Children's Home run by Gracewells Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 2577168 1 Registered provider: Gracewells Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a small private provider. The home provides care and support for up to three children who may have emotional needs and challenging behaviour.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in May 2020.

p.1

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.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 26 January 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: There was a monitoring visit to the home on 15 December 2020. This resulted in a compliance notice being served under regulation 12. At a subsequent monitoring visit on 26 January 2021, the provider was assessed to have met the requirements of this notice. Inspection report children’s home: 2577168 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in this home benefit from a welcoming environment. The home is spacious for three children. Changes are made to the use of rooms in the home, dependent on the interests of the children living here. There was only one child resident at the time of this inspection, but there were photos on display and items that she had chosen evident in the home.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While the provider has served notice on the placements of some children, this has largely been due to the children wanting to live in another town and being unwilling to invest in the home and local area. The manager has worked with the placing authorities to ensure that children have moved on from the home in a planned and positive way. Similarly, new children have been introduced to the home in a planned way, having the opportunity to visit the home before they move in. This helps to reduce their anxieties about their move.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although there have been a lot of staff changes since the home registered, the manager has managed to stabilise the staff team, which has been largely settled since the beginning of the year. This has enabled the child to develop positive relationships with staff, which helps the child to feel safe and secure. The child told the inspector that she likes the staff and gets on well with them. Although she chooses to spend time with her friends in the local community, she will also spend time with staff and they recently enjoyed a holiday to Wales together.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made good progress since living here. She likes living in the home and can identify the progress she has made. She told the inspector that she is more settled and in a much better place than she was at the time when she moved into the home.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff appreciate the significance of education and go above and beyond to support the child to achieve. If one option is not successful, they persevere until the right provision is identified. For the child currently living in the home this entailed working with her high school in her home area and a personal tutor locally, to ensure that she was able to complete her GCSE examinations. This proved successful, as she achieved good results and is planning to start an apprenticeship. Staff helped her focus on what was needed to achieve her aim, and this motivated her to succeed.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage the child to establish and maintain relationships with her family and friends. They appreciate the significance of these relationships but are also mindful of the need to assess the impact that these have on the child when things are not going well. This emotional support helps the child manage their relationships and helps to develop their emotional resilience. Inspection report children’s home: 2577168 3

p.2

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

Staff have a good understanding of the child’s needs and risks. Risk management plans contain pertinent information and strategies for staff to implement to reduce risk. However, on occasion, staff have not thought through the potential risk at the time of the incident. When a child has self-harmed, a thorough room search has not always been undertaken to ensure that they no longer have the means to harm themselves. Furthermore, the provider has not taken swift action to repair a broken window in a child’s bathroom and a damaged panel on the front door to the home. These things have the potential to create further risk and detract from the homely atmosphere that staff have worked hard to create.

p.3

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

There is just one child living in the home currently and the manager has taken her time to move additional children into the home, so as to ensure that the needs of the children are compatible. However, the matching documentation completed in relation to the last child admitted to the home, failed to consider the impact he would have on the other children already living in the home. The provider has already revised the format of this document, but its effectiveness is yet to be tested.

p.3

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

The positive relationships that staff have with the child enable them to de-escalate most challenging situations. Staff rarely need to use physical intervention as, in the main, the child respects and listens to staff. However, when required, staff have intervened in order to keep the child or others safe from harm. The recording of incidents is good. However, currently the manager is reviewing the circumstances leading up to the intervention but is failing to assess the effectiveness of the measure of intervention used so that learning can be taken from this to inform future practice.

p.3

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

There have been incidents of children going missing from the home. For some, this was due to their desire to return to their home town. Others wanted to spend time with their friends in the local community. Each child has a personalised missing- from-home protocol. This is a detailed document that includes clear reporting procedures. Staff keep in regular contact with children when they are outside of the home. They make an effort to get to know children’s friends and family members and actively search for children when they do not arrive home as planned. One social worker commented, ‘Staff’s response to missing episodes has been excellent. They keep in regular contact with other professionals. They couldn’t do any more.’ When there was an increase in incidents for one child, the staff team completed a ‘mind map’ to help them understand what other things were going on for the child at that time. This helped them understand the triggers for the child and how they

p.3

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

Staff complete frequent individual support sessions with the child. These target specific areas pertinent to the child and are designed to provide information and help her to make informed decisions. Positively, on several occasions over recent months, the child has made the right decision and alerted staff when she has felt unsafe. This is a significant development. Inspection report children’s home: 2577168 4

p.3

good

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager in charge of the home. She has worked at the home since it opened in May 2020. Consequently, she knows the staff team and the child well.

p.4

good

Staff feel supported and valued. They benefit from regular supervision sessions, and their day-to-day support is good. Staff complete core training during their induction and are then enrolled on a level 3 qualification course, following successful completion of probation. However, most staff currently working in the home are qualified.

p.4

good

During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have completed a good range of online training courses, including specific training to meet the needs of the child living in the home. This helps to ensure that they are in the best position to advise and support the child in their care. However, the manager acknowledges that this learning will need to be reinforced through face-to-face training now that the restrictions posed by the pandemic are being lifted.

p.4

good

Shortfalls were identified at this inspection in relation to the manager’s day-to-day monitoring. These include the need to update some documents, incorrect dates recorded on some documents, and some health and safety checks, such as fire drills, not being completed at the frequency expected by the organisation. In addition, there was no register containing the details of children admitted and discharged from the home, as required by regulation.

p.4

good

A requirement relating to the safe recruitment of staff was made at the last monitoring visit to the home. While improvements are evident, some shortfalls remain, so this requirement has been repeated to ensure that the matter is prioritised.

p.4

good

The manager is passionate and committed to delivering a good standard of care and support for children. She leads by example and wants children to make the most of the time they spend in the home. She has a good insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the home.

p.4

good

There has been some positive feedback about the home. Feedback from professionals includes:

p.4

good

 ‘Staff clearly cared about [name of the child]. They have tried hard to make a positive difference to his life.’  ‘Communication is great and relationships with children are excellent.’  ‘Staff have done an excellent job in challenging circumstances.’ Inspection report children’s home: 2577168 5

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The 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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

p.5

Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b)(d))

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, that room searches are undertaken when required and repairs to the home are completed promptly. 24 September 2021

p.5

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.5

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, this refers to improvements to monitoring to help identify inaccuracies in recording and checks and reports that require updating. 24 September 2021

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 24 September 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2577168 6 (Regulation 32 (1))

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, that staff recruitment procedures include the necessary information required.

p.6

Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

p.6

Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the manager’s evaluation must include the effectiveness of the intervention used. 24 September 2021

p.6

Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must keep a register showing the details of children who have lived in the home. 24 September 2021

p.6

Recommendation

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) Inspection report children’s home: 2577168 7

p.6

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: 2577168 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Gracewells Care Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 21 Jubilee House, East Beach, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire FY8 5FT

p.8

Inspector

Mandy Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2577168 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9