Children's home run by Guidance Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 1 Registered provider: Guidance Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home opened on 23 March 2021 and provides care for two children who may have social, emotional or mental health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 27 October 2021.

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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 carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider.

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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 for children’s home: 2620266 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a nurturing team. Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities. Comprehensive plans provide staff with clear strategies for supporting children, based on their individual needs. Staff support children through regular direct work which is tailored to their specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff appropriately advocate for children’s access to education. The team supports children to engage in their learning and they have successfully gained part-time work. Children are progressing well from their starting points. However, where a child is not attending education full time, there is no structured timetable in place for them outside of their core education hours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are appropriately supported to develop their independence skills. Staff work collaboratively with each child’s social worker when developing an independence plan. Professionals shared feedback around the impact of the positive support provided by staff. This was particularly in relation to children’s emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work effectively with the child’s professional network to help ensure that they receive the right support when they need it. Children are helped to express themselves and their individual interests. Staff encourage children to expand their interests while enabling them to make choices at a pace they are happy with.

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

Staff understand the risks for each child and how to address these. Risk management plans provide staff with effective strategies to mitigate them. Staff help children to learn about risks to themselves and others. One good example of this was work undertaken with one child, in collaboration with the local fire service. This helped the child to better understand the impact of their behaviour.

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

The staff team is trained in how to appropriately use physical intervention if this is necessary. However, one bank staff member was waiting to complete this training at the time of this inspection. Staff consistently focus on supporting children to maintain positive behaviour through the nurturing relationships they develop.

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

Where children have been missing from the home, staff respond effectively. This includes joint working with statutory agencies. Staff share all relevant information and attend all meetings. Children are appropriately supported when they return home from a missing episode, both by staff and specialist services where needed. The risk of going missing for one child have reduced since living at the home.

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

Safer recruitment practice is in place for new staff. Where a concern about a staff member’s practice was identified, this was effectively addressed, in a timely way. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 3

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The committed registered manager is a strong advocate for children. They have developed positive and supportive relationships with each child. There are effective monitoring systems in place, which enable them to track children’s progress. This aids the registered manager in monitoring the quality of care provided by the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by the registered manager. Staff appreciate the opportunities provided to help them develop in their role and in the organisation. New staff are provided with an appropriate induction and training programme. This helps them to effectively meet the individual needs of the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported with good-quality supervision. This provides staff with a regular space to reflect on their own practice. However, the frequency of supervision is the same for new and experienced staff. New staff would benefit from more regular supervision initially, to help them to understand and reflect on their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual has a real understanding of the home and the children’s individual needs. They provide good-quality support to the registered manager, including through regular supervision. Together, the registered manager and responsible individual have a good understanding of the strengths and areas of development for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home opened during the pandemic. There have been changes in staff since the home opened, but the team is now more stable. However, these team changes have not always been reflected in the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 4

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(iv)(v)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that each child has an individual weekly timetable for education when this is provided through formal and informal learning. 30 April 2022

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 30 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 5 Specifically, to ensure that all new staff, including bank staff, receive the same training to enable them to meet the individual needs of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 30 April 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that new staff receive more frequent supervision to support them in their new role. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2620266 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Guidance Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 172 Mains Lane, Poulton-Le-Fylde, Lancashire FY6 7LE

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Inspector

Maria Lonergan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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