Children's Home run by Elevated Futures Limited in Wirral

Inspection report for children's home for 2650950 1 Registered provider: Elevated Futures Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children's home

This home is owned by a small private company. It is registered to provide care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2024.

p.1

Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living in the home. Both children spoke with the inspector.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home for 2650950 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2024 Full Good 19/04/2023 Full Good 27/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home for 2650950 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children form positive relationships with most staff. They trust staff to act in their best interests and say they would approach them with any concerns. Some children stay in touch and visit after they leave. Children feel safe and supported in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager recognises that children have different personalities, needs and ways of presenting, which can sometimes lead to conflict. Leaders have created individual plans that identify triggers and set out clear strategies for preventing and managing difficulties. As a result, relationships between children have improved.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress from their individual starting points. For example, one child has learned to swim since living at the home. Staff and the manager consistently recognise and celebrate children's achievements. Staff are proud of the children, and children know what they are doing well.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is comfortable and homely. Staff support children to personalise their bedrooms to reflect their tastes and identities. The manager ensures that maintenance issues are addressed quickly. Children feel relaxed and secure in their environment.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff plan children's transitions from the home well. They design individual plans around each child's needs and circumstances. Staff ensure that children have everything they need for a successful move and even help them decorate. As a result, children feel emotionally and practically prepared for their next steps.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Complaints and allegations are rare. Children understand how to make a complaint. When children raise concerns, the manager responds promptly and fairly, and ensures that children understand the outcome.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff routinely seek children's views. They encourage children to reflect on the positive experiences each week and share their views about the home and their care. Children can also make suggestions through the 'Can You Help Me' process. Children feel listened to and valued.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend suitable school and college placements. Staff understand each child's individual academic needs and work closely with education providers to help children learn at a pace that suits them. One child supports their peers with tutoring and has successfully passed an entrance exam for their preferred school.

p.3

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

Risks for children are reducing. Staff recognise that progress is not always linear. Staff continually assess children's risks and the arrangements in place to protect them. When they identify safeguarding concerns, they swiftly update children's placement plans. Inspection report for children's home for 2650950 4 These updates are agreed and shared between the home and the placing authority and clearly set out the steps that staff must take to manage risks on a day-to-day basis.

p.3

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

Staff consistently promote positive behaviour. They use effective de-escalation techniques and creative, individualised strategies that they develop in consultation with children whenever possible. Staff review, record and monitor all incidents, and they seek and understand each child's views.

p.4

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

The manager ensures that staff and children maintain positive relationships within the community. When issues arise, staff support children to take responsibility and make amends.

p.4

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

Consequences are fair, natural and time-limited. The manager discusses consequences promptly with staff and with children. As a result, children understand why consequences are used and learn about the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others.

p.4

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

Physical interventions are rare and only used as a last resort and when proportionate to the risks faced by the child. The manager or a delegated person speaks with staff and children after each hold to gather their views. Children are spoken to within the required timescales; however, debriefs with staff sometimes fall outside the timescale. A requirement has been made in relation to this.

p.4

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

Children have individual missing-from-care plans. Staff understand and follow these plans. When a child goes missing, staff search local areas and liaise with friends and family to locate them quickly and return them safely to the home.

p.4

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

Medication records are incomplete. There was one unexplained missing entry, one unsigned entry and 2 entries without times. Children were not harmed as a result, but this does not meet company policy. The requirement relating to this has been restated.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed, enthusiastic and provides strong leadership. They are dual-registered and, together with a dedicated deputy, provide consistent oversight. The responsible individual is also present in the home. Managers are visible, approachable and supportive.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Several staff changes occurred during the inspection period, which affected children's stability and the consistency of their care. The manager completed thorough evaluative work to understand the reasons for this. In response, the leadership team strengthened shift planning and guidance, redesigned staff rotas so that managers provide direct support on shift and improved the induction process. As a result, staffing has stabilised.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers provide enhanced support to new staff. They provide increased supervision, carry out thorough probation reviews and ensure both manager and peer support. Managers work a mix of long and short days, so support is available across Inspection report for children's home for 2650950 5 different times of the day. The manager also brought in an experienced member of staff from another home to bolster the team and completed weekly check-ins to monitor how this support was helping new staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff are not yet qualified; however, all are within timescale to complete their qualification. The manager promotes staff development and enrols staff on higher level qualifications to prepare them for future senior roles.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have the training they need to meet the specific needs of the children they care for, including training in autism spectrum disorder, mental health and self-harm, and LGBTQ+ awareness. The manager quickly sources additional training in response to emerging needs. For example, bereavement training was recently sourced and completed by staff. All staff have completed their required training.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager sets high expectations for staff practice and addresses any shortfalls promptly. Supervisions and probation reviews take place regularly and drive forward continuous improvement.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains robust oversight of the home. They know its strengths and weaknesses extremely well. When needs arise, they develop clear and responsive plans, which they review regularly to measure progress and ensure that actions remain effective.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager notifies the regulator of serious incidents in the home. The manager provides a clear rationale for when they feel incidents have not met the threshold for notification. An independent person visits the home regularly and the manager responds promptly to any recommendation made in their reports. The reports are submitted to Ofsted promptly. This allows the regulator to have appropriate oversight of the setting. Inspection report for children's home for 2650950 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children's home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(c))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 20 May 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

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”)—

p.6

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)) 20 May 2026

p.6

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 for 2650950 7

p.6

Children's home details

Registered provider: Elevated Futures Limited

p.7

Children's home details

Registered provider address: Office 1a, Thursby House, Thursby Road, Bromborough, Wirral CH62 3PW

p.7

Inspector

Sarah Huntbatch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home for 2650950 8 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8