Children's Home run by CF Support Services Limited in Suffolk

Inspection report for children’s home: 2667807 1 Registered provider: CF Support Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for one child with social and emotional difficulties.

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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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 18 November 2025

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2667807 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/11/2025 Full Good 14/05/2024 Full Good 17/07/2023 Full Good 20/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2667807 3

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Summary of findings

Children make exceptional and sustained progress because they receive highly individualised care from dedicated staff who know them extremely well. Children develop trusting relationships with staff, enabling them to feel safe, communicate their needs and increasingly make positive choices. Risks significantly reduce as staff provide consistent, creative and effective support. Leaders and managers are highly ambitious for children and ensure that their experiences remain central to all decision-making. Exceptional management oversight and deeply embedded reflective practice continually strengthen the quality of care. Staff work proactively with professionals and specialist services, ensuring that children receive comprehensive support that enables them to flourish and thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

At the time of inspection, there was one child living at the home. The child did not take part in the inspection. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make exceptional progress from their starting points. They receive highly individualised care from staff who are deeply invested in their success. One child made significant and sustained progress across all areas of their life during their time at the home. Before moving in, they were not accessing education and experienced frequent missing-from-home episodes, substance misuse and difficulties managing their emotions safely. By the time they left, these concerns had substantially reduced or ended. The child developed confidence, aspirations and the practical skills needed for adulthood. This extensive progress demonstrates the considerable difference that living at the home makes to children’s lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children flourish educationally because staff are persistent, creative and highly ambitious for them. A child who had previously been disengaged from education achieved excellent attendance, gained employment and was supported to explore further education opportunities. Since leaving the home, they proudly informed staff that they had secured a college place and spoke positively about their aspirations for the future. Another child, who had experienced a significant period without education, has begun learning again. Staff initially used the child’s interests to make home learning purposeful and stimulating before securing online tuition. The child is now enrolled at a local school and preparing to attend full time. Staff’s unwavering commitment helps children to rediscover an enthusiasm for learning and develop ambitious plans for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children experience highly effective support to improve their physical and emotional health. Staff understand that children may need considerable encouragement to develop confidence in accessing healthcare, and they respond sensitively to individual barriers. A child who had previously been reluctant to attend health appointments is now engaging Inspection report for children’s home: 2667807 4 with routine and specialist healthcare. Staff also ensure that children have access to specialist mental health and therapeutic services when these are needed. They work alongside clinical professionals to develop strategies that help children understand and communicate their emotions more effectively. Consequently, children become increasingly confident in seeking help, and they develop skills that support their long- term emotional wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children develop trusting and meaningful relationships with staff, which provide a secure foundation from which they can thrive. Staff know children exceptionally well and use this knowledge to find imaginative and adaptable ways of helping them communicate. For example, staff use children’s individual interests to help them express their emotions and indicate the support they need. These approaches have helped children to regulate difficult feelings successfully and have prevented situations from escalating. One child said that this was the best home they had ever lived in and that the support from staff had ‘changed their life for the better’. Children unmistakably experience the staff as committed, dependable and genuinely invested in them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children experience exceptionally well-planned endings that provide stability during significant transitions in their lives. For one child who had experienced previous disruption, staff ensured that leaving the home was positive, purposeful and carefully paced. They celebrated the child’s achievements, helped them prepare and settle into their new accommodation and continued to provide support afterwards. This support was gradually reduced in response to the child’s needs rather than ending abruptly when the placement finished. The child continues to maintain contact with the home and is progressing successfully. This meticulous approach enables children to move forward with confidence while retaining positive relationships with adults who have been significant in their lives.

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

Children become increasingly safe because staff understand their individual vulnerabilities exceptionally well and take proactive action to reduce risk. Before a child moves into the home, leaders and managers complete a comprehensive assessment of their known risks, needs and vulnerabilities. They consider precisely how staff will respond to them. Leaders and managers consult relevant professionals and ensure that staff receive specific training to meet the child’s individual needs. A dedicated team meeting ensures that staff understand the child’s risks and the approaches they should use from the outset. This systematic preparation enables staff to provide safe and confident care immediately when children move in.

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

Children develop the insight and skills necessary to make safe choices for themselves. Highly effective relationships enable staff to achieve significant reductions in behaviours that previously placed children at considerable risk. One child was supported to understand healthy relationships and recognise the impact that a particular friendship was having on their safety. Their decision to end this relationship contributed to missing- from-home episodes and concerns relating to substance misuse ending. Staff also helped Inspection report for children’s home: 2667807 5 the child develop effective ways of communicating difficult emotions and indicating what support they needed. Incidents of physical aggression substantially reduced and ultimately ceased.

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

Staff respond to missing-from-home incidents with persistence, professionalism and a strong understanding of children’s individual circumstances. They work closely with the police, social care professionals and adults caring for children’s friends to share relevant information and coordinate responses. Leaders and managers have developed effective communication arrangements with other homes to enable information to be exchanged rapidly when children are missing and to support searches for them. They also work proactively with other providers to create safe opportunities for children to maintain important friendships, including planned activities. This collaborative and forward- thinking approach is contributing to a reduction in missing-from-home incidents and helps children maintain relationships without exposing themselves to unnecessary risk.

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

Children increasingly trust staff to help them keep themselves safe. One child, who had not previously agreed for staff to monitor their mobile phone, now confidently allows staff to undertake agreed checks each day. This represents substantial progress from the child’s starting point and reflects the strength of the relationships they have developed with staff. As a result, staff have a greater understanding of emerging risks and can provide prompt support to help children remain safe.

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

Staff recognise that risk cannot be understood separately from children’s experiences and emotional needs. When children experience particularly difficult periods, staff think carefully about what may be driving changes in behaviour rather than responding only to the presenting risk. Leaders and managers seek specialist advice and work collaboratively with external professionals to identify safe and meaningful ways for children to remain connected to people who are important to them. They balance safeguarding responsibilities with children’s emotional and relational needs and continually adapt plans as circumstances change. As a result, children receive thoughtful support that helps to keep them safe. Staff ensure that children’s individual experiences remain central to how they understand and respond to risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. They are supported by an experienced deputy manager and a responsible individual. Together they form a highly effective leadership team that works cohesively to provide consistently strong leadership and direction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Exceptional leadership has established an ambitious and child-centred culture in which children are unquestionably the top priority. Leaders know children extremely well and hold their experiences, vulnerabilities and aspirations in mind when making decisions about their care. They are highly ambitious for children across every aspect of their lives and are visibly proud of all their achievements. This ethos is consistently demonstrated throughout the staff team. As a result, children receive care from staff who remain Inspection report for children’s home: 2667807 6 committed to helping them succeed and achieve outcomes that can exceed previous expectations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Management oversight is meticulous, thorough and highly effective. Managers’ evaluations demonstrate detailed consideration of children’s needs, risks and vulnerabilities alongside the effectiveness of the actions taken to address them. Oversight does considerably more than identify whether procedures have been followed. It evaluates the quality and impact of practice, identifies learning and generates purposeful actions for improvement. Leaders and managers use information intelligently to ensure that plans remain responsive to children’s evolving needs. This exceptional level of scrutiny contributes directly to consistently high standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Reflective practice is deeply embedded throughout the home and drives continuous improvement in children’s care. Leaders and managers model reflection in their everyday practice. They consider what children may be communicating through their behaviour and actively explore creative alternatives when established approaches are less effective. Staff are encouraged to demonstrate the same inquisitive approach through supervision and wider discussions. The home’s secure base model provides a systematic framework for evaluating children’s progress at regular intervals. Leaders and managers routinely review children’s progress with a clinical psychologist. Together they consider why progress may have declined and identify how staff can adapt their approach to better support the child. This dynamic culture of reflection ensures that children’s care continues to evolve in response to their individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders are equally ambitious for staff and create an environment in which they are motivated to develop, take responsibility and make confident professional decisions. Staff describe management support extremely positively and feel empowered to develop both personally and professionally. One member of staff said, ‘The registered manager goes above and beyond. The children are always at the centre of every decision they make.’ Leaders ensure that staff have access to training that reflects the specific needs of the children they care for, rather than relying solely on generic learning. This investment creates a skilled, adaptable and highly committed workforce capable of delivering exceptional care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Partnership working is a significant strength and enhances both the quality and safety of children’s care. Leaders and managers proactively establish relationships with external professionals and use these relationships to solve problems collaboratively. Professionals describe leaders as responsive and proactive in sharing information. One professional said, ‘Overall, I feel the leadership has contributed positively to the care, safeguarding and experiences of the children.’ Leaders and managers’ resourceful and forward- thinking approach ensures that professional networks work cohesively around children, resulting in comprehensive support that makes a demonstrable difference to their lives. Inspection report for children’s home: 2667807 7

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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: 2667807 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: CF Support Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Three Rivers Business Centre, Unit 11 Felixstowe Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP10 0BF

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Inspector

Emilja Myers, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2667807 9 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 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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