Children's Home run by Berry Gifford Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: 2541440 1 Registered provider: Berry Gifford Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who have experienced childhood instability which has led to trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since January 2021. The manager has submitted his application to become registered with Ofsted.

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Inspection date: 29 March 2022

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the last full inspection, it was found that managers had not taken sufficient action to meet all the requirements from the previous visit. As a result, one compliance notice was raised.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 7 June 2021. During this visit, the inspector found that the compliance notice had been met. Inspection report children’s home: 2541440 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last visit to the home, three children have moved into the home and no children have left. At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Safer recruitment practice has improved since the last inspection. Because of this, managers now ensure that staff, including agency staff, are safely recruited. One area for further improvement has been identified. Although managers verify references provided, the records of these are not clear and are not as detailed as they could be.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children make good progress with their educational attainment. Staff are successful in embedding an ethos of learning and celebrating children’s educational achievements. One child, who experienced a substantial length of time out of education prior to living at the home, now has high aspirations for his qualifications and is focused on remaining at the home until his college course is complete. This shows that children are being supported with their education and thriving with their learning.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children and staff share positive relationships. One child told the inspector that he sees the home as his ‘little family away from home’. Furthermore, children speak positively about living together and enjoy spending time with each other. Children feel confident that they can speak with members of staff if they are ever worried or have concerns.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff enjoy working at the home and are positive about the support they receive from their manager. Managers provide staff with a wide range of training that informs their practice and meets children’s individual and diverse needs. This provides staff with the essential skills and knowledge for their roles.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff reflect on incidents in the home and use any learning to improve how they support children. Staff have a good understanding of what may upset or worry children. Staff support children to express themselves and use direct work with children to enable them to do this. As a result, the use of physical intervention has reduced, as have incidents of children going missing from care.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Professionals speak positively about their relationships with the manager and staff at the home. Good professional relationships ensure that children’s needs are met effectively. One social worker said, ‘Communication is great. I receive weekly update reports, and parents feed back the same.’ Staff and the manager are proactive and Inspection report children’s home: 2541440 3 refer children to external agencies to support them as needed. As a result, partnership working with external agencies is effective, which promotes children’s welfare.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children are mostly matched into the home well. The manager evaluates the impact of children arriving at the home and addresses any additional training requirements for the team to support children to manage their complex needs effectively. However, not all impact assessments include information about the potential impact of new children moving in on those already living at the home. This oversight has not negatively affected children currently but has the potential to do so if this issue is not fully considered and recorded. Inspection report children’s home: 2541440 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 2541440 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that that good employment practice is maintained. This specifically relates to verifying references for new employees to ensure that adults are safe to work with children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  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)

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: 2541440 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Berry Gifford Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, 2 Mercury Park, Amber Close, Tamworth B77 4RP

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Inspector

Kev Brammer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2541440 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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