Children's Home run by Footsteps to Futures Limited in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC484402 1 SC484402 Registered provider: Footsteps to Futures Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a private organisation. There were 3 children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2026.

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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

Date of last inspection: 16 December 2025

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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: SC484402 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/12/2025 Full Good 25/02/2025 Full Good 12/10/2023 Full Good 25/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC484402 3

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Summary of findings

Children make good progress from their individual starting points. Children receive care from staff who are committed to building meaningful relationships. Staff understand children’s risks and provide an effective response to incidents that arise. Leaders and managers have developed positive working relationships with families and professionals to support children with their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained. Progress is being made to address the previous recommendation regarding improvements to children’s bedrooms. Some work has been completed, and there are plans in place for further improvements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to share their views through general discussions, planned and unplanned direct work and children’s meetings. Decisions relating to the care given are child focused and in line with children’s individual needs. Children are aware of the home’s complaints procedure. Complaints are managed efficiently, and children are made aware of the outcome of their complaint. This ensures that children’s voices are heard and valued. Decisions relating to support offered are child focused and in line with their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals speak highly of the care children receive. One social worker commented on the positive communication from the home. One child’s parent described the home as feeling like a ‘home from home’ and commented, ‘As a parent, it feels like I am there; it doesn’t feel like they are so far away.’ This highlights the home’s commitment to effective communication, collaborative working and achieving positive outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend their health appointments. Staff support children by having meaningful discussions and offering incentives to support their attendance. Where more specialist support is required, leaders and managers work with agencies to identify appropriate next steps in the best interests of the children to support their engagement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education. They work with relevant professionals to meet children’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consequences are proportionate to children’s behaviours. Rewards and incentives are personalised for children, helping to keep children motivated. Children’s achievements are celebrated, and daily positives are recorded for each child, supporting children to build their self-esteem and sense of belonging.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC484402 4 Staff have a good understanding of children’s individual risks. Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are clear, regularly reviewed and reflect children’s presenting needs and vulnerabilities. Staff have consultations with therapeutic services. This provides staff with consistent guidance and supports them to respond effectively to incidents and emerging concerns.

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

Managers and staff work proactively with children to promote safe online behaviours. Children are supported in line with their individual independence plans, and staff seek advice from other agencies when required. As a result, children are developing a better understanding of how to keep themselves safe online. Since moving into the home, one child has become increasingly open about their internet use and is now willing to share concerns with staff, enabling any emerging risks to be managed at an early stage.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff take prompt and consistent action to locate them, and agencies are notified in line with the children’s care plans and risk assessments. Managers and staff consider incidents holistically, identifying patterns and sharing relevant information with social workers and other agencies. This ensures that safeguarding responses are adapted to children’s changing needs.

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

Physical intervention records are detailed and demonstrate that interventions are only used as a last resort. Managers provide effective oversight and address learning promptly.

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

Moves into the home are carefully planned. Managers consider known risks through discussions with social workers, children and staff to ensure that they are able to meet children’s needs. Risks are balanced alongside the needs of the other children already living in the home. When children leave the home, including in challenging circumstances, staff work proactively with partner agencies to promote well-transitioned moves.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced manager who is working towards the relevant qualification. The home is appropriately staffed to meet the needs of the children. The manager is passionate about providing good quality care to children, leads by example and has a strong focus on maintaining positive staff morale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When concerns arise or complaints are made regarding staff practice, the manager takes prompt action and shares information appropriately with the relevant agencies. This includes referrals to the local authority designated officer. Effective multi-agency working helps to ensure that concerns are managed efficiently and children are supported throughout.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision and team meetings. The manager works hard to deliver engaging team meetings. They use creative methods to explore staff’s Inspection report for children’s home: SC484402 5 understanding of children’s care plans, test their knowledge and strengthen their understanding of risk and risk management. Feedback from staff reflects that they feel supported to develop in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective management oversight ensures that learning is identified and shared with staff. Reflective discussions help to identify where practice could have been strengthened, and this is followed up through training, team meetings and supervision sessions. This helps staff to develop their practice and promotes the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person's reports do not consistently reflect the views of parents, children and professionals. The manager should work with the independent visitor to ensure feedback is routinely sought to provide a holistic and balanced overview of the care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC484402 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the independent visitor is supported to gather and record feedback from children, professionals and family members. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: SC484402 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Footsteps to Futures Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 5, Riverbank Business Park, Old Grantham Road, Whatton, Nottingham NG13 9FX

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Inspector

Hannah Shoreson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC484402 8 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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