Children's Home run by Friends Together Care Homes Ltd in Doncaster

Inspection report for children’s home: 2814267 1 Registered provider: Friends Together Care Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home. The inspector spoke with both children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2025.

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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: 2814267 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/05/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2814267 3

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Summary of findings

Overall, children are settled in the home and are making good progress. They are supported by staff and form positive relationships with them. Observations indicate warm, loving relationships in the home, and children are comfortable around staff.

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Summary of findings

The manager has good oversight of the home, and staff say they feel supported.

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Summary of findings

During direct work sessions with the children, their views, wishes and feelings are not always captured appropriately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are making good progress. They are settled in the home and enjoy positive relationships with staff. Children are receiving education in line with their needs and have aspirations for their future. One child has recently been accepted at a local college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff have a thorough understanding of the children’s needs. Both children have individual care plans that support their emotional and physical needs. The plans provide staff with proactive, reactive and active strategies that they can use if risks arise. The plans are regularly updated and reviewed, which means that children receive consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide clear, consistent and appropriate boundaries, which makes the children feel valued and safe in their home. The children have chosen to display many photos in the home of the activities they participate in with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the need for children to spend time with people who are important to them. Staff encourage children’s family time and provide supervision when necessary to ensure that it goes ahead in a safe way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive experiences are celebrated in the home, such as one child’s preparation for prom. Children enjoy a range of activities, such as theme nights and charity walks. Festivities such as Christmas are made extra special for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move on from the home, the registered manager and staff carry out reflective exercises to explore their progress and experiences while living in the home. These demonstrate how well staff know the children and support children, even when the home has not been suitable for some.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use a range of forums, including direct work sessions and ‘my chats’, to seek children’s views. These take place regularly and are purposeful, covering topics that are relevant to the individual child. However, some sessions lack reflection and meaningful discussion with the children, which is a missed opportunity for their views to be heard. Inspection report for children’s home: 2814267 4

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

Safeguarding incidents are well managed, and staff are proactive in seeking support for children. Children say they feel safe and supported by staff and can be open and honest with them when they need help.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They consistently adhere to children’s safety plans and risk assessments, updating them after any incidents or changes in the presenting risks. When children go missing from home, staff are consistent and follow their individual missing-from-home plan to ensure their safe return.

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

Allegations made by children are well managed. Children’s voices are heard, and information is shared across multi-agency teams. Leaders and managers carry out internal investigations to ensure that children are safe. When children have made serious allegations requiring multi-agency intervention, they have been well supported to pursue their complaint and access support to address any other issues.

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

Staff are responsive to incidents of self-harm. Children are open with staff and seek support when needed. Staff work with children to explore their emotional wellbeing and develop alternative coping strategies.

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

When children struggle to manage their behaviour, staff intervene and use effective de- escalation techniques to help them calm down. Physical interventions are rarely used; instead, staff use restorative approaches to support children in understanding the consequences of their actions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel well supported by the registered manager. Staff feedback is positive and demonstrates good working relationships in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures consistent communication and multi-agency working to achieve positive outcomes for children. Regular consultations with professionals and family members take place to ensure that plans are reviewed and kept up to date in line with children’s needs, wishes and feelings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions are reflective and up to date. Staff have action plans in place to support their ongoing development. Shortfalls in staff practice in relation to recording are discussed during individual supervision sessions and team meetings, and improvements are ongoing. The registered manager welcomes external scrutiny and discusses feedback from the independent visitor during team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to meaningful training that improves their practice. The registered manager provides opportunities for staff to undertake training that is tailored to the individual needs of the children. She also links in with the local police force to access training on contextual safeguarding risks. Inspection report for children’s home: 2814267 5 Safer recruitment practices are followed. Staff have the appropriate training and risk assessments in place. Inspection report for children’s home: 2814267 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information about individual children in a non- stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2814267 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Friends Together Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7 Tenter Lane, Warmsworth, Doncaster DN4 9PP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Stacey Hargreaves

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Inspector

Amy Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2814267 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 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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