Children's Home run by Gracebridge Care in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2644474 1 Registered provider: Gracebridge Care

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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 owned and provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a suitably experienced manager in post. The manager registered with Ofsted in October 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2644474 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2644474 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved in and one child has left the home. At the time of this inspection, two children lived at the home. Both children were present during the inspection and spoke to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Staff support children to attend their routine health appointments. The organisation’s in-house therapist provides additional support to staff with appropriate approaches to children’s emotional health and well-being. Additionally, staff seek specialist help, when necessary. This includes referrals for counselling. This multi-agency approach means that children’s all-round needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff actively support children’s education. Both children attend school and have good attendance. Staff support children with travelling to school and help them with their homework. One Head of House said, ‘The home staff 1000% supported [Name of child] well and advocate for them.’ One child talked about how important it is for them to attend school, and their future aspirations to have their own podcast, commenting, ‘I want to make something of my life.’ Through close partnership working, staff and education providers support children to be ambitious and achieve the best possible outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience a variety of activities that enhance their social experiences. These include playing football and going to a music studio. Children enjoy yearly holidays and, at times, travel abroad. These experiences help children to learn new skills, contributing to their personal growth and create lasting memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Race and ethnicity are valued and respected in this home. Staff support children to take part in cultural and religious events such as visiting the mosque and celebrating Eid. As a result, this helps children to express and enrich their own identity and feel confident and proud of who they are.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with their families and people who are important to them. Staff help children to contribute to decision-making about these arrangements and actively seek children’s views. This helps children to stay connected with people who are significant in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s home is welcoming, homely and well decorated. Children’s photos are displayed throughout the home and children’s bedrooms are personalised and comfortably furnished. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644474 4

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

The manager and staff understand children’s risks. There are effective systems in place to keep children safe. One child said, ‘Staff look after me well, if they didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.’

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

Staff understand children’s unique needs and ensure their safety. One child moved into the home with a deprivation of liberty order (DOL). Building trust with children and providing individualised care allows staff to respond effectively to the children’s needs. This comprehensive approach led to significant improvements and removal of the DOL. This highly effective practice ensures that all children, including the most vulnerable, experience a strong sense of safety and well-being.

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

Complaints and disclosures are effectively managed. The manager ensures that information is swiftly shared with appropriate professionals to avoid delay and ensure that children are protected from harm. Children are kept informed of any outcomes. This ensures that children feel confident to raise concerns. It also helps them to feel safe and secure in their environment.

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

Staff support children to experience positive emotional well-being. As a result, incidents where children hurt themselves are rare. When incidents do occur, staff take effective action and immediately seek medical help to ensure children’s safety. Referrals are made promptly, so children can access specialist advice and support. This approach helps children to manage their emotions by ensuring that they receive timely medical care and professional guidance.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When they do, staff are efficient and ensure that children are quickly located and safely returned to the home. When children return, staff nurture and educate them on safety and risks. This helps children to learn from their experiences and prevent further incidents occurring.

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

Direct work with children is creative and child focused. Staff use research to inform the practice, which ensures that information discussed is up to date. These sessions are completed using reflective conversations. Additionally, children complete online educational courses on subjects such as social media, internet safety and anti-bullying. Through this work, children can understand risks and work towards their goals.

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

Children’s medication is appropriately stored. However, children’s medication records do not consistently detail the reasons for administering the children’s medication. For example, staff administer medication without recording the reasons why the medication is required. While these recording shortfalls have not had a detrimental impact on the child, the lack of clarity does not support staff to minimise risks.

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

When physical intervention is necessary, it is used safely and as a last resort. The manager oversees all incidents and gives children the opportunity to express their feelings following incidents. However, staff involved in physical interventions are not Inspection report for children’s home: 2644474 5 consistently spoken to promptly. This can have an impact on staff welfare as well as delays in addressing any learning practices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A registered manager leads the home effectively and is supported by an organised deputy manager. Both are caring and keep children at the heart of everything they do. The manager and deputy manager have a good knowledge of the children’s starting points and what they have accomplished since living in the home. They strive to ensure that children benefit from high standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and they support each other. One member of staff said, ‘The team are all on the same page, and we all push for positive outcomes for our children.’ Additionally, staff are complimentary about the support they receive from the manager. The home’s culture promotes teamwork and supports the development and understanding of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders provide staff with a wide range of training that informs their practice to meet children’s individual needs. Team meeting discussions are reflective and provide a comprehensive overview of the progress children have made. The organisation’s clinician offers the team regular consultation that is specific to children’s needs. This allows staff an opportunity to discuss progress, generate ideas and have a consistent approach to the care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff establish strong connections with partner agencies. Professionals are unanimously positive and complimentary about the communication with staff and the care provided to the children. One professional said, ‘The home is one of the best I have worked with, staff are supportive of [Name of child’s] needs and are caring.’ This demonstrates a culture of openness that keeps children’s needs at the heart of decision- making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision offers support to staff to reflect on their practice, discuss children’s needs and improve the quality of care for children. One member of staff commented, ‘Supervision really pushes me to develop.’ Despite this good practice, not all staff receive their supervision in line with the provider’s supervision policy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring systems are mostly effective. However, they do not always identify shortfalls. For example, the manager has not updated the home’s statement of purpose for several months, despite changes with the registered manager and staff currently working in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644474 6

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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

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii) (c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that staff involved in physical interventions are spoken to within timescales and this is recorded. 9 August 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that accurate records are kept of the administration of all medication. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should ensure that elements of the workforce plan are included in the statement of purpose (in accordance with Schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20)). This specifically relates to the home’s statement of purpose having up-to-date details of the current registered manager and staff working at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.10)  The registered person should ensure that all staff receive supervision within timeframes, and in line with the organisation’s supervision policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 2644474 7

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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: 2644474 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rear Of Arden Lodge, 946 Warwick Road, Acocks Green Birmingham B27 6QG

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Inspector

Jas Nahar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2644474 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report for children’s home: 2644474 10

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