Children's Home run by G B A Care Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report children’s home: SC462593 1 SC462593 Registered provider: GBA Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to four male children or young people who may have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home provides care on a medium- to long-term basis.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: SC462593 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/07/2019 Full Outstanding 10/04/2018 Full Good 09/05/2017 Full Good 25/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC462593 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop positive and trusting relationships with staff. They come to know their carers well and develop confidence in the staff team. Professionals who work with the children are positive about the home, confirming that children become settled and make good progress as a result of living in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The therapeutic service that GBA Care commission, Coastal Child and Adult Therapeutic Services (CCATS), works closely with staff, so that children have a good understanding of their life story. Children also engage in regular therapeutic support from CCATS and benefit from this. This allows them to share any worries, supports them with their emotional well-being and informs their care and treatment plans. This therapeutic input is supporting children’s specific needs and helps to build their resilience and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children contribute to decisions made in the home. They hold regular house meetings, complete consultation forms and have group discussions. This enables them to discuss the things that matter to them. The children told the inspectors that they feel valued and respected as individuals by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have provided opportunities for the children to engage in enjoyable activities. These include walks in the countryside, playing football at a local park, and visits to farms, the seaside and zoos. Children say they are helped to pursue their hobbies and interests. For example, one child is planning to start boxing lessons, and another is being supported to attend ghost walks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to achieve good health. There is a focus to ensure that children are engaged in healthy activities, for example playing sports and participating in indoor circuit training. The children also completed a charity walk, which raised money for a homeless shelter. This was good for the children’s health and their sense of self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education professionals told the inspectors that the staff work in partnership with them and have advocated on behalf of the children. As a result, the children value education, have good school attendance and are supported to achieve their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals and families told the inspectors that the staff provide a friendly, caring and nurturing environment and that the staff are amazing and work in partnership with them to improve outcomes for the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC462593 4

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

Staff clearly understand their roles and responsibilities and are knowledgeable about their safeguarding duties. Professionals confirm that they are confident that children are better protected due to the actions that staff take.

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

The matching of children has been well considered. The manager consults with CCATS, placing social workers and previous carers as part of the matching process. This helps to ensure that potential risks are identified, and safety measures are put in place to address them.

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

Children’s risks are known and understood. There are appropriate strategies in place to reduce and manage known risks. Staff are confident about risk management and feel they have the appropriate skills and training.

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

CCATS support staff with specialist training, such as attachment and trauma, self- harm and suicide, cognitive behaviour therapy and therapeutic support. This helps staff to reflect on their practice, and to support the children to begin to emotionally regulate.

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

Staff use their de-escalation skills to good effect. This means that there have only been a few occasions where children have been held to keep themselves or others safe.

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

Episodes of children going missing from the home have decreased. Records confirm that staff work with the police, social workers and families when there are concerns about a child’s safety. This partnership working has helped to better protect the children.

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

Children receive high levels of supervision from the staff. However, as the children develop their independence, this level of supervision is reviewed and, where appropriate, reduced. This helps to ensure that children are taught about taking appropriate risks in line with their age and ability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and child focused. She works effectively with her staff, professionals and families to promote positive outcomes for the children in her care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems are used effectively to ensure that children make good progress and achieve good outcomes. The management team completes regular auditing of the children’s files and oversees staff practice and development. This contributes to the development of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff access regular training, team meetings and clinical supervision. They hold daily handovers to help them provide consistency of care for the children. However, some Inspection report children’s home: SC462593 5 staff do not consistently receive practice-related supervision in line with their induction or their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager will challenge placing authorities if she perceives that other professionals are not working in the child’s best interests. For example, she challenged one local authority about completing statutory visits within timescales. This helps to ensure that children have the support they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication with children’s social workers and other professionals is good. There is a real sense of a ‘team around the child’ approach. Professionals describe the home as ‘amazing’. This collaborative approach provides better support and guidance for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She is open to new ideas and is motivated to continue to improve. She is committed to providing children with the best possible care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses an action plan to make improvements to the home. This plan is updated regularly and has clear aims and objectives. However, there are some shortfalls. For example, some areas around the home are not routinely maintained and there are some wear and tear issues. Furthermore, there is little evidence that staff are completing the appropriate checks of the children’s bedrooms. This means that children’s bedrooms are not consistently maintained to a good standard. This detracts from the overall homeliness of the environment. Inspection report children’s home: SC462593 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) 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(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(b)) 31 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(vii)) 31 July 2021

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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: SC462593 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor Brian Royd Mills, Saddleworth Road Greetland, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX4 8NF

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Inspectors

Noel Cooper, Social Care Inspector Brian Wood, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC462593 8 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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