they have made significant efforts to develop effective partnership working to support children’s safety.

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

Allegations are managed in line with safeguarding procedures. The manager keeps the child informed so that they know what is happening and the next steps. This ensures that the child knows that their concerns and worries are taken seriously. Where appropriate, restorative work to repair relationships is carried out with children and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A passionate and experienced manager leads the home. She has created a culture in the staff team of high expectations for the children. She is ambitious for children and considers ways to promote positive experiences through shared activities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is now a consistent staff team, and there have been minimal changes since the last inspection. Staff enjoy caring for the children and are well supported to do so. Children are cared by staff they know and trust, who understand their needs and how best to care for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager. Managers and leaders understand the strengths of the staff team. Staff benefit from a detailed induction and regular supervision. This provides them with opportunities to reflect and supports them in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective monitoring systems are implemented by the manager. This provides clear oversight of all aspects of staff development, children’s needs and the home Inspection report for children’s home: 2711236 5 environment. It has enabled the manager to monitor the running of the home. Additionally, it identifies patterns and trends to identify areas for staff development and support for children. Some information in monitoring records is not kept up to date. This does not impact the care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The physical environment of the home is maintained to a high standard. The home is welcoming and comfortable. When there is a need to make a change to the home to support the well-being of children, this is done promptly. However, following recent damage, managers carried out a temporary repair to make one child’s room safe, but permanent repairs have not yet been carried out. There is a clear plan for the work to be completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Ofsted have not raised requirements or recommendations.

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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: 2711236 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: First 4 Children Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office 7, Old Whieldon Road Business Centre, Old Whieldon Road, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 4HW

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Inspector

Joanne Hawkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2711236 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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