Children's home run by Gracebridge Care

Inspection report children's home: 2556128 1 Registered provider: Gracebridge Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

Ofsted registered the home in December 2019. The home is owned by a private company. It is registered for four young people. At the time of the inspection three children lived in the home. The home specialises in caring for young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

A new manager has been in post since 1 June 2020 and registered with Ofsted on 1 April 2021. He has recently completed a level 5 diploma in health and social care qualification for children in residential care and is awaiting his certificate.

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Information about this children's home

Due to COVID-19, 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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Information about this children's home

We visited this setting in November 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on Ofsted’s website.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2556128 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers carefully consider children’s needs when making decisions about new children coming to live at the home and when children should move on. As a result, children have a positive experience of moving in and out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care from staff that takes into account children’s views, wishes and feelings. This helps children to feel listened to and to develop positive relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their life skills. Staff and managers have undertaken some exceptional work with a child to prepare him for adulthood. He has developed good budgeting skills, can travel independently and knows how to cook and shop for himself. These skills helped build the child’s confidence and enabled him to move on positively to semi-independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with local health services. Staff support children who require medication. However, some medication was not stored in a locked cabinet and could be accessed by a child. Staff encourage children to develop daily self-care routines and support children to access health care appointments. Managers escalate concerns to professionals and seek support when they have a concern about a child’s health. Children enjoy exercising and cooking healthy meals with staff. There is good emphasis placed on eating meals together. This enhances positive relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children attend school and one child is being supported by staff to undertake learning at home while waiting to start one-to-one tuition. Managers and staff ensure that children’s views on education are considered by family members and professionals when reviewing care plans. As a result, significant changes were made to one child’s education plan. Managers challenge professionals when there are delays in meeting children’s education needs. Good support helps children to make progress towards achieving their career goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel safe and secure and speak positively about the care they receive. One child said, ‘This is the best place I have ever lived.’ Another child said the best thing about the home is the staff. Positive relationships between staff and children provide them with a sense of belonging. In addition, it helps them to develop their social skills as they approach adulthood. Inspection report children's home: 2556128 3 Children receive help from staff to see their family members. As a result, these relationships have improved. Staff support children to understand their heritage and culture, which supports their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise children’s talents and interests and promote these well, for example one child who is a good footballer has joined a football club. Staff speak about the child’s skill with enthusiasm and passion. Staff make parents aware of when the child has a football match, so they can attend and watch their child’s achievements. Seeing staff and family members work together helps children to feel settled.

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

Staff ensure that children have consistent daily routines in place. This helps them to understand what is expected of them. Good structures help children to manage their behaviours and emotions at times of the day that can be challenging for them.

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

Managers and staff know and understand children’s behaviours and risks. Information about these is detailed well in the children’s plans. Staff follow the guidance set out in children’s plans and risk assessments. Children’s safety has improved because of the good support staff receive. For example, one child is no longer as vulnerable to being criminally exploited. Another child does not need staff to physically restrain him as often to keep him and others safe.

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

Staff consider children’s access to electronic devices and the internet based on each child’s needs. When concerns arise about children’s safety online, managers take swift action. Specialist consultants performed a check on the home’s internet security setting and confirmed that they were satisfactory. Staff supervise one child when he uses the internet to ensure that he and others are safeguarded. All staff have completed internet safety training, which has raised their awareness of risks and how to manage these.

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

The inspector identified that managers were not familiar with the whistleblowing process. Appropriate action was taken by managers during the inspection to address this issue.

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

Managers are now trained and knowledgeable in safe recruitment practices. They have reviewed staff recruitment files to ensure that staff have been safely recruited. However, gaps in information were identified in the recruitment records for the responsible individual. While the responsible individual does not have unsupervised time with the children, their recruitment checks require the same scrutiny.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have high aspirations for children and are committed to helping them to fulfil their potential. Managers and staff enable children to express their views and ensure that these views are heard by professionals. On one occasion, managers arranged for an external advocate to support a child to change their care plan. Good Inspection report children's home: 2556128 4 communication between staff, professionals and children means that there is strong support for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems are effective and used by managers to ensure that the children receive good care that supports their progress. Managers understand the home’s strengths and areas for development to achieve their vision for the home. However, they do not always identify recording issues. For example, staff have discussed with one child the importance of wearing their prescription glasses, this is not recorded in the child’s plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that there are always sufficient suitably experienced staff working with children and staff who have the level 3 diploma working with children. Unqualified staff are completing their qualification. Staff receive relevant training to support them to meet the individual needs of the children. As a result, children are cared for by knowledgeable and skilled staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervision but this is not always undertaken consistently in line with organisation’s expectations. Despite this, staff told the inspector that they feel supported in their role. Staff performance is appraised annually. As a result, staff have opportunities to reflect on their practice and discuss their professional development. Inspection report children's home: 2556128 5

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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

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children's home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them. (Regulation 23(1) (2)(a)) 09 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

satisfy the requirements in paragraphs (5)(a) to (c).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit to carry on the home. (Regulation 26 (5)(a)(b)(c) (7)(a)) 09 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 09 July2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report children's home: 2556128 6

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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: 2556128 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Gracebridge Care Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Arden Lodge, 946 Warwick Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham B27 6QG

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Inspector

Helen Malanaphy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2556128 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 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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