Children's Home run by Gracewells Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 1 Registered provider: Gracewells Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. The home provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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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: 2577168 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2023 Full Good 11/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with good-quality care from an experienced staff team. As a result, children are making good progress in most areas of their lives. Children experience a warm and relaxed environment and said that they are happy living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive relationships with the staff and can identify trusted adults who they can speak to. When children raise issues regarding any member of staff, these are fully investigated by the registered manager. This means that children feel confident their views are listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to meet their health and well-being needs. Staff encourage children’s attendance at medical appointments and seek therapeutic support from external agencies when children need additional support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in their education. When children are not attending school, the registered manager ensures that there is an education plan in place for children to follow at home. Children are encouraged by staff to complete homework, although one school professional reported that this is an area that could still improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children are currently undertaking a programme to prepare them for semi- independence. Staff support the children to learn essential skills such as cooking and home maintenance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff nurture children’s relationships with family members and those who are important to them. Children are encouraged to develop their relationships with peers and staff promote a family-based environment in the home. During the inspection, one child had two friends visit the home for tea, which was observed to be natural and confirmed by children to be a regular occurrence.

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

The registered manager has developed individual strategies for children that have supported a significant reduction in the number of missing-from-home incidents. Protocols remain in place and are followed consistently by staff in the event a child is missing, which ensures that children return as quickly and safely as possible.

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

Physical intervention is rarely used in the home and always as a last resort. Staff have the skills to de-escalate situations effectively, negating the need for children to be held. Consequently, there has been only one recorded incident of physical intervention since the last inspection. Debriefs with the staff and children involved established that the intervention was appropriate and proportionate. Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 4 Clear boundaries and routines are in place in the home to help children understand acceptable behaviours. This provides children with safe and predictable care. Praise and rewards are used regularly to promote positive behaviour. Occasionally, consequences are used and these are restorative in nature. Staff feel that, at times, approaches to consequences can be inconsistent; however, this has been addressed within team discussions.

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

Children’s risk-assessment plans consider all known areas of risk and are regularly reviewed by the registered manager. The assessments include actions for staff to reduce these risks, but strategies are not always specific or individual to children. This can lead to inconsistent responses from the staff team.

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

Most recorded incidents involving children have occurred when they are out in the community. Staff have completed direct work with children around these specific incidents and have encouraged children to make more-informed choices. Children have responded well and incidents have reduced. However, on one occasion, staff did not ensure that relevant professionals were informed of a serious incident involving a child when out in the community. An internal investigation was completed by senior leaders, which identified shortfalls in staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and the home is fully staffed. Staff feel supported by the manager and enjoy working in the home. Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. Staff are provided with a clear overview of any newly identified areas for support. This ensures that staff are fully aware of the children’s current needs. The responsible individual regularly attends team meetings to offer training, support and advice about wider company changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervision sessions, which are reflective and supportive. However, there have been occasions when single-subject discussions have replaced monthly supervision sessions. This has left some staff feeling that they have missed opportunities to discuss other areas of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the children’s needs and areas of vulnerability. There is clear evidence of managerial oversight and evaluation of key-work sessions completed by staff. Despite this, there are shortfalls in recordings by staff that the manager has not identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A small number of incidents have occurred where staff have not approached a situation appropriately. The manager and leaders have responded quickly and identified training needs for individual staff members. Where necessary, the registered manager has conducted investigations of staff members’ practice. These have been thorough and proportionate, with the findings shared with all relevant professionals. Staff members have subsequently received additional support and have completed reparation work with children and other practitioners where required. One social worker reported that she was kept fully informed and agreed with the response from senior management. Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 5 Staff engage in mandatory training and have opportunities to attend subject-specific training. The registered manager is currently planning team training specific to the individual needs of the children currently living in the home. However, the registered

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

manager’s tracking tool is not kept up to date, and dates for when training needs to be refreshed are not accurate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has completed a location risk assessment. This includes the risks that children may face in the local community. However, when conducting the review, the registered manager has not ascertained the views of relevant people. Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must develop an effective monitoring system to identify shortfalls in practice and drive forward improvements.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that there is a clear and effective system in place to enable them to accurately review staff’s training. 18 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; 18 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 7 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the children’s individual risk-management plans provide staff with clear strategies to manage risk and that staff are consistent in identifying risks to children.

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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

In particular, the registered person must ensure that consultation takes place with relevant persons and that their views are considered when reviewing the location of the premises. 18 April 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff are consistent in their approaches to managing behaviour, and that expectations of children are clear and unambiguous. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)  The registered person should ensure that all staff are provided with regular supervision sessions that enable them to reflect on all areas of their practice and that single-subject discussions do not replace holistic sessions. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 8

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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: 2577168 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Gracewells Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 21 Jubilee House, East Beach, Lytham, Lancashire FY8 5FT

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Inspector

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 10 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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