Children's home run by Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2631690 1 Registered provider: Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and provides care for up to three children who have learning difficulties and may have autism and/or social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in April 2021.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

p.1

outstanding

Date of last inspection: 28 February 2023

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2631690 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2023 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2631690 3

p.2

outstanding

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved from the home and two children have moved into the home.

p.3

outstanding

Moves to and from the home are well planned and undertaken at a pace that suits the child. As a result, children settle quickly into the home and this helps to reduce any impact on other children living there.

p.3

outstanding

Children are cared for by a consistent and committed staff team who want the very best for the children in their care. As a result of the excellent care and planning by staff, children make exceptional progress. For one child, the unexpected progress meant they were able to move successfully to a foster placement, where they continue to flourish. Another child has been supported by staff with their self-care skills. As a result, this has improved their self-esteem.

p.3

outstanding

Staff help children to access a variety of specialised health services which can meet childrens needs. For example, one child who would not previously visit the dentist has attended and received much needed treatment.

p.3

outstanding

Children’s education is prioritised. The manager is passionate about children having the right support and educational provision. She has advocated for children who have struggled in education and been proactive in ensuring children have an appropriate provision. As a result, even those children who were the most reluctant of attenders before moving to the home are now attending regularly and enjoying school.

p.3

outstanding

Staff help children to enjoy a wide variety of activities and experiences. Children enjoy going to trampoline parks, on trips to the beach and parks, eating in restaurants and going shopping. As a result, children have gained increased confidence in being out in public places.

p.3

outstanding

Relationships that staff have with families and professionals are exceptional. There is excellent multi-agency working. All work together to ensure the best outcomes for children, for example, seeking support from speech and language services to help staff support a child’s communication.

p.3

outstanding

Staff listen to children. They have developed communication systems which empower children to express their views, wishes and feelings. Staff understand the subtleties of children’s communication. When children indicate things they want or do not want, staff listen and make changes so that children feel valued and respected. Inspection report for children’s home: 2631690 4 Some children have specific rituals that they must work through before they can move on to the next task. Staff are patient and support the children’s needs, thus reducing any anxieties.

p.3

outstanding

Staff help children to keep in touch with their families and others who are important to them. Staff arrange video calls, send photos, written updates and support visits, even if this means a journey from the home. As a result, children feel connected and a part of their family, despite living away from home.

p.4

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

Staff know the children well and understand their risks. They have developed plans which clearly detail children’s risks and how best to manage those risks.

p.4

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

On occasions, staff need to use physical intervention to keep children safe. This is only used when necessary and records include the required detail. The need for staff to use physical intervention has reduced over time.

p.4

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

Children do not go missing from the home. Staff are aware of children’s vulnerabilities and what action to take if they were to wander off from staff or from the home. To reduce the risk of children leaving the home without staff’s knowledge, a high chain has been fitted to the front door. Staff know when it should be used, however, this has not been included in the home’s fire risk assessment.

p.4

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

When concerns about staff practice arise, managers take prompt action to report and investigate. When necessary, managers take further action to suspend staff until investigations are concluded. Learning from concerns is shared with staff. However, this learning needs to be fully embedded so that staff are aware of the need to report even the smallest concern promptly.

p.4

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

Fire evacuation practice takes place with staff and children. Staff are creative in helping children who struggle with loud noises to understand the fire evacuation procedure. However, during this inspection, a fire door in the utility room had items placed in front of it. This was rectified at the time but could have meant that staff and children were not able to exit promptly in an emergency.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has exceptionally high expectations for herself and the staff team. She knows the children well and is aspirational and creative in finding ways to improve the care given to children. Children’s progress is exceptional from their starting points. There have been no placement breakdowns.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is very child-focused and is proactive in advocating for children. In the case of one child who had made excellent progress, the manager challenged the views of those who thought that a move to a foster placement was not achievable. As a result, the child has moved to a foster placement and continues to progress well. Inspection report for children’s home: 2631690 5 The manager has advocated on behalf of children when specialist health services, such as a dentist who understands the needs of children with a disability or autism, have not been available. As a result of her tenacity, a specialist service for children has been created which not only provides dental care to children at the home but services to children in the wider community.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has been creative in finding ways for children to express their views. Feedback has been obtained through the use of individualised communication packages, along with feedback from staff’s observations of children. This has resulted in more space being made available to meet children’s sensory needs and moving one child to another bedroom. Children actively use those spaces and the child who moved rooms is much more settled.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are very complimentary about the support given by the manager. They say she is always present and offers advice and support when needed. Staff say they have opportunities to discuss and share their ideas, which the manager uses to further improve the care given at the home. This has helped staff develop their confidence and have a shared vision for the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Training is continually evolving, with the manager researching and finding new more appropriate training for the staff team, much of which is child specific. This level of learning means staff have the skills to care for the children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has robust monitoring systems. The monitoring identified a potential shortfall in one worker’s practice. Without this level of monitoring, poor practice could have continued.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals and families spoken to were complimentary about the leadership of the home and they had confidence in leaders to provide excellent care to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2631690 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Specifically, that there are not unnecessary restrictions from door locks and that fire exits are kept clear. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that individual members of staff in the home are engaged in the safeguarding culture of the home so they understand what they would need to do if they found other staff misusing or abusing their position to the detriment of the safety of a child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14)

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: 2631690 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 27 Westend Office Suites, Westend, Stonehouse GL10 3FA

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Summers

p.7

Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2631690 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector

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

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8