Children's Home run by Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited in Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2775075 1 Registered provider: Flourish Gloucestershire Limited

p.1

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 offers care for up to three children. The provider states in the home’s statement of purpose that it provides care for children who have experienced social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were registered with Ofsted in April 2024.

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 requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2775075 2

p.1

Recent inspection history

This is the home’s first inspection since registering with Ofsted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775075 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before children move in, they are provided with the ‘children’s guide to the home’ to help them to understand what it might be like for them to live there. Children are also supported to visit the home, choose their bedroom, and select their own furniture. This helps children to start to develop an early sense of belonging, with one child commenting that ‘[the home] is a real home and it is cosy’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite only living in the home for a short period of time, children have settled in well and are continuing to make progress. All children are supported to attend school or college, prepare for their exams, and think about what they would like to do in the future. As a result, children are helped to believe in themselves and are actively pursuing their chosen path of study and future career.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are also supported to participate in a range of enjoyable activities, from spending time with their friends and family, receiving beauty treatments, playing in the park, and online gaming. Staff help children to strike a healthy balance between time spent gaming and doing other fun activities.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff interactions with children are kind, caring and warm, and staff participate in the activities that children enjoy. There are nice conversations, positive encouragement, and good-humoured competition. Staff have developed trusting relationships with children, which means that children enjoy spending time with them and feel relaxed and comfortable in their presence.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create memory for the children, which serve as a nice keepsake of the experiences that they have shared with staff and the other children in the home. One child has started to create a memory book for their pet rabbit, which illustrates their commitment to capturing the positive times that they are sharing in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being helped to develop some of the important skills that they will likely need in the future, including cooking, doing laundry, and using public transport. However, no consideration has been given to supporting children to develop their understanding of medication, how it is safely managed, or how it should be taken.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External professionals can identify the progress that their children are making. They recognise the contribution that staff have made towards this; both because of the care that they are providing and the relationships that they have built with their children.

p.3

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

Staff know the children well and can recognise when something is bothering them. This allows staff to ‘check in’ with children and offer them additional support and nurture. As a result, children are assured that they are cared for, and they are supported to share Inspection report for children’s home: 2775075 4 their worries or concerns so that staff can offer advice and guidance. Children say that they feel safe in this home and that the staff listen to them and look after them.

p.3

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

Staff talk to children about how to keep themselves safe online and the risks that they could be exposed to. As a result, children have become more confident and able to seek out staff for advice and guidance when they are worried about what they have seen online. However, it is not always clear what guidance staff have given, or what actions they have taken, to help safeguard children.

p.4

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

Children’s plans are detailed and support staff to understand children’s needs and help them to keep safe. Staff use a range of strategies to help children to express themselves safely. Regular reviews ensure that staff are kept up to date and informed about any changes to the children’s plans.

p.4

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

Restraint has not been used in this home as staff are finding more positive ways to support children.. Similarly, children have not felt as though they have needed to run away or engage in other behaviours that adults consider risky as a means to communicate their worries.

p.4

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

When children raise concerns about the practice of staff, managers respond swiftly to keep children safe and share the concerns with the relevant external professionals. Following an investigation into the actions of staff, children are provided with an overview of the outcomes that have been agreed so that they are assured that they have been listened to and protected. When appropriate, staff quickly apologise to children for their ill-informed behaviour and seek to repair their relationship.

p.4

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

Leaders and managers use safer recruitment checks to help determine the suitability of staff to work with children before they enter the home. Leaders and managers also work closely with staffing agencies to assure themselves that the same standards of safer recruitment checks are rigorously applied before agency-employed staff work in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager is receptive of feedback and is developing an early understanding of the strengths of the home and the areas for development. However, leader’s and manager’s monitoring of the home has failed to recognise some of the vulnerabilities that have been identified during this inspection.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some medication administration records are unclear, as staff have not followed medical advice or the agreed auditing procedures. As a result, it is not always clear whether children have taken their medication or what medication is being stored by the home. Checks to ensure accurate administration records have not been sufficient to address this shortfall. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775075 5 Furthermore, children’s health records are not always clear about their health needs or what action is required to support the child to access appropriate medical services. There is a lack of oversight and follow up, which means that it is not always clear what needs to be done to meet children’s health needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers consider the needs of the children when identifying relevant training opportunities for staff to ensure that they have the skills that they require to support children effectively. When children’s needs change, leaders and managers are open to providing additional training opportunities to staff.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager says that the staff work well together and are motivated to provide good-quality care to the children that they look after. The manager feels supported by the staff, and the staff feel supported by the manager. Staff say that they enjoy working in the home and that the registered manager ‘is very good at listening to the children and putting their needs first’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775075 6

p.5

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.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(f)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should routinely monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the care and support that is provided by staff to children. This should help staff to identify when children would benefit from additional support and guidance. This specifically relates to ensuring that children's health needs are being met, and that the advice and guidance that is provided to children is of good quality and appropriately followed up. Furthermore, oversight and monitoring should support the registered person to identify areas for improvement. 30 August 2024

p.6

Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 30 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2775075 7 that staff help each child to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child's well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(b) (2)(a)(iv))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children are supported to develop an understanding of their medication and how to safely store and administer it, in line with guidance and their age and ability.

p.7

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: 2775075 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Flourish Gloucestershire Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Summers

p.8

Inspectors

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Emma Fryer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2775075 9 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.8

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.

p.9

Inspectors

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.9

Inspectors

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

p.9

Inspectors

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

p.9