Flexi First Class Care Ltd

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd 1 Flexi First Class Care Ltd Registered provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

The service is operated by a private provider. It offers accommodation for up to 14 looked-after children and care leavers in 5 shared or group living homes.

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provider

At the time of this inspection, the service was providing supported accommodation for 4 children aged 16 and 17.

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provider

The service manager, who is also the nominated individual, registered with Ofsted when the organisation registered in January 2024.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 9 February 2026 and started that day. The inspector was on site on 11 and 12 February 2026.

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Outcome

Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences, and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements. The next inspection will be within approximately 18 months.

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Summary of findings

Children have varying experiences with this service. Some children do well and make good progress. Other children’s needs are not always suited to supported accommodation.

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Summary of findings

Transition plans are not always in place when children move on. Expectations around the support children will receive during their time of transition are not clear. This approach is not consistently promoting positive endings for children.

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Summary of findings

Children do well in education. This helps prepare them for further training opportunities and future employment.

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Summary of findings

The staff receive training to help them carry out their role. They do not always receive training to help them understand all the children’s individual needs and risks. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children’s experiences with the service vary. Some children move in positively and do well in all aspects of their development. Other children have needed to move on quickly from the service. This is because managers do not always have sufficient information before a child moves in to determine if they are ready to live in supported accommodation. As a result, risks for some children are unknown.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children do not always benefit from well-planned moves from the home. This lack of planning poorly prepares children for moving to their new homes and often excludes visits. This does not lead to children experiencing a positive end to their time at this placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff help children understand the importance of attending education. Children all have educational placements and receive learning that will help them acquire the skills and qualifications they will need for later life. Children receive rewards when they do well in education to celebrate their achievements. This helps to motivate them to continue with their studies. One professional commented, ‘Since [name of child] has lived here, they are attending a new educational setting, where their attendance and educational engagement have significantly improved.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Leaders and managers fail to ensure that they have access to placing authority statutory plans for all children. This means that staff do not have clear guidance around the support that they should be providing. This lack of information does not help inform children’s daily support plans. Some children’s plans do not clearly outline the individualised support they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff encourage children to maintain positive relationships with close family members and friends. This helps children form secure networks for when they move on, and it promotes their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children’s health is a priority, and staff encourage them to participate in activities that help them stay fit and active. If children need additional support with their emotional wellbeing, staff make sure that they refer them to the appropriate specialist service. This helps children understand the importance of taking a rounded approach to looking after themselves.

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How well children are helped and protected

Some children’s risk assessments do not contain all known risks. This does not provide staff with clear actions to follow or steps to take to manage and reduce risks. The lack of information may result in staff overlooking risks and responding inconsistently, putting children at risk of harm.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff benefit from training to help them understand procedures for reporting any concerns and keeping the children safe. The training they receive also helps them identify some risks that children may face, such as substance misuse. Training is not Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd 3 yet available in relation to other risks to children, such as the impact of domestic abuse and knife crime. This is a missed opportunity to equip staff with the knowledge they need to support the children effectively.

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How well children are helped and protected

When safeguarding incidents occur, such as allegations, leaders and managers act to ensure that risks to children are managed effectively. However, the documentation relating to these occurrences and events is dispersed across various recording systems. This makes it difficult for leaders, managers and other relevant agencies to follow the timelines of actions taken to address these safeguarding concerns.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children engage in some work with staff that helps them identify risks to their safety and wellbeing. The work helps them understand dangers inside of the home and in the community. The learning sessions for children do not always focus on specific risks that individual children face, such as the impact of abusive relationships. This is a missed learning opportunity to help children learn how to keep themselves safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered service manager is also the nominated individual. They have been in post since the service registered in January 2024. Recently, a deputy manager has joined the team. The deputy is fully supporting ongoing developments to improve the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered service manager and the deputy manager acknowledge the service’s strengths and areas for development. Some positive changes are in progress, and they have met some of the requirements raised at the last inspection. However, the pace of improvements in some areas is too slow. For example, significant incidents are sometimes not reported to Ofsted. This hinders the regulator’s oversight of safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

There are ongoing changes to improve management oversight of the service. The use of progress reports is helping leaders and managers oversee children’s development. The recent introduction of an online monitoring system is still embedding, and some key information is incomplete. For example, the register for children coming into and leaving the service, as well as the workforce development plan, do not contain all the necessary information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff receive mandatory training that helps them acquire the core skills they need to support children. They benefit from some basic additional training relating to children’s individual needs, although these courses do not provide staff with a full understanding of these issues, such as training relating to children’s mental health difficulties.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff say they feel well supported by the registered service manager and deputy manager. They attend regular team meetings that help them stay up to date with children’s progress and developments across the service. The staff now receive regular supervision sessions. The sessions do not fully focus on children’s Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd 4 experiences, needs, plans and feedback. Managers’ supervision sessions are not regular. This does not support managers in enhancing their practice. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd 5

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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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(f)) 27 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation or any other harm, and act to reduce such risk. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(f)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children engage in individualised work based on the specific risks they face so they learn how to keep themselves safe. Furthermore, the registered person must ensure that 27 March 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd 6 children’s risk assessments contain all relevant information and are updated following significant incidents.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place to manage referrals of children to the supported accommodation undertaking and admissions of children to premises used as supported accommodation, including, where relevant, emergency referrals and admissions;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place for the supervision, training and development of staff. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(f)(g))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive training that enables them to understand and meet children’s individual needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure all staff, including the registered service manager, receive practice-related supervision that focuses on children’s experiences, needs, plans and feedback. 27 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep records of other information relating to the supported accommodation undertaking set out in Schedule 3.

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Requirement Due date

maintain the records in Schedule 3, which may be kept in electronic form;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are accessible to children, the CIECSS and each accommodating authority;

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 25 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 27 March 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd 7 The registered person must compile, in relation to the supported accommodation undertaking, a plan (“the workforce plan”) which covers the following matters in respect of the recruitment and employment of all staff—

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Requirement Due date

the experience and qualifications of managers and other staff, and any further training required for those managers and staff;

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Requirement Due date

the processes and timescales for staff to complete induction, probation, and core training, including in safeguarding and health and safety;

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Requirement Due date

the process for managing and addressing poor performance;

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Requirement Due date

the process and timescales for supervision and monitoring of staff.

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Requirement Due date

keep the workforce plan under review and, where appropriate, revise it, and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the workforce plan available on request to the CIECSS. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e) (2)(a)(b)) 27 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

in the event that the registered person or a member of staff considers that an accommodating authority or a relevant person is failing to provide the support set out in a child’s relevant plans, make representations, or, as the case may be, enable staff to make representations, to the accommodating authority or relevant person with a view to ensuring that the child’s needs are met;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that an adequate level of support is available to the child to assist with the transition out of supported accommodation. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(h)(i)) 27 March 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd 8

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd 9

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 6 Ruscombe Place, Barnsley S71 3FG

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Lucy Taviringana

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Inspector

Jamie Richardson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Flexi First Class Care Ltd 10 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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