Children's Home run by Step-A-Side Company Limited in Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 1 SC030650 Registered provider: Step-A-Side Company Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and offers long-term care and short breaks for a maximum of five children with complex behaviours and/or learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, three children lived in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since August 2017.

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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: 7 November 2023

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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: SC030650 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/11/2023 Full Good 04/01/2023 Full Good 16/02/2022 Full Good 04/09/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled and happy living in this home. They have developed good relationships with staff based on trust and respect. Staff have an empathetic and playful approach that engages children and makes them want to spend time with staff. Children rated their home 10 out of 10. They described staff as caring, kind and approachable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make progress in aspects of their lives that are meaningful to them. For example, staff have helped one child to develop a good understanding of their identity and supported them to access services that are beneficial to their well-being. Staff supported another child to develop independence skills, including cooking, accessing transport and volunteering.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to prioritise their education and monitor their progress. Staff respond proactively when children’s enthusiasm dips, for example recognising that one child was better suited to practical tasks and securing a school placement that suited their natural ability. This potentially enhances their future job prospects.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aspirational for the children and lean into their interests, supporting their development of new skills and hobbies. For example, one child is encouraged to participate in car mechanics at the home. Another child has been supported to develop their passion for photography. Staff have purchased them several cameras and take pride in printing their photos.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are encouraged to have family time and some children have been supported to strengthen their social skills, allowing them to spend unsupervised time with their loved ones. Where this is not possible due to safety concerns, staff work hard to ensure that supervised family time is positive for the children. Parents praised staff for facilitating visits at the home and making them feel welcome.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well lived in, and it is clear that children enjoy using communal areas. The garden is vast, and children enjoy using the swimming pool, planting vegetables and using the sensory room. However, the home is looking tired in some places and renovation is under way to address this.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children’s lived experiences and vulnerabilities. They are mindful of how the children’s health needs impact their ability to process information and learn from experiences. The care and support offered to children takes account of their individual needs and preferred approaches.

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

Children confide their feelings in staff and the assistant psychologist, even when these are hard to share. They are confident in staff’s non-judgemental approach and ability to Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 4 help them. Consequently, children feel secure enough to express their needs in moments of distress or when they recognise that something is wrong.

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

The registered manager works with the assistant psychologist to establish plans that help children to develop awareness of their behaviours. This unified approach means that children receive consistent care, advice and boundaries from staff. They help children to understand unsafe and inappropriate behaviours, as well as supporting them to reflect on incidents of concern.

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

Staff are mindful of, and alert to, the risks associated with children living together. They have appropriate strategies in place to mitigate these risks. When necessary, the registered manager escalates concerns to social workers.

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

Staff have a positive approach to children’s behaviours and quickly de-escalate incidents. As a result, there has been no physical restraint or episodes of going missing since the last inspection. The registered manager ensures that adults are safe to work with children by following safer recruitment processes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a child-focused practitioner, and she has inspired her team to embrace this approach, which is clearly visible in staff’s interactions with children. Parents gave positive feedback about their experiences when visiting the home, highlighting the pleasant and calm atmosphere.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager shows commitment towards children by prioritising their needs, even after they have left the home. For example, one child moved to a new home in a planned way as part of their transition to adulthood. The registered manager demonstrates her ongoing care by speaking to the child on the phone, visiting them and maintaining contact with their parents. She continues to provide emotional support to the child when they experience crisis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the quality of care delivered to children and her oversight is visible on their records. She supports staff to deliver good care to children by monitoring their development through training, supervision and observing their practice. Any concerns about staff practice are managed effectively and in collaboration with other professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There was some dissatisfaction in the staff team when the registered manager took on some management responsibilities for another home within the organisation. She listened to their views and shared their feedback with the responsible individual. They reflected on the feedback and took learning from it, making changes to improve communication. The registered manager has reverted to solely managing this home now. Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 5

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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: SC030650 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Step-A-Side Company Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 29 Market Place, Coleford, Gloucestershire GL16 8AA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rachel Carwardine

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Inspector:

Tara Webb, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC030650 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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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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