Children's home run by GSM Ardent Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2669323 1 Registered provider: GSM Ardent Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2669323 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2669323 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm and welcoming home. They have helped staff to decorate their home. One child said, ‘When I arrived, I said it wasn’t very colourful but now look at it. It’s much better.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time with each other. They have access to many resources, including musical instruments and computer consoles. This helps to develop their creative and social skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they are happy and that they feel listened to. They also talk to staff openly if they have worries. Children do lots of activities which they enjoy and make progress with their emotional health and well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly support children in school. This ensures that children receive consistent support from staff who know them well. One teacher felt that children had improved their educational outcomes as a direct result of the support provided by staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff do not always receive relevant plans from children’s local authorities. This means that staff are not able to consistently plan for children’s care. It also affects children when they move in and out of their home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s case records are child-friendly and include photos of children. Staff also use a ‘picture story’ style when recording daily logs and direct work. This encourages children to read and add to their documents.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team promotes the importance of family time. This means that children have regular time with people who are important to them. One parent said, ‘They go above and beyond with contact and help, [name of child] to see all his sisters and brothers too.’

p.3

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

Staff are aware of children’s vulnerabilities and follow clear strategies to keep them safe. When children are missing from home, staff provide a consistent and robust response. They work alongside a range of agencies in the community to support children to return home.

p.3

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted before starting work. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

p.3

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

Leaders regularly review risk management plans to ensure that they meet children’s needs. Staff amend risk management plans to reflect any changes to children’s needs. This helps staff to provide a safe and consistent approach. Inspection report for children’s home: 2669323 4 Leaders and managers do not consistently report safeguarding concerns to Ofsted without delay. This means that, on some occasions, the regulator’s oversight is limited.

p.3

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

Staff use positive behaviour approaches, supported by therapeutic training. This avoids any use of negative or punitive measures to manage children’s behaviour. Children said that they enjoy receiving consistent rewards for positive behaviour.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children well and works hard to create a warm and homely environment for them to live in. The manager has made several improvements since the last inspection and has high ambitions for the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular supervision and team meetings with their manager and feel supported in their roles. They are able to reflect on incidents and identify areas for development. One worker said, ‘I can’t stress enough how well I feel supported. It feels so relaxed and they [managers and staff] have been so welcoming.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has improved the monitoring and review systems at the home. This helps the manager to identify the strengths and weaknesses and to ensure that action is taken to address any shortfalls.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers develop close working relationships with voluntary and statutory agencies. This means that children access support in the community as part of a consistent and agreed approach. However, the manager and staff are not aware of the local offer, which sets out the support available for children with special educational needs or disabilities. This is a missed opportunity to access additional resources for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular training which helps them to better understand and meet children’s needs. Children also have relevant training with staff to increase their knowledge and understanding of issues. As a result, one child was able to communicate better with their sibling.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager carries out a quality of care review report every six months. However, this does not consistently include or evaluate the opinions of children, parents and placing authorities. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to evaluate a range of opinions to improve children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2669323 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

p.5

Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)(c))

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, to ensure that each child’s statutory plans are available for staff to follow. Also, to ensure that all children have a positive planned experience when moving on from the home. 21 December

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.5

Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

p.5

Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

p.5

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

p.5

Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — 21 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2669323 6 is instigated; or

p.5

Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

p.6

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that managers and staff are aware of the local offer setting out the support available for children with special educational needs or disabilities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.4)  The registered person should ensure that their review of the quality of care is informed by the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

p.6

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: 2669323 7

p.6

Inspectors

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2669323 8 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.

p.7

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8