Children's home run by Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 1 Registered provider: Flourish Gloucestershire Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a manager who registered with Ofsted in September 2023.

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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

Date of last inspection: Not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two lived at the home

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into the home have been positive. The manager had considered the suitability of each child for the home and each other. Children’s moves to the home were well planned and at a pace that helped the children settle quickly into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Even though children have only lived at the home for a short time, staff have begun to form positive relationships with them. As a result, children are benefiting from the staff’s support and have begun to make progress, for example becoming more independent and improving their communication skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed plans for children. However, some aspects of those plans do not contain all the detail needed to help staff fully understand how to support children’s individual needs. Consequently, children experience some inconsistency in the approach used by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are supporting children with their health. Staff raise concerns with health professionals and seek further advice when needed. For one child who has a rare health condition, the manager has done his own research, gained information and shared this with the staff team to inform how they can better care for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children are in education. One child has regular educational attendance and is progressing. Another child has yet to have an education provision identified. The manager has been proactive in meeting with education colleagues to find a suitable placement. In the meantime, staff have developed a timetable along with resources so that the child has structure to their day that includes learning opportunities. This will help prepare the child for a return to formal education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to enjoy many social opportunities. Children enjoy activities together but also have opportunities to enjoy time away, doing things they like. One child takes part in an after-school football team. Staff take children swimming, shopping, out for walks, to the trampoline parks and the community multi-sensory environment. Children have also visited a safari park. Recently, staff made sure children did not miss out on Christmas celebrations; the house was decorated, and children had lots of presents from Father Christmas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to understand their culture. Children have opportunities to enjoy foods similar to what they eat at home, wear traditional dress, watch television programmes and listen to music that is familiar to them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 3 Staff actively encourage families to continue to be part of their children’s lives. Parents who can visit their child at the home are encouraged to get involved in the child’s care at the home. Staff also take children to visit families and support those visits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One parent spoken to was very complimentary about the care, saying that if their child cannot be at home with them, then this home is where they would want them to live.

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

Staff keep children safe. Plans are in place that identify risks to children and the action staff need to take to reduce those risks. These are reviewed when incidents occur to see what else can be done to keep children safe.

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

When concerns arise about staff practice, managers take action to report and investigate. When needed, staff are suspended while investigations take place. Learning from incidents is taken seriously. The manager has made sure staff have had additional training and guidance on expectations of behaviour, safeguarding children and whistle-blowing. Leaders have also made improvements to the induction training for new staff. This has strengthened staff’s learning about safeguarding children and whistle-blowing.

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

On occasions, children can exhibit behaviours that challenge staff. However, staff have a good understanding of the children and use positive distraction to defuse situations. As a result, staff have not needed to use physical interventions to keep children safe.

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

High staffing ratios ensure there are sufficient staff provide care. Children have not gone missing from the home. Due to the children’s ages and vulnerabilities, there are plans in place for staff to follow if children were to go missing from the home or when out in the community with staff.

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

The location of the home is near a lake. This is identified in the home’s location assessment, as well as there being a life preserve ring next to the lake. However, the assessment does not identify the action staff should take if a child enters the water.

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

The manager has made sure the home’s fire evacuation procedures are in place. He has assessed any barriers to quick evacuation, along with the action staff are to take.

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

Staff recruited to the home, including agency staff, are recruited following safe recruitment procedures. This method of recruitment reduces the risk of those who should not work with children from doing so. Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new to the role. He has shown great commitment to his responsibility. He knows the children well and has high expectations for himself, his staff and the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has plans in place to make the necessary improvements. He knows his staff team well and has identified areas for their development. This will enable the team to take more responsibility and improve their decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has carefully considered the suitability of children moving to the home. However, he has not fully recorded how he has come to those decisions, any impact on other children living at the home or any additional training or resources that may be needed. This could mean areas of risk not being fully identified and managed, in addition to resources not being requested.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good multi-agency working. The manager has been proactive in trying to source education for one child and continues to chase education colleagues to ensure a placement is available that meets the child’s needs. He has formed positive relationships with other professionals and children’s families. In addition, he seeks advice and support from others so that children receive the best possible support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about the support given by managers and that they receive regular supervision sessions. The manager is visible, works directly alongside staff and has an open-door policy. This means that staff can discuss their concerns at any time. As a result, the manager can give feedback to staff promptly, offer on-the-spot advice and address staff’s performance without delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a wide variety of training to support their learning and improve their knowledge. Those who are not yet qualified are enrolled promptly. Staff attend regular team meetings, which support their knowledge. This includes having clinical professionals give support, advice and informal learning sessions to staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 5

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s plans have the detail needed to help staff provide consistent care and that information from professionals is considered and incorporated into children’s plans . 1 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1)(2))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to reviewing the location assessment when new children may move to the home to ensure all risks can be safely managed. 1 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: 2741488 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Flourish Gloucestershire Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Summers

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Inspector

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 8 regulates and inspects 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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