Children's Home run by Future In Mind Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC067839 1 SC067839 Registered provider: Future In Mind Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A small private provider operates this home. The home provides care for up to 2 children who have experienced childhood instability resulting in trauma and associated complex emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there was one child living the home. They were spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left the home in May 2026. A new manager has been appointed and commenced in post in July 2026. She has applied to be registered with Ofsted and holds a level 5 qualification.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC067839 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/06/2025 Full Good 04/06/2024 Full Good 06/11/2023 Full Good 03/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC067839 3

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Summary of findings

Children’s experiences and progress have been mixed. Inconsistent decision making by managers, has impacted on children’s experiences and progress. However, children have made some progress and have built positive relationships with staff.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding practices are not always followed. Staff have not always been able to keep children safe. Due to ineffective care planning, staff lacked the skills to meet one child’s needs effectively, which resulted in an unplanned ending.

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Summary of findings

Leaders’ and managers’ oversight is not consistently effective. However, they have started to address some of the shortfalls. There is a new manager and staff team in post, who are committed to making improvements.

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improvement to be good

The home has recently reopened after being closed from February 2026 to July 2026. Prior to closing, three children lived in the home. Two children lived in the home for over 18 months and moved closer to their hometowns. One child lived in the home for 2 months. They moved on as staff were unable to meet their needs and keep them safe. There is one child currently living in the home. They have recently moved into the home and are settling in well. They say that they like the home and that staff are ‘really nice.’ They rate the home ‘10 out of 10.’

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences of living in this home are mixed. While staff have supported most children to make progress and become safer, one child did not always receive the help and support that they needed to make progress. Their risks increased while living in the home. As a result, the child had to move out of the home without notice. This means that the child was not physically or emotionally prepared for leaving the home and therefore may not have had a positive experience.

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improvement to be good

Prior to moving one child into the home, managers failed to fully consider the child’s needs, risks and vulnerabilities. There was a lack of professional curiosity and consultation with professionals involved. As a result, managers did not have all the information they needed to establish if they could safely meet all the child’s needs. There are no records of leaders’ and managers’ decision making around the admission. This lack of planning contributed towards a period of instability in the home and led to an unplanned ending for the child. This does not ensure children are provided with stability and will impact negatively on their experiences and progress.

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improvement to be good

Despite difficulties, overall, children’s education outcomes are positive. Due to support from staff, two children were able to return to full-time education. Staff work well with Inspection report children’s home: SC067839 4 education professionals to support children who are not in education. Children’s life chances are improved because of their engagement in education.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to develop hobbies and interests and to enjoy a wide range of activities. These include attending summer camp, boxing lessons and going on caravan holidays. Engaging children in activities such as these enables them to have positive childhood experiences that will help them learn how to socialise, build relationships and grow in confidence.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to attend and be involved in meetings about them. Children’s views about their feelings and day-to-day experiences are frequently sought by staff and managers. This means that children can positively influence their day-to-day care.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with their families and friends, when it is safe to do so. This ensures that children continue to build relationships and positive attachments with those people who are significant to them.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is homely and welcoming. The home has recently been redecorated throughout, and new furniture is in place. Staff encourage children to personalise their bedrooms and there is ample space to enable children to spend time together or alone if needed. As a result, children have a comfortable home to live in.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not always able to de-escalate children’s behaviours. Some high-risk behav- ioural incidents have occurred. Staff have been injured during incidents, which has led to high levels of police intervention being needed. This does not provide assurances that staff have the skills to effectively meet all children's needs and keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

Allegations of harm are not consistently well managed and overseen. On one occasion, managers did not take prompt, effective action when there was a complaint made about staff practice. Records do not clearly show leaders’ and managers’ decision-making. Without these detailed records, it is not clear whether decisions and investigations are adequate.

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improvement to be good

The information written in children's risk and behaviour plans is not always consistent. For example, one child’s risk assessment did not clearly contain all known risks. There was conflicting information between the child’s written plans, and strategies to minimise risk and keep the child safe were unclear. This shows that staff are not always provided with clear, consistent guidance, which can create confusion for staff and lead to incon- sistent care.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always follow children's risk management plans. On one occasion, staff al- lowed a child access to items which were restricted. This led to a significant incident, where staff and the child were injured and police were called. This poor staff practice Inspection report children’s home: SC067839 5 puts children at risk of criminalisation. Managers agree that this incident could have been avoided.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond quickly when children go missing from the home or are away from the home without authority. Staff follow missing-from-home procedures. They search for children and consult with the local police until children are found. When children return, staff warmly welcome them and ensure that an independent person completes return home interviews. This ensures that children can share any worries or concerns that they have that may be contributing to them being absent from the home.

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improvement to be good

Overall, physical intervention is used as a last resort. There is management oversight on all incidents. Following the use of physical restraint, managers ensure that children and staff are spoken to. This ensures that intervention when used is necessary and propor- tionate.

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improvement to be good

Managers follow safer recruitment practices. This ensures that only vetted adults work in the home.

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

Leaders’ and managers’ oversight of the home has not always been effective. Their monitoring does not consistently identify shortfalls in practice and errors in children’s records. Leaders and managers also lack professional curiosity, particularly when considering admitting new children into the home and responding to safeguarding incidents. This has contributed to some poor decision making, which has impacted negatively on children’s experiences.

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

All staff have received most training required for their role. However, they have not had missing from home training. This is a known risk for all children that have lived in the home. While this has not impacted on children, it is a missed opportunity to further develop and strengthen staff practice.

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

Managers ensure that the home is appropriately staffed with a stable staff team. This provides children with consistent care from staff who know them well.

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

Staff feel supported by the management team. Staff receive regular practice-related supervision and annual appraisal. Team meetings are regular and reflective. There is now additional external supervision for managers, which allows external scrutiny and mitigates against a closed culture. This support makes staff feel valued, aids their development and strengthens safeguarding practices.

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

Leaders are reflective. They have a good understanding of the strengths of the home and are realistic about development needs. For example, they closed the home for a period of time in order to stabilise the home and staff team. Leaders and managers have reflected on recent challenges and have started to address some of the shortfalls to ensure that lessons have been learned and the quality of care for children improves. Inspection report children’s home: SC067839 6 There is a new manager and staff team in post, who share high aspirations for the home and want children to succeed. The manager is confident, determined and insightful. She is familiarising herself with the home and already understands where improvements are needed. Inspection report children’s home: SC067839 7

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person 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

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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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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)(iii)(v)(vi) (b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers and staff must take prompt and effective action to reduce this risk and keep children safe. Managers must ensure that staff are provided with clear, consistent guidance on how to mitigate children's risks and keep children safe. In addition, staff must consistently follow children's risk management plans. 28 August 2026

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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 children's home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and 28 August 2026 Inspection report children’s home: SC067839 8 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

 There are effective systems are in place to monitor how the home is being run and the care provided.  There are clear records of safeguarding concerns, including the action taken in response, the outcomes and any learning being implemented to improve practice. Furthermore, that the rationale for their decision making is clear.  Reporting and recording systems are effective and provide accurate written records.  Staff have the training and skills to enable them to effectively meet each individual child's needs.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and 28 August 2026 Inspection report children’s home: SC067839 9 have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must ensure that they complete due diligence and only accept placements where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed need.

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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 children’s home: SC067839 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Future In Mind Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Future In Mind, 65 Market Street, Hednesford, Cannock, Staffordshire WS12 1AD

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Inspectors

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Nus Bibi, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC067839 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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