Children's Home run by Genesis CTE Limited in Gloucestershire

Inspection report children's home: 1277861 1 Registered provider: Genesis CTE Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children and young people. The provider states in its statement of purpose that the home supports children and young people who have sexually harmful behaviours, in a unique therapeutic environment.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered in February 2020.

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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

Date of last inspection: 26 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children's home: 1277861 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2020 Full Good 21/11/2019 Full Inadequate 31/07/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: 1277861 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making very good progress and are settled, happy and enjoy living at the home and with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented and, overall, is a large open space which is well used by the group. One room, which is used as a communal meeting area, remains locked when not in use. This detracts from the otherwise excellent living environment. The rural nature of the home is reflected in large outdoor spaces. The children all enjoy tending to the home’s chickens and making use of the home’s grounds.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and encouraged to manage their positive lifestyles. When appropriate to do so, children are encouraged to take responsibility for their own medication and are educated about its safe storage and administration. This supports children to develop independence skills and an awareness of their own health needs. Similarly, children with acute health needs are well supported, with the other children developing an awareness of how these needs can affect their friend’s health. This results in a home where the children genuinely care for each other and this further builds a solid and secure communal experience for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The educational progress of children is excellent. All children are actively involved in positive and enriching educational experiences. For some children, there has been outstanding progress in this regard. For example, a child who has left school is now engaged in an apprenticeship, making excellent progress in their workplace and developing their future career ideas. Other children have successfully made the transition back to mainstream education and are attending 100%. Children who attend the provider’s own school continue to make demonstrable progress against their targets. Similar progress is being made with developing readiness for adulthood. For example, children are supported to start driving lessons, plan and budget for meals and maintain their own health, education and personal care needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spent time with the inspectors throughout the inspection. The children spoke with genuine pride and affection about the staff and the managers. Every child has a real place in the home and the kitchen table is a place of laughter, warmth and celebration for the children. Individuality is celebrated and any tensions between children, however slight, are quickly resolved. Children spoke passionately about their progress and the difference that living here has made to them. For some children, this has been life changing. Children are now able to articulate and understand their emotions and are making significant progress in understanding their sense of self-identity.

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

Children’s safety is prioritised by the vigilant staff team. Excellent relationships between children and staff ensure that there is a culture of openness and tolerance. Inspection report children's home: 1277861 4 As such, children can express their emotions freely and know that staff will listen and help them to find a solution to any worries or concerns. Children have a sense of belonging at the home, which contributes to a culture where they do not feel the need to leave in an unplanned manner. There are good processes in place should a child go missing.

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

Serious incidents are rare and, when they occur, are swiftly and appropriately managed. Restraint is rarely used and only when necessary. Risk management is good and all staff are aware of children’s vulnerabilities and know the children exceptionally well. Health needs are mostly well met. One child has not had their yearly health check and their pathway plan has not been updated for several months. While the responsibility for these issues lies with the placing authority, the staff have not challenged effectively the drift and delay in these important matters being addressed. This has the potential to affect the health and progress of children.

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

Staffing consistency has been maintained. When new staff have joined the home, they have been appropriately vetted prior to their employment. Throughout the pandemic, the management team has established and maintained good systems to ensure that the risks of COVID-19 are managed effectively.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff respond with clear boundaries about what is safe and acceptable and seek to understand the reasons for children displaying behaviour that others may find challenging. Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Staff use reflective learning strategies that are specific to the needs of each child and planned in consultation with them where possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed, focused and wants the best for the children. He acts as a good role model to the staff team who, without exception, share a genuine passion for providing children with high-quality and nurturing care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the home is well managed and very settled. There is no sense of complacency and the manager does actively seek areas to improve. The home’s development plan sets out the desired improvements and regular independent visits to the home provide an additional layer of quality assurance. However, neither the manager’s nor the independent visitor’s audits have identified all development areas noted at this inspection. For example, the admissions register for the home does not contain all required details. A risk assessment contains out-of-date information relating to managing a child’s vulnerability in the community. Neither of these shortfalls have affected outcomes for children but do indicate that reviewing systems in the home could be further improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The ethos and operation of the home remains unchanged since the last inspection. The manager provides staff with a supportive and encouraging environment to develop and grow their skills. Regular supervision, some of which is provided by clinical staff, ensures that staff can discuss their practice and their own emotional Inspection report children's home: 1277861 5 reflections. This enables staff to recognise their place in shaping the lives of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is up to date and, despite the challenges of various lockdowns, has been delivered on time and, where needed, in person. The manager is accredited trainer in the provider’s chosen method of managing behaviour. This results in the staff team being able to discuss their approaches to supporting children who may be distressed or displaying behaviours which challenge others.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has built, and maintained, positive relationships with external professionals. The manager has kept social workers informed regularly on matters such as children’s education, safety and relationships with family. This ensures that all agencies are working together to produce positive outcomes for children. Inspection report children's home: 1277861 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. children’s home is to provide care and accommodation.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that delays to providing required services are challenged effectively so that children’s needs are fully met. 31 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the admissions and discharges log is kept fully updated. 31 July 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that is homely and domestic in feel. This specifically refers to ensuring that all rooms that can be used by children are freely accessible. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, Inspection report children's home: 1277861 7 paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. This specifically refers to ensuring that all known risk assessments are updated to reflect all risks and vulnerabilities for children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 & 3 The Hawthorths, Hawthorn Lane, Staunton, Gloucestershire GL19 3NY

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Inspectors

Pete Hylton, Regulatory Inspection Manager Matt Nicholls, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1277861 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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