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 is owned and managed by a private organisation. The provider states in its statement of purpose that the home provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection. She told the inspector that she was looking forward to a new child moving in and that staff have asked for her views in respect of her preferences of who she would like to live with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, including in an unplanned way, staff support them to feel comfortable and welcomed. The manager is thorough in gathering information to ensure that they settle into the home well and that the needs of the children already living in the home are considered. Staff visit children and they are invited to visit the home prior to moving in. This helps to alleviate any anxieties children may have. Staff spend time getting to know children, which supports children to develop positive and trusting relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children and advocate for them when they feel that the home is no longer meeting their needs. One child recently moved on to a placement closer to his home area in line with his wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are not in formal education, staff provide structure and routine for them through weekly timetables. Children are provided with opportunities to engage in education through planned activities and formal learning sessions. Staff advocate for children when they request to attend mainstream education. However, for the child living in the home, there has been a delay in finding an appropriate education placement. Therefore, the child is not being provided with the required level of education she needs and has requested.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop new hobbies and interests. For the child currently living in the home, staff have found local community groups and places of worship. Staff support her to attend a local participation group to provide her with the opportunity to express her views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to support the child living in the home in respect of her cultural needs and religious beliefs. The child told the inspector, ‘Staff do everything they can to help with these. However, I do not fit in in this area and want to return to the area I feel is my home with people who share my heritage.’ Staff support the child to understand decisions made by social work professionals for her to remain living in the home which she does not feel are in her best interests. However, the manager has not escalated concerns regarding plans for the child’s cultural needs.

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

Staff communicate with relevant professionals prior to children moving into the home. This helps staff to understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities. As a result, children develop strong and trusting relationships with staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 4 Children’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans do not provide an up- to-date assessment of risk and lack clear strategies for staff to follow. This means that children’s records do not reflect the strategies used to manage children’s risks.

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

The positive relationships between the staff and children help to de-escalate challenging behaviour. Incidents of physically holding children are rare. When incidents do occur, staff manage these well. Restorative work is carried out with children following incidents and staff are provided with formal training opportunities on identified areas of need.

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

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Staff challenge any discriminatory or inappropriate behaviour. They work hard to educate and support children to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Extensive key-work sessions are carried out on specific areas of need. As a result, risks have reduced for the child.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks for children being missing from home. Liaison with professionals and previous carers allows them to understand the various factors that can impact on children’s decisions for going missing. Staff listen to children’s wishes and provide them with the appropriate freedom and trust to spend time in the community. As a result, the child has not been missing from home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The acting manager is not registered with Ofsted. He is the registered manager for another home in the organisation. He has submitted his application to be registered for this home. He manages his time effectively between both homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The acting manager is committed to the child living in the home. The manager works hard to maintain a warm and homely environment for the child. However, some areas of the home would benefit from some refurbishment, namely the bath and shower.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been several changes to the staff team since the previous inspection. This has included a change in management. This resulted in a lack of consistency in the care provided for the child. However, this has been rectified and the child is now cared for by a full and established staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes a sense of shared ownership among the staff. Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions. Staff say that they feel supported and valued in their roles. Professional development opportunities are strongly promoted, and staff are provided with relevant training to develop their skills. One member of staff commented, ‘The support I have received both personally and professionally is exceptional. I am being supported to pursue further training in counselling, which I hope will also benefit the children in the home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring is effective. The manager acts on the recommendations from independent reports to improve staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 5 The acting manager has good oversight of the home. He knows the child and staff well. He uses feedback from parents and professionals to inform further developments of the home. However, he does not have an up-to-date development plan in place. This is a missed opportunity to evaluate and review the strength of the care being provided to children and identify any areas to develop. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must escalate their concerns when there is delay in securing education placements for children and when decisions are made that do not respect children’s wishes. 6 April 2023

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, children’s risk assessments must be updated to reflect current levels of risk and these documents must include clear strategies and guidance for staff to follow. 6 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 6 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 7 understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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 (2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, development plans must be implemented to monitor, evaluate and review the care provided to the children.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. Children’s homes will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Specifically, ensure that the bath panel and shower screen are replaced in the bathroom. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive the relevant support which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Specifically, ensure that team meetings take place on a regular basis. (‘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 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Guidance Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 8, Sovereign Court, Wyrefields, Poulton-le- Fylde FY6 8JX

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Inspector

Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2620266 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 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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