Children's Home run by Berry Gifford Limited in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report children's home: 2739238 1 Registered provider: Berry Gifford LTD

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is privately run and provides care for up to two children.

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Information about this children's home

The home is led by a manager registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home, one had recently moved from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: Not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2739238 2

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improvement to be good

Overall, the experience and progress of children require improvement. This is due to staff not effectively responding to risks and inconsistent oversight of the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff form positive and supportive relationships with children. Children feel able to approach staff and ask for their help. Children say they feel safe and like living in the home. Children are encouraged to personalise the home and have pets. One child has recently welcomed two guineapigs to the home which they enjoy.

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improvement to be good

The language used in the children’s written records is often child-friendly and emotionally warm. However, other records lack detail and do not reflect children’s lived experiences whilst living in the home. This results in a lack of factual accuracy in records.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to take part in a variety of activities and experiences. One child recently went to the seaside for the first time. The different opportunities support children to build on their confidence. Children are consulted on what they would like to do, and this is acted upon. This ensures children feel listened to.

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improvement to be good

Some staff do not have the necessary training to support the children in their care. This impacts on their ability to manage conflict and respond appropriately. An example of this is staff having to seek police assistance when unable to de-escalate a child's behaviour. This had a negative impact for the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff fail to raise significant maintenance hazards in the home. This includes a metal pole and broken glass being accessible to children. Upon becoming aware, staff acted straight away to remedy this.

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improvement to be good

Although documents are updated to support staff to understand how to keep children safe. These plans are not consistently followed by staff. This results in children receiving inconsistent care.

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improvement to be good

When incidents in the home occur, staff are responsive and ensure that children are kept safe. However, the recordings of discussions with children following these are poor. Staff do not consistently support children to explore the cause of their emotions or understand the impact of their behaviour. Inspection report children's home: 2739238 3 The location risk assessment does not fully reflect issues within the community that have the potential to impact on children's safety. For example, a local shop selling lighters to children.

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

The manager is a strong advocate for the children. She speaks warmly of the children and shows compassion and care for them. Children actively seek out the manager to spend time with her.

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

Professional supervision for staff is regular and includes conversations about how care practice can be improved to support children. Actions set for staff in supervision are not always followed through, which impacts on the quality of care given to the children. The manager does not always keep a record of discussions or share these with the supervisee.

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

Staff say they feel supported by the leadership team. One member of staff said, 'this home is the best home that I have ever worked at. I feel valued and appreciated for the work that I do'. Staff feel that the team have a high level of morale.

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

The manager does not have consistent oversight of the home. Recorded oversight does not always recognise the need for practice development to improve children's quality of care. Staff do not always follow instruction from the manager. The manager also lacks confidence in asserting her authority. For example, one member of staff remained at the home despite being asked to leave by the manager following an incident.

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

Partnership working is a strength. Staff work effectively with families, education professionals and external professionals with the aim of improving outcomes for children. The manager is mindful that her staff team is still very new and needs further development and upskilling. Part of the development of the staff team is to ensure that all training is accessed and up to date.

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

No shortfalls were found in relation to staff being safely recruited. Therefore, the requirement set at the registration visit has been met. Inspection report children's home: 2739238 4

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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, 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(v)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular this relates to the registered person ensuring that the home and garden are safe for children and free from any possible hazards. 07 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that each child's relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14(1)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular this relates to the registered person ensuring that staff follow children’s individual care plans. 07 August 2024

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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 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose; 07 August 2024 Inspection report children's home: 2739238 5 (ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 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. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(a)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular this relates to the registered person ensuring that staff have the skills, knowledge and experience to meet the needs of the children in their care. It also relates to ensuring that staff work in line with the homes statement of purpose and specified care approach.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home's location and strategies for managing these. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions are kept and ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.4)

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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 children's home: 2739238 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Berry Gifford Ltd, Unit 2, Mercury Park, Amber Close, Tamworth B77 4RP

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Inspectors

Ellen Monk, social care inspector Lauren Barwell, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 2739238 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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