Children's home run by Gracewells Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2655408 1 Registered provider: Gracewells Care Limited Full 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 provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three boys who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since November 2022 but is yet to submit a complete application to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2655408 2

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy living in this home. They live in a homely environment which they can personalise with their own belongings. This helps children to feel that they belong here. The home is in a semi-rural location. Children have ample space outside the home to play football, ride bicycles and play on the pool table in the garage area. All children’s bedrooms have en-suite facilities. However, at the time of the inspection, all the bathrooms required a deep clean, and mould was also present on bedroom window frames. This detracts from the homely environment.

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improvement to be good

Children told the inspector that they like the staff caring for them. Positive and respectful relationships were observed between children and staff during the inspection. Children like to spend time with staff and will engage in activities in the community with them, such as attending a football match, going on a bicycle ride or to a theme park. Children and staff recently completed a long-distance run together. Staff take photos of special times shared and put together photo albums to ensure that children retain these memories.

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improvement to be good

All children are enrolled in full-time education and have good attendance. Children accept that going to school is part of their routine. Staff praise children for their achievements, which encourages them to succeed.

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improvement to be good

Children move into the home in a planned way. They can visit the home and meet with staff and the other children prior to admission. This helps to relieve children’s anxiety about moving into the home. Since the home started operating, no children have moved out. While staff engage children in some preparation for independence, such as cooking and cleaning, this is on an ad hoc basis rather than in a planned way, which potentially leaves children without all the skills they will need to live independently. While staff have identified this issue, they have yet to implement any agreed plan to address this.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with the people who are important to them, appreciating the significance of these relationships. Staff are flexible when supporting children’s time with their family. They listen to children’s wishes and want to make this a pleasant time for the child.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are promoted. Children have regular access to therapy to support their emotional health needs. Staff proactively support children in exploring their identity and in accessing specialist services. While medication is stored securely, administration records do not state the time that children receive medication, which makes it difficult to assess if the correct time has elapsed between doses without cross-referencing with other records in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655408 3

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improvement to be good

The staffing levels in the home are appropriate to the needs of the children living here. Children understand why there are clear rules and boundaries in the home and, in the main, do not challenge these. There have been no serious safeguarding incidents. Children do not put themselves at risk by misusing drugs or alcohol or by going missing from home. However, despite missing-from-home behaviour being a known historic issue for one child, there is no agreed protocol about the actions staff should take if this was to occur, or easy access to the details and addresses of individuals known to the child. This would likely delay appropriate action being taken.

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improvement to be good

Similarly, children’s risk management plans aim to highlight known risks and ensure that staff know the best way to manage these, although some known behaviours and hazards have been omitted. This limits their effectiveness. The system that is in place for alerting staff to changes in these plans is also ineffective, as it would indicate that many staff are unaware of changes to original documents.

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improvement to be good

Children are not presenting with high-risk behaviours. Consequently, there has been some staff complacency in identifying risks and addressing these. This includes window restrictors not being used in a child’s bedroom and children having easy access to hazardous materials.

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improvement to be good

Children get on well together most of the time. However, staff regularly discuss bullying at children’s meetings and individually, which ensures that children understand what constitutes bullying and know what action to take if they feel that they are being bullied.

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improvement to be good

Some shortfalls in the safer recruitment of staff were identified at this inspection. This includes gaps in employment not being fully explored and references not being available on recruitment files. This compromises the integrity of the recruitment process which is designed to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

The home’s policy on fire evacuation drills is not being adhered to, as some drills have not taken place when they should have done. In addition, records do not always indicate which staff were involved, which makes it difficult to assess if all staff are familiar and confident with the action to take in the event of an emergency. A recommendation from a recent independent fire risk assessment regarding the formulation of a clear procedure for staff to follow in the event of fire has also yet to be produced and the information disseminated to the staff team.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make a complaint or raise a concern, although none have been made since the home opened. However, children told the inspector that they would have the confidence to raise any concerns with either a trusted staff member or the home’s manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655408 4

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good

There have been management and staffing changes since the home registered. The previous registered manager left in November 2022. The new manager was already working in the home and knows the staff and children well. He is currently working towards the required leadership and management qualification.

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good

There have been some staff changes, with some staff being inexperienced in residential care. The home is also reliant on casual staff, albeit regular staff, to ensure that there are sufficient staff to care for the children. Staff talk positively regarding the levels of support, but formal supervision is not taking place at the frequency required. Casual staff have not been offered the opportunity for supervision, despite working frequently in the home, and a member of staff on probation has received no formal supervision despite working in the home for over a month. Supervision records completed by the former manager were also inaccessible. This makes it difficult for the current manager to pick up any ongoing issues and does not support the development and practice of staff.

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good

Staff have largely completed core training. However, casual staff are yet to complete physical intervention training. Due to staff changes, several staff need to complete training on harmful sexual behaviour as a matter of urgency, in order to be able to fulfil the intended aims and objectives of the home, as outlined in the statement of purpose.

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good

Team meetings take place regularly and are attended by the therapist who is working with the children. This provides staff the opportunity to raise any matters of concern and take advice on the most appropriate way to address these.

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good

Children’s records do not always contain the required information or relevant updated information. While the manager is aware of the updated information, this is not documented and does not form part of the child’s record. This includes documents such as an education, health and care plan not being in a child’s record. Furthermore, while local authority consents are obtained for a variety of matters, there are no consents in place in relation to the electronic monitoring used in the home.

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good

There are shortfalls in the manager’s monitoring and oversight of the home. Many of the issues identified at this inspection could have been recognised and addressed by robust monitoring. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655408 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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;

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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)(a)(i)(v)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that: risk assessments contain all known behaviours and staff are familiar with them; missing-from- home procedures are clear for all children; all areas of the home are cleaned thoroughly; window restrictors are fitted correctly; and hazardous materials are locked away from children. 17 March 2023

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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 17 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2655408 6 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that monitoring systems are used to drive forward improvements and that all staff receive training that is specific to the individual needs of the children living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance. (Regulation 24 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that written consents to bedroom and external door alarms are obtained. 17 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

make arrangements for persons working at the home to receive suitable training in fire prevention; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that regular fire drills take place which involve children and that records indicate which children and staff were involved. A fire evacuation procedure must be drafted, and staff must receive training in this. 17 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2655408 7 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that gaps in employment are identified and explored and that all references are maintained on the recruitment file. 17 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all supervision records are retained and that all staff receive regular supervision. 17 March 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that each child is prepared to move on from the home. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support. Where the child is moving to live independently, they should be supported to learn practical skills, such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should ensure that medicines are administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. Records should include the time that medication is administered so that it is clear Inspection report for children’s home: 2655408 8 that the required time has elapsed between doses of medication. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s case records are kept up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 2655408 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Gracewells Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Mandy Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2655408 10 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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