Children's Home run by Family Care Associates Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC020595 1 SC020595

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Registered provider: Family Care Associates 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 by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023 and has completed their level 5 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC020595 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/03/2025 Full Good 21/02/2024 Full Good 08/02/2023 Full Good 21/04/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC020595 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. One child spoke to the inspector. The child reported that they feel 'safe and happy' living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a deep understanding of each child's background and current needs. They have developed effective, individualised approaches to support children during moments of distress, underpinned by secure and trusting relationships. Staff complete direct work to strengthen relationships and to facilitate open, supportive conversations with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home's therapist supports staff to apply a therapeutic approach in their day-to-day practice. This enables staff to respond to children with high levels of nurture, patience and emotional attunement. This helps to create a warm, family-like atmosphere, which helps children to feel safe, accepted and free to be themselves without judgement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's moves are managed effectively, including where timescales are short. Staff respond promptly to provide emotional and practical support. They also address children's anxieties linked to education and relationships and ensure that children experience positive endings to their time in the home. Moves are planned well and are relationally supported and child-centred, demonstrating that preparation for children's futures is effective and appropriately prioritised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access education that is suited to their individual needs. For some children, staff support gradual reintegration into full-time learning. Where school places are being sourced, staff ensure continuity and emotional safety by tailoring support and creating calm, structured learning spaces for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has written and published a poem, demonstrating positive self-expression, creativity and growing confidence. This reflects how staff support children's identity, voice and personal development. Children are actively encouraged to engage in extracurricular activities to support their wider development and help them reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is beautifully maintained and feels warm and inviting for children. The decor is of a high standard. Children said they are happy with their bedrooms. However, bedroom door alarms have been used as a supervision measure. This is not always proportionate to children's assessed needs. The use of door alarms in these circumstances does not support children to feel trusted or comfortable in their home environment.

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

Children's safety is at the forefront of staff practice. Incidents are rare, and there have been no incidents requiring physical intervention, allegations or complaints since the last Inspection report for children's home: SC020595 4 inspection. Staff manage unsettled emotions using nurturing language and a strong understanding of each child's needs. Where incidents do occur, records support reflective practice, helping staff to identify triggers, guide tailored responses and provide empathetic post-incident support. Leaders have created a culture that promotes continuous learning for both staff and children.

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

Staff know how to respond to children who are missing from the home and report safeguarding concerns. Managers and staff take prompt action to respond to concerns raised and involve other agencies when needed. This provides reassurance to children, who feel safe and protected by staff.

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

Staff help children to understand and manage their feelings and anxieties safely. Negative consequences are rarely used. Following an incident, discussions take place with the child and the staff involved to reflect on and discuss at length the support needed. This effective oversight ensures that changes to plans are made to reduce the likelihood of future incidents occurring.

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

Staff demonstrate good awareness of online safety and deliver well-planned direct work to help children understand risks and use online platforms responsibly. On one occasion, a safeguarding incident occurred involving the inappropriate use of online images. Following this escalation, staff have received additional training to strengthen online safety practice and safeguarding awareness, ensuring that learning from the incident is embedded in daily practice.

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

Safe recruitment practices are understood and implemented by staff responsible for this area of practice. All necessary checks are in place to ensure that children are protected from unsuitable people working in the home.

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

When incidents occur at the home and in the community, staff take appropriate action to safeguard children. However, during one incident, staff did not demonstrate sufficient professional curiosity when exploring the circumstances and associated risks for the child. This limited staff's understanding of the incident and compromised the child's safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager demonstrates a strong understanding of the children's individual needs and risks. She has a clear and accurate grasp of the home's strengths and is reflective in identifying areas where further improvement is required. She is ably supported by the home's responsible individual. Together, their support and oversight of practice contribute positively to children's safety, stability and outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by the registered manager. Regular supervision sessions provide ongoing support and include reflective discussions that focus on children's needs, staff development and overall wellbeing. In addition, the home's therapist also supports staff Inspection report for children's home: SC020595 5 development, helping staff to reflect on practice, build resilience and use feedback positively to improve the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a variety of training to help them meet the needs of the children. Induction for new staff is comprehensive and ensures that staff receive the initial knowledge they need. The registered manager has also developed training plans based on staff skills and the needs of children. When shortfalls in staff's knowledge have been identified, the manager has quickly sourced further training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previous requirement for staff to complete the necessary qualification within the required timescale has not been met. This delay is due to factors outside of the registered manager's control. However, staff are actively completing the required qualification, with leaders and managers maintaining oversight. The manager has established a system to monitor staff progress, providing assurance that the qualification completion is tracked and supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular communication with the children's social workers results in a shared approach to managing risks and targeted care planning for the children. Professionals say they have 'nothing but high praise for the staff team, who are always supportive'. In the event of incidents and concerns, information is swiftly shared with the relevant professionals. Inspection report for children's home: SC020595 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff exercise professional curiosity in relation to risks of child exploitation. 4 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of the paragraph above, an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

The relevant date is— 4 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC020595 7 in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the use of door alarms is regularly reviewed and is proportionate, necessary and clearly linked to children's individual risk assessments and care plans so that restrictions on children's privacy are not used unnecessarily. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 19, paragraph 3.36)

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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: SC020595 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Family Care Associates Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: First Floor Offices, The Unit Berry Way, Euxton, Chorley PR7 6RA

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Inspector

Sharon Kaur, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC020595 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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