Children's Home run by Step-A-Side Company Limited in Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 1 SC030650 Registered provider: Step-A-Side Company 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 long-term care and short breaks for a maximum of five children with complex behaviours and/or learning disabilities. At the time of this inspection, four children lived in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since August 2017.

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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: SC030650 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2023 Full Good 16/02/2022 Full Good 04/09/2019 Full Good 31/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living at this home and receive good-quality and nurturing care from the staff, who understand their needs. Children told the inspector that they feel happy at this home and that the staff are nice and kind.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s communication needs and build positive and trusting relationships with them. These relationships contribute to children making good progress. For example, staff have worked effectively with one child to help them to develop strategies for managing difficult feelings safely. This child is now more able to talk to the adults in the home about their worries and, as a result, there has been a significant decrease in the number of incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school or college regularly. Education professionals reported that the staff support children well in their education. When children are reluctant or anxious to attend school, the staff work well with professionals and families to overcome these difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves to and from the home are planned well and in consultation with professionals working with the child and the home’s own therapeutic service. Prior to any move to the home, children’s needs are considered alongside the skills and experience of the staff team and the needs of the children already living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For older children, moves from the home are planned well in advance. Managers advocate strongly for children with external professionals to ensure that appropriate support is in place. For example, planning has started for one child who is due to turn 18 years old in 2024. This child has been well supported to share his views and to understand the decisions that are being made about his care. Children’s wishes and feelings are not consistently captured in records. When these are recorded, it is not always clear what actions have been taken in response to requests from children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. Children can personalise their bedrooms and choose colours for some communal areas of the home.

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

Children told the inspector that they feel safe and happy at this home and able to share with staff any concerns they have.

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

Staff provide consistent routines and boundaries and support children to build on their understanding of why these are important. This predictable and empathetic care has helped children to feel settled and secure. As a result, there has been a low number of incidents overall for several months. Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 4 When incidents do take place, staff generally respond appropriately. Records of incidents include debriefs with children and staff, and management oversight is visible across records. However, the records for one incident did not clearly detail any impact on another child who was present, or that they were spoken to by staff afterwards.

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

Restraint is rarely used at this home, with one incident taking place since the previous inspection. This restraint was used in line with the child’s care plan and to prevent serious injury.

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

Safeguarding concerns are responded to effectively, with relevant procedures and processes followed. Concerns are reported promptly, and appropriate action is taken to ensure that children are safe.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the processes to follow in the event of a safeguarding concern or allegation being made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and child-focused manager oversees the home, and staff value her support and leadership. Staff enjoy working at this home and the staff team is largely settled and stable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication and collaborative working with professionals and parents are a strength of this home. Professionals and a parent spoken to were positive about the communication from the manager and the quality of care provided to children by the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has recently taken on the role of registered manager at a second home within the same organisation. A deputy manager has been appointed to support management oversight at both homes. Staff spoken to feel that this transition had been managed well and that they continue to be well supported by managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When new staff join the team, they are given an appropriate induction and training. Newer members of the staff team reported feeling well supported by colleagues and managers and able to ask questions if needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision takes place regularly and is used by staff to reflect on their practice. Actions identified at previous meetings are clearly recorded and reviewed, and the progress updated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the needs and risks of the children living here. Management oversight is evident across records, and practice is underpinned by detailed risk assessments and care plans. However, these documents are not always updated regularly, and some contain outdated information. As a result, guidance to staff on how best to support children is not always up to date. The skills and experience of the staff team and the generally settled nature of the home Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 5 means that this has not had any significant impact on the care provided to the children at present. However, the manager acknowledges that there is a need for records to be clearer to ensure that children continue to receive consistent care and responses in the longer term.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager advised the inspector that she has identified a need for the format of children’s care and support plans to be reviewed to make them more useful and workable documents. This is an area of development for the home that the manager plans to address within the next three to six months. Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 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

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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s plans, risk assessments and guidance to staff are regularly reviewed and updated so that they reflect children’s current needs. 31 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s wishes and feelings are sought regularly and clearly recorded. This should include any follow-up actions that have been taken as a result. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)

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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: SC030650 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Step-A-Side Company Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: STEP-A-SIDE COMPANY LTD, 29 Market Place, Coleford, Gloucestershire GL16 8AA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rachel Carwardine

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Inspector

Janet Jauregui, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 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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