Children's Home run by Good Foundations Limited in Wirral

Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 1 Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home. The home provides care for up to 4 children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 22 October 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2024 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, 6 children have moved into the home and 5 children have moved on. Three transitions were well planned, with 2 children returning home and one child moving to semi-independent accommodation.

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improvement to be good

Care planning for children’s moves into the home is not thorough, and the registered person has not demonstrated sufficient professional curiosity when evaluating referral information. As a result, 2 placements have ended prematurely within a short period of the children moving in. In addition, one child moved in without the required local authority consent. This highlights a shortfall in the manager’s oversight of essential documentation for children.

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improvement to be good

Children currently living in the home are making progress from their starting points and are supported to attend education. Staff recognise the importance of children maintaining meaningful relationships. Family time is promoted when appropriate, and one child has benefited from sibling contact in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children participate in a range of enjoyable and age-appropriate activities, such as football matches, visits to a water park and laser tag. Some of these memories are captured in photos.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of each child’s individual needs. Children are registered with health services and are supported to attend appointments. The registered person has taken proactive steps to identify therapeutic community resources to meet some children’s needs.

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improvement to be good

The home provides a welcoming, clean and comfortable environment. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, with some children choosing their own wallpaper. One child has a poster of their favourite football team displayed in their room.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding practice in the home is not consistently effective. During this inspection period, there was an incident of physical restraint that the staff member involved failed to report or record. Managers only became aware of the incident several weeks later following a disclosure from another staff member. Although an action was set in supervision for the staff member to receive further training on reporting and recording, this was not completed. This highlights a lack of managerial oversight and poor follow-through on identified learning. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 4 When children go missing from the home, staff notify the police. However, staff do not consistently follow children’s missing-from-care plans. On some occasions, staff failed to complete welfare checks, search the local area or known locations, or contact hospitals, family and friends as outlined in children’s plans. Staff’s responses when children return

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improvement to be good

home are also inconsistent. Children are not always offered food or drink on their return.

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improvement to be good

The quality of incident recording is poor. Records contain discrepancies, including conflicting times for when a child went missing and contradictory accounts of staff actions. In one incident, records state that a staff member left the home to search for the child, but another document states that the same staff member attended another home to provide support. Such inconsistencies undermine the reliability of records and hinder effective oversight.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not receive debriefs following incidents. This is a missed opportunity for reflection and learning, and for assessing and supporting individual staff wellbeing. Although children are spoken with after incidents, direct work does not always take place to help them understand risk and learn strategies to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers respond appropriately to allegations. They share information with relevant professionals in line with safeguarding procedures. While staff share outcomes with children, key safeguarding discussions are not always recorded.

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improvement to be good

Risk management plans are not consistently updated following incidents, meaning staff are not always given clear guidance on how to respond to emerging or ongoing risks. For example, the plan for one child with a history of substance and alcohol misuse in the community did not specify what staff should do if the child returned home under the influence. This gap in guidance exposes the child to potential harm and leaves staff without the direction they need to respond safely and effectively.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not ensure that all recruitment checks are completed before staff start to work in the home. For example, gaps in employment histories had not been identified or explored. This means that children may be cared for by unsafe adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is led by an experienced registered manager who is child focused. She knows the children well and is committed to their welfare. However, managerial oversight is not consistently effective. Shortfalls in staff practice are not always identified, and actions set to address these gaps are not routinely reviewed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff talk positively about the support they receive from the registered manager. This contributes to strong staff retention and provides children with consistent care. Staff benefit from regular supervision and team meetings, although these are not sufficiently reflective or evaluative of children’s needs, risks and progress, or of staff’s own practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 5 The registered manager and staff advocate for the children. The manager escalates concerns appropriately and challenges external professionals when decisions do not meet the children’s needs or uphold their rights. Communication with external agencies is positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have access to a suitable range of training, delivered both online and face to face. Mandatory training identified by the manager has been completed, helping to ensure that staff have the necessary skills to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Systems are not in place to support leaders and managers in maintaining effective oversight of the care being provided in the home. As a result, opportunities to identify patterns and trends in incidents, or to recognise and respond to weaknesses in staff practice, are limited. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 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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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s individual risk management plans contain all known risks and provide staff with clear, accessible guidance to support risk reduction. When a child goes missing from the home, there must be a clear record of the incident, including details of when staff leave the home to search for the child. All incidents must be reviewed, and staff must take appropriate action to safeguard children. Staff must also understand safeguarding procedures.

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Leaders and managers must ensure that direct work is carried out with children to help keep them safe. 20 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 7 The care planning standard is that children—

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receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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

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that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 12 (1)(a)(b) 2(a)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, managers and leaders must ensure that when a child is admitted to the home, they are able to meet the child’s needs. Plans must identify all known risks and support needs, as well as any potential impact if another child were to be admitted. The registered person must ensure that all consent forms are signed when a child moves in. 20 May 2026

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The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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

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understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— 20 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 8 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that the registered person has consistent oversight of incidents, records and documents. Where shortfalls in staff practice are identified, action must be taken to address these.

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The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; 20 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 9 within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any physical interventions are recorded in detail and that debriefs are completed with both children and staff.

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

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employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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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,

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if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that gaps in employment are explored and that evidence of actions taken is recorded. 20 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 10

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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: 2724902 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Good Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 6 Tower Quays, Tower Road, Birkenhead, Merseyside CH41 1BP

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Inspectors

Michelle McGrath, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2724902 12 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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