Children's Home run by Gravitas Care Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: 2636225 1 Registered provider: Gravitas Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The suitably experienced and qualified manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023. She also manages another children’s home that is owned by this company.

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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 good

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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

Date of last inspection: 26 October 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2636225 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2636225 3

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improvement to be good

Children do not always make good progress while they live in this home. Staff do not have the specialist skills to support children who cannot control their anger. This means that the police are sometimes called to help deal with children’s unwanted behaviours, or take them into custody to keep them or others safe. Children have been arrested multiple times for assaulting staff. They have also been convicted. This can impact on children’s life chances and their self-worth.

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improvement to be good

Staff try to build trusted relationships with children. This is not always achieved or sustained. Some staff struggle to effectively interact and communicate with children in distress. This leads to fraught relationships between staff and children, typified by children not following instructions, or getting into verbal conflict with staff. This does not produce an environment where children flourish.

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improvement to be good

When children have experienced previous trauma, this is acknowledged by staff. However, some staff have not been trained to understand how this might translate into or affect some behaviours that children display. This lack of understanding is evident in some of the home’s records, which sometimes use blaming language towards children for their behaviour. This does not encourage the children to have a positive view of themselves.

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improvement to be good

Children do not always have a good experience of moving in or out of the home. Staff work with others to try to make transitions smooth, but this is not always achieved. Sometimes, children leave with very little preparation. This does not minimise them experiencing feelings of rejection or insecurity.

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improvement to be good

Some aspects of children’s health needs are well met. Staff work particularly effectively on areas such as improved diet and weight management. However, when children need specialist support, or assessment, staff are not always sufficiently tenacious in securing the right service. This causes a delay in children getting the help they need. It also means that staff do not have insight into the most-effective ways of supporting children.

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improvement to be good

Children’s views are gathered through regular focused conversations. This key work is a strength of the home, both in the frequency and the focus. Children are encouraged to choose how they spend their time on a day-to-day basis. They also contribute to decisions about weekly menus or purchases for the home or for themselves.

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improvement to be good

Staff educate children on how to keep safe. Staff discuss the safe use of the internet and mobile phones. They also talk about topics such as relationships and sexuality. This helps children to learn things that will help them as an adult. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636225 4

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improvement to be good

The unpredictability of incidents where children display challenging behaviours results in both children and adults being vulnerable and at risk of injury. Staff’s inability to effectively manage behaviours means that there is damage to the home, or harm to staff. The reliance on calling for police support was also noted at the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

On the occasions when children go missing from the home, staff act appropriately. They take swift action in line with agreed plans to find and return children safely. However, when children return home, interviews with an independent person are not always provided. This does not align with statutory guidance and misses the opportunity to understand push and pull factors for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff practice is to use motion sensors to monitor if children go downstairs during the night, or outside the home. These measures, while promoting safety, are not subject to regular review. This means that unnecessary restrictions may be being placed on children, which prevents the premises feeling like a family home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments record up-to-date information and set out clear strategies to mitigate risks. These records are regularly reviewed and well understood by staff. This promotes keeping children safe, for example, when using social media or when spending time in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been an outgoing and an incoming manager since the last inspection. The new and now registered manager has addressed specific shortfalls that were identified at the last inspection. She has learned from the negative experiences that children have had and made improvements since she came to the home. She has a clear vision of the culture that she wants to embed in the home. Staff respect her and understand and share her vision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has introduced several new initiatives and processes to improve the management oversight of the home. Along with new systems for collecting the children’s wishes and feelings, there are now checklists for ensuring that children are safeguarded. This means that leaders and managers can be assured that staff are working effectively and consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers now deliver a revised induction programme for staff. This new content provides a solid foundation, and helps staff to understand the nurturing and therapeutic approach that will be introduced to benefit children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previous home’s manager completed a quality-of-care review but did not submit the report to the regulator. This prevents the regulator from understanding how the home is developing. However, this failure did not significantly impact on the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636225 5 The workforce development plan has been reviewed, but does not contain reflection or evaluation. By expanding on this plan, the registered manager could be more effective in identifying staff’s strengths and weaknesses, and what is needed to help them best support the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Links with relevant professionals promote staff practice, which is informed by psychological theories. This practice is being developed by the registered manager and is starting to give staff confidence to provide individualised support to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2636225 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

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are trained in and developing therapeutic skills, trauma-informed practices and other relevant areas as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. 22 December

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended 22 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2636225 7 that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d)) 22 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person 22 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2636225 8 intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, just as in a family home, children are able to access all shared areas of their home, unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded, and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10 )  The registered person should ensure that children’s behaviour is not unnecessarily criminalised. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.40)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce

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Recommendations

related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1. This should show the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the home and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose. It should also detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training, such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications; detail the process for managing and improving poor performance; detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice and keep appropriate records for staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, Inspection report for children’s home: 2636225 9

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Recommendations

and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2636225 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Gravitas Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1-3, Annes Place, Pellon Lane, Halifax HX1 5RB

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Inspector

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2636225 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 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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