Children's Home run by G B A Care Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 1 SC462591 Registered provider: G B A Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private organisation owns and runs this home. The home provides care for up to three children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties. The manager registered in May 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 13 September 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/06/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. There has been a reduction in behavioural incidents. Children are engaging in education and establishing trusted relationships with adults. While progress is not linear, staff are vigilant to barriers to progress and take effective action to overcome them. An example is when staff have advocated for school placements to be changed to better suit children’s learning needs. These important decisions are also informed by children’s wishes whenever possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have personalised bedrooms that reflect their individual interests and preferences. This provides them with a sense of belonging. Each child’s strengths are proudly celebrated by staff. This includes their sporting abilities, their achievements in managing emotions and their attendance and progress at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are good relationships between the children, and they enjoy activities together. This helps to develop a group identity and supports children to feel secure. They fall out occasionally, but this is quickly resolved as mutual respect is promoted by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children choose which activities to do in the community. This helps them to learn what they enjoy and develop their own personalities. They say they are happy in the home and feel safe. This promotes long periods of living in the home, which also means staff have the opportunity to get to know children well and see them flourish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to visit their family, even if this is at a distance. This is important to children for many reasons, and it helps to sustain their resilience to live a long way from things that are familiar.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are effective mechanisms for gathering children’s views. However, there has been a lack of recording children’s experiences in their memory books. These books have been recently started, but there is further scope for improvement and development to provide children with a record of their time in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some parts of the home have been recently refurbished, but other areas show signs of age and heavy traffic. This does not make the children feel like they are being invested in, nor does it provide them with a homely and nurturing environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some professional relationships are more effective than others. Feedback from families indicates that routine communication could be improved. The manager recognises this and is making changes. Improvements in working more collaboratively with other agencies and families are underway. This is providing better consistency for children. It also strengthens children’s links to their home community. Hence, children have an increased understanding of their own identity and heritage. Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 4

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

Staff are aware of risks affecting children and follow detailed plans to minimise them. Children go missing less than they did previously, and they have not been missing at all since the last time the home was inspected. There has also been a reduction in behavioural incidents. Both of these things suggest that measures to manage risks and vulnerabilities are effective and that children become increasingly safe as a result of living in the home.

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

Staff are trained in safeguarding and are vigilant for signs that children’s risks may be increasing. There is effective planning with the wider team and families to ensure that there is a consistent approach to keeping children safe in this regard.

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

Staff follow plans to support children when they become upset or angry. This can involve using holds to keep children and others safe. Staff are trained to do this. However, the records of such incidents fall short in terms of specific descriptions of what happened. Related staff debriefs and restorative discussions with the children are also sometimes not recorded. This limits opportunities to learn from incidents and manage behaviours more effectively.

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

In order to keep children safe, there are door alarms to make staff aware when children enter or leave their rooms. During the course of the inspection, these were modified to be used in a more considered way, individualised to children’s vulnerabilities. However, consents are not in place, and there is no policy setting out the conditions of use of the door alarms or the process for reviewing their use. This means that unnecessary monitoring is being carried out for some of the children. This does not reflect a homely environment, nor does it respect their privacy and freedom of movement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last full inspection, there has been an assurance inspection and a change of manager. The newly registered manager had already started to make positive changes. The previous requirements and recommendations made at that inspection have all been met, with the exception of one related to electronic records. The introduction of the new electronic recording system has been delayed, which has hampered addressing this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have continued the positive start in driving improvements. They know what changes are needed and are systematically overhauling and reviewing processes to ensure the home runs as effectively as possible. Staff and professionals speak highly of the new management team, and their approach has impacted positively on staff morale. Revised audit systems provide better oversight, and expectations of staff are clearly communicated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive reflective supervision sessions, but for some staff, this is less frequent than the company policy states. This limits management’s opportunities to check out staff’s well-being and competence. However, there are other opportunities to discuss Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 5 practice, such as in team meetings, and this promotes a unified approach. This benefits the children who understand and appreciate clear and consistent boundaries.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager takes action to challenge when other services fall short, and this is often effective. However, there is still missing documentation that has been requested from the children’s local authorities. This does not provide reassurance that the actions of those in charge of the home align with those of other agencies in terms of progressing the children’s care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Last year was a period of instability for the children, staff and managers due to multiple staffing changes, including at the management level. This year there has been improvement, and the foundations have been laid to deliver a more effective service. Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 23 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 7 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to ensuring physical intervention records contain sufficient detail and that staff’s and children’s debriefs conducted by the registered manager or the authorised person are recorded.

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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 monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to the use of door alarms, obtaining consent and establishing a policy that includes regular review and rationale for their use. 23 July 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet the child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs (see regulations 5(c)). This includes the non-provision of statutory documentation. Staff should act as champions for their children, expecting nothing less than a good parent would. The registered person should consider the use of an independent advocate (see paragraph 4.16) if the child’s needs are not being met. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8) Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 8  The registered person should understand that many children placed in the home may undergo a difficult transition, and what should be simple aspects of their

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Recommendations

care can take on a substantial significance in this context. Staff should provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming and supportive, and that provides appropriate boundaries in relation to their behaviour. The home must also meet the children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. The premises should be presented and maintained to a suitably good standard. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met. Doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and

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Recommendations

experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Professionally qualified staff employed by the home, e.g. teachers or social workers, should be provided with relevant professional or clinical supervision by an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and the staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2-13.4)  The registered person should ensure that the electronic records held at the individual’s home follow data protection principles. IT systems should ensure the

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Recommendations

safe storage of these records, and business continuity planning should be in place to prevent loss or damage to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)  The registered person should be aware that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of the records kept by the home and how to access them. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them record significant life events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 9

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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: SC462591 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor Brian Royd Mills, Saddleworth Road, Greetland HX4 8NF

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Delores Croasdell

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Inspector

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 11 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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