Children's Home run by Carbrey Care Hempsted Ltd in Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2709670 1 Registered provider: Carbrey Care Hempsted Ltd 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 four children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

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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 inadequate

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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: 2709670 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709670 3

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improvement to be good

The overall experiences and progress of children are variable and require improvement to be good. In March 2023, leaders and managers welcomed the first child into the home. After an initial settling-in period, the registered manager and team soon recognised that they could not meet the child’s needs or manage their escalating high-risk behaviours. They shared their concerns with senior managers. In response, the child’s placing authority was given notice for the child to move from the home.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers had not fully considered the significance of the known vulnerabilities and high-risk behaviours of this child. The team was unable to manage the child’s needs. Staff were assaulted and the home environment was damaged. On one occasion, the staff called the police for assistance and the child was kept in custody overnight. During this turbulent time, leaders and managers decided to move two new children into the home. Both children said that they were upset that their new home was being damaged, and they did not like seeing the staff being hurt. One child told the inspector that, on occasions, she did not feel safe during this time.

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improvement to be good

Since that time, good planning and assessment have ensured that a further new child has moved in to the home successfully. Leaders and managers assessed if the team could meet the new child’s needs and considered the collective needs of all three children living together. The new child is developing positive relationships with the staff team and the two children living at the home. The current atmosphere in the home is relaxed and cheerful.

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improvement to be good

The current education arrangement for two out of the three children requires improvement. Their attendance and progress are variable. The team is working closely with both children’s education provisions. At the time of this inspection, both children were attending education and said that they are feeling more positive about their learning. The third child is attending school full time.

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improvement to be good

Children said that they feel listened to and enjoy living at the home. Children are consulted with regularly. Despite this, records of this consultation do not always show that requests made in previous discussions have been considered or acted on. One child has written a reflective statement for the organisation’s newsletter. In her statement, she has shared how much she likes living at the home and that she is looking forward to her first Christmas. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709670 4

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment processes are followed effectively. The registered manager works closely with the organisation’s human resources department to ensure that all staff, including bank and agency staff, are vetted for their suitability, experience, and skills. Recruitment records are well maintained. Leaders and managers have recognised that requesting agency staff’s employment history would further improve their suitability assessments.

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improvement to be good

Children say that in recent weeks they have felt safer living at this home. They like the adults who care for them and confirmed that the staff have listened to them and taken appropriate action when they have not felt safe or happy. All staff have completed safeguarding training and regularly attend refresher courses. Staff are clear about their safeguarding responsibilities.

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improvement to be good

In the main, staff recognise, respond to and manage known risks well. However, risk assessments in place for one child do not provide staff with up-to-date information. Similarly, the same child’s healthcare needs are not formalised into a healthcare plan. This means that staff are not provided with the essential information and guidance that they need to meet the child’s current needs.

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improvement to be good

Consequences for children’s behaviour that staff consider unacceptable are rare. Consequences that are imposed are not always restorative. This means that the children are not consistently provided with an opportunity to learn from or take responsibility for their actions.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have confirmed that since the home has been open, staff have used physical intervention to manage children’s behaviour on four occasions. The interventions used were for a limited time and used aprorpiately. Despite this, records of these interventions are extensive. As a result, what happened, why and the outcome are lost in the extended narrative. This has the potential to impact on the effectiveness of the manager’s monitoring and his ability to consider if an alternative behaviour management strategy should be considered.

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improvement to be good

The manager has completed a locality assessment. Although detailed in parts, this document requires improvement. The manager has not identified all known risks in the local area or considered emergency services’ opening and response times.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

This home was registered in January 2023. In April 2023, the organisation appointed a new manager, who was assessed as suitable in June 2023.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The new registered manager has a good understanding of the team’s strengths and weaknesses. He recognises that the team, who has a wealth of experience working in childcare, are a new team working together for the first time. Collectively, the Inspection report for children’s home: 2709670 5 team is working hard as a cohesive group to improve the quality of care and services that they provide for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management monitoring lacks robust scrutiny. The quality and content of children’s daily records, staff handover records, room search records, physical intervention records and children’s health plans are variable. Neither the independent visitor nor the registered manager have recognised the weaknesses identified at this inspection. To date, these weaknesses do not place children at risk, but have the potential to do so if not prioritised by senior leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings take place regularly and staff say that they find these meetings helpful. Despite this, records from these meetings do not reflect the ways in which the manager is promoting good practice for all staff. They do not identify if agreed actions have been met, the staff’s contribution, or the views and experiences of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has not ensured that all staff are up to date with basic mandatory training. As a result, not all staff have completed training courses that will help them to meet the children’s complex and changing needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has an improvement plan for the home. However, this plan focuses on regulatory requirements. The registered manager has not yet considered more-ambitious development opportunities intended to improve children’s outcomes and experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709670 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome such barriers; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment opportunities. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)) 30 September

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 15 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2709670 7 ensure the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(d)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that the manager’s monitoring is effective and evaluative; all records completed by staff are factually accurate, clear and concise; all staff complete all the basic mandatory training and specialist courses to meet the needs of the children they care for; and children’s requests are easily located in the home’s development plan.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that all children have a healthcare plan and risk assessments that reflect the current known risks and vulnerabilities of the children. 15 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2709670 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that team meetings provide staff members with the opportunity to learn from internal and independent monitoring findings. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the location of the premises and ensure that all risks in the local area are properly considered and that strategies for managing them are documented. This particularly refers to ensuring that all risks in the locality are identified and the contact details of all emergency services are identified, along with their response times in the event of an emergency. (‘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: 2709670 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Carbrey Care Hempsted Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 3 Ambrose House, Meteor Court, Barnett Way, Barnwood, Gloucester, Gloucestershire GL4 3GG

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Inspector

Sharron Escott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2709670 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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