Children's home run by Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2682317 1 Registered provider: Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to three children. The provider states in the home’s statement of purpose that care is provided for children and young people with learning difficulties, autism and/or social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since July 2022.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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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: 2682317 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2682317 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home opened in July 2022. Children were supported to move in to the home while being mindful of their individual needs. Children were encouraged to visit the home, meet the staff, and meet the other children living there before moving in. This allowed children to spend positive time together and become familiar with what it would be like to live in the home. This process was supported by pictorial guides and welcome notes from staff. When necessary, the registered manager altered move in plans to ensure that the needs of the children remained at the forefront.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living in this home. When children arrive home from school, they greet staff with big smiles and hugs. One child spent time looking through his memory book, which acts as a nice keepsake and helps him to remember the positive experiences that he has shared with staff. He looked through the book with smiles and excitement when remembering his time at animal parks and soft-play centres. This supports children to have a sense of belonging in the home and feel part of the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made excellent progress from their starting points. Children’s healthcare and educational needs are being met. Children have been supported to have haircuts, maintain school placements, address existing health concerns, and spend positive time with family members. The registered manager has advocated for children to promote the positive outcomes being achieved. For example, the registered manager used external research and guidance to work with health professionals to successfully reduce, and ultimately stop, the prescription of medication with sedentary side effects for one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from staff, professionals and a family member are positive. They can identify the progress that the children are making in the home, and are confident that children are happy, well cared for and feel safe. They say that staff have built nurturing relationships with the children, and that the children are at the centre of their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is warm and homely, with nice decoration and furniture. There are photos on display of children enjoying activities with staff. There is plenty of space, including a sensory room, which is accessible to children. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, in line with their wishes and interests. One child has recently had his bedroom redecorated after choosing a new colour of paint for his walls. However, each child’s bedroom door is fitted with a door alarm, which is activated during the night. Although the registered manager is clear that the use of these measures is assessed on an individual basis, the rationale and review of their use is not clear. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682317 4

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

Care plans provide staff with an overview of the needs of the children and the strategies they require to support them. Care plans are written in a child-friendly way and are addressed to the children. They contain lots of praise and recognition for children’s achievements and progress. As a result, staff are supported to know the children well and have a good understanding of how to meet each child’s needs.

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

Staff, leaders and managers respond to safeguarding concerns effectively. When a member of staff raised concerns about the actions and comments made by their colleague, leaders and managers took immediate steps to ensure the safety of children. Concerns were shared with external professionals and family members, and appropriate outcomes were agreed.

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

When one child went missing from the home, leaders and managers reflected with the staff team on what happened. This allowed the team to identify actions to prevent similar occurrences from happening again in the future. As a result, children have not been missing from the home since.

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

There are safe fire procedures and precautions in place. All children have personal emergency evacuation plans, which outline their individual needs and how staff should support them in the event of a fire.

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

The home’s location risk assessment identifies the hazards in the local area and the actions taken to mitigate risk. However, the location risk assessment does not support staff to consider how locality risks interact with the individual needs of the children in the home. As a result, risk levels are difficult to determine, and staff are unclear about how to respond to some risky behaviours that may be exacerbated by the home’s surroundings.

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

One child has been subject to restraint 36 times since moving to the home. The registered manager is committed to reducing the frequency of restraint and has implemented plans to realise this. For example, the registered manager has worked with external professionals to ensure that arrangements to see family members meet the needs of the child, as this was identified as an area of anxiety for him. Although debrief sessions about behaviours that challenge staff are held routinely, they do not always focus on the use of restraint. The registered manager is taking appropriate action to ensure that the use of restraint is always considered and learned from.

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

Individual communication books are used as pictorial guides for children to help them to express their thoughts and feelings. Communication books support children to understand their care and help them to express how they are feeling in a safe way. Although children do not always choose to participate in reflective thinking, staff are exploring more-creative ways to involve children in this process. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682317 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a sound understanding of the strengths of the home and the needs of the children. Staff are supported to care for the children, and are provided with clinical advice and research-based guidance. Along with the advocacy for children by the registered manager, this has helped to promote excellent outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and staff supervision provide staff with a space to reflect on the needs of children, how staff care for children, and how staff help children to keep safe. Team meetings are also used to increase staff knowledge and provide opportunities for psychologically informed reflection about the care being provided. Staff supervision sessions do not always explore how staff meet the needs of children. However, reflections in team meetings complement staff supervision sessions and inform the delivery of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Robust safer recruitment checks, including for those who have lived overseas, are completed before staff start working with children. When staff leave their employment, the registered manager seeks to identify learning opportunities through exit interviews. Consequently, the registered manager can recognise when staff may benefit from additional support and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff have completed their mandatory training. When staff require mandatory training, or refresher sessions are due, the registered manager has booked the relevant courses. In some cases, additional online training is sourced in the interim. However, compliance is low for specialist training that would support staff to care for children with specific needs and learning difficulties. Although staff say that they feel supported by leaders and managers, they recognise that they would benefit from more specialist training opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has not done enough to support one member of staff who is at increased risk of harm. Although a risk assessment has been implemented, the identified strategies do not sufficiently mitigate risk to protect the member of staff. The registered manager has been proactive in seeking the views and wishes of the member of staff and has sought advice from external professionals. However, steps to reduce risk are not robust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The outcomes from external monitoring of the home by an independent person are not shared with relevant professionals in a timely manner. Moreover, the independent person consistently visits when the children are not at home. As a result, the independent person is not able to observe staff interactions with children or ask them about the care that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite the shortfalls identified, children have made excellent progress and are provided with positive experiences. Leaders and managers have been receptive of the feedback provided throughout this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682317 6

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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 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

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; and

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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)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff are provided with training opportunities that support them to meet the individual needs of the children living in the home. 31 May 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a) (7)(a)) 15 May 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2682317 7 In particular, the registered person should ensure that external monitoring of the home captures the views and thoughts of children and other relevant people. The registered person should ensure that reports are shared in a timely manner.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any risk to staff is considered and supports staff to keep themselves, and others, safe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have a sound understanding of the risks in the local area and how they may impact on the needs of the current children living in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: 2682317 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 27 Westend Office Suites, Westend, Stonehouse GL10 3FA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Summers

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Inspector

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2682317 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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