Children's Home run by Global Access Care Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2718082 1 Registered provider: Global Access Care 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. It provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager were registered with Ofsted in April. This is the home’s first inspection since registration.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2718082 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since registration, the home has cared for one child. The child has been living at the home for a couple of months. The child had a well-planned move into the home. This time enabled the staff to become familiar with the child’s specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a home that is welcoming and feels like a family home. The child has chosen items to personalise their bedroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before the child moved into the home, their school attendance was sporadic. Staff are good at encouraging the child to attend school. This includes taking them to school in the morning and picking them up at the end of the school day. As a result, the child is now attending school full time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has specific health needs. Before the child moved into the home, the staff were trained in how to meet their health needs. Staff work closely with health professionals and teachers to ensure that the child’s health needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff try hard to keep a good working relationship with the child. Staff use various methods to support the child to engage while also recognising the child’s rights to also have their own space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is provided with opportunities to make their wishes and views known. Staff spend time with the child each week and they plan together what activities the child wants to do or what meals they want to have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the child’s progress in their increased willingness to engage. This includes participating in activities and being more open to discuss their health needs.

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

There is a robust risk assessment in place. This provides staff with essential details about how to support the child when concerns arise. The staff work closely together to ensure that everyone understands the child’s behaviour and how best to respond.

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

The child has not gone missing from the home. Staff are aware of protocols that must be followed if the child was to go missing.

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

There has only been one incident since the child moved in and this was managed well by the staff, including verbal support to de-escalate the child’s behaviour.

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

At times, the child can struggle with their emotions. Staff are skilled in picking up the early signs that the child may be struggling and apply a therapeutic parenting approach. This early help enables situations to be quickly de-escalated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2718082 3 Staff understand the risks posed to the child by having a mobile phone that they can use to access social media and the internet. However, the child can be reluctant to allow staff to check their phone. When this happens, the staff are not creative enough to find ways to overcome this reluctance.

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

The child has spoken about self-harming in the past. The staff are vigilant to any changes in the child’s behaviour and carry out room searches as a safeguarding measure. However, staff do not always ensure that they have informed the child of their search or made a record of the outcome.

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good

The home is led by a caring manager who wants the best for children in her care. The manager acknowledges that the home is still in its infancy and further development is needed.

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good

There is an absence of an effective monitoring and review system to help drive improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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good

The manager has not ensured when she has updated the home’s statement of purpose that the revised version is sent to the regulator in line with regulation.

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good

The manager has not picked up the shortfalls in staff recording when bedroom searches are carried out.

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good

The manager has worked hard to develop a good working relationship with external agencies. The manager values the input of other professionals and what support they can provide to her team.

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good

Team members communicate well together to ensure that all essential information is passed on.

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good

Staff receive regular and thorough supervision. The staff are provided with a good level of training, and this has also been specific to the needs of the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2718082 4

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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, The 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 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 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that robust quality assurance and monitoring systems are in place that are used regularly and recorded. 11 December

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to any revised statement of purpose being submitted to HMCI within 28 days. 11 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a child’s bedroom is generally not entered without the child’s permission. It may be necessary to establish routines to allow for bedrooms to be cleaned regularly. Usually, bedrooms should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing Inspection report for children’s home: 2718082 5 that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety, both inside and outside of the home, to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm.

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Recommendations

Regular work should be undertaken with children that focuses on them being safe while online. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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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: 2718082 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Global Access Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office 30, Corby Business Centre, Corby Northamptonshire NN17 5ZB

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Inspector

Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2718082 7 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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