Children's Home run by New Focus Child Care LTD in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2782456 1 Registered provider: New Focus Childcare 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

The home provides care for one child who experiences social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2024. He also manages another children’s home in the organisation, and that home is judged to be good.

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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: 14 January 2025

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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: 2782456 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2782456 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, three children have lived in the home at different times. There is currently one child living in the home. Feedback from the child currently living in the home was positive; they like living in the home and the adults who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s progress while living in the home has been mixed. The child currently living in the home moved in a few weeks ago but has settled very well and is making good progress already. They are building very good relationships with staff, enjoying lots of activities, and their routines have improved a lot. For example, on arrival the child struggled to settle for bedtime, but thanks to the support and consistency from staff this is now much better. One child who previously lived in the home made less progress due to frequent missing-from-care episodes, which impacted on the time available for staff to support them. Despite the high frequency of missing episodes, the child reported being happy in the home, and feedback showed that they appreciated the support that they received from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions in and out of the home are well managed. Good information-gathering means that all information is known about children before they move into the home, which helps staff to manage their needs. Two children have left the home since the last inspection. One was a planned move which the staff supported with transitions visits. The other was unplanned due to the home no longer being able to meet the child’s needs. The staff have ensured that children leaving the home have a leaving event and understand why they are leaving, which helps children to have a positive ending to their time in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to stay healthy. They attend routine appointments and referrals are made to specialist support services where needed. Staff are proactive in supporting children to understand healthy lifestyles through discussions about the dangers of alcohol, vaping and drugs as well as the importance of good hygiene routines, including teeth brushing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who are committed to supporting children to achieve the best outcomes. Staff engage well with children by using play and curiosity and they listen to their views. This helps children to feel valued and listened to.

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

Staff know what to do when children go missing. One child had frequent missing episodes and staff took appropriate action each time an incident occurred. Good multi- agency working helped staff to manage the risks associated with the child’s behaviour while away from the home. Management and staff showed resilience and commitment when managing risk-taking behaviour and were able to maintain the child’s placement Inspection report for children’s home: 2782456 4 during a difficult time. Due to escalating risks, the home was eventually no longer able to keep the child safe, and they moved out to a more suitable setting.

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

Children are encouraged to share their feelings so that staff can support them. On one occasion, a child could not express their emotions and harmed themself. Staff found the situation challenging and reacted with understandable concern, though a calm and measured approach would have been more effective. Staff involved have reflected on the incident and learned from the experience, and the manager has taken robust action to ensure that staff are confident to use their knowledge of how to de-escalate such situations if they occur in the future.

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of therapeutic care as a way to manage behaviours. Observations showed that staff’s playfulness and child-centred approach help children to remain calm and avoid situations escalating. Staff use their knowledge of the children to identify when they are becoming unsettled so that they can quickly distract them.

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

Staff recruitment checks are completed. However, on one occasion a reference raised concern about an individual’s practice and reason for leaving, but this was not fully explored. Information had been shared by the applicant, but this had not been corroborated with the employer, meaning that important information was not included in the assessment of the individual’s suitability to work in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a stable, experienced manager who has worked in the home since it opened. A new manager has recently been recruited and is currently completing an extended hand over with the current manager. This has been well managed and has helped the home to remain stable during a period of change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has sufficient staff to meet the needs of the children it provides care for. Agency use has been very low and was only used to manage risk during a particularly difficult time when waking night staff were needed. The members of the staff team are happy at work and work well together, which helps to provide stability and consistency for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows children very well and is a good advocate for them. They are confident to challenge other professionals when needed to make sure that children’s needs are met and that their rights are upheld. On one occasion, the manager made a complaint on a child’s behalf, and they are currently waiting for an outcome. This support demonstrates that children are cared for by adults who have children’s needs at the centre of their work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight of the home is good. Monitoring tools are used well to ensure that all documents and actions have been completed. The manager has also recently introduced a new, comprehensive progress tracker that will help to map children’s outcomes over time. The manager’s oversight of incidents and placement endings Inspection report for children’s home: 2782456 5 demonstrates good learning from practice, and changes have been implemented as a result.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of partnership working and has demonstrated the ability to work with others to meet children’s needs and keep them safe. They have notified all relevant incidents and have kept relevant professionals updated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2782456 6

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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 recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that any shortfalls in practice shared in references from previous employers are fully explored as part of safer recruitment checks 23 October 2025

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2782456 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Focus Childcare LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit A4, Dewsbury Road, Fenton Industrial Estate, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 2TE

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Inspector

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2782456 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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