Children's Home run by GAC Family Services Limited in Middlesbrough

Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 1 Registered provider: GAC Family Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2024.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

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

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/06/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 3

p.2

improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved on from the home and three children have moved in. The children’s experiences and progress have been impacted by shortfalls in how they are helped and protected and the leadership and management of the home.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children have received well-planned introductions to the home. Children are invited to meet with staff and spend time in the home before they move in. This helps children to become familiar with their surroundings and begin to build relationships with those who will care for them.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children make progress with their attendance at school. Staff understand the importance of children’s learning and actively encourage them to attend school or engage in learning in the home. Staff attend all education meetings, which helps them to better support children’s learning.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children have positive experiences living in the home. They are introduced to new activities inside and out of the home. Staff listen to children to help inform what activities they would like to engage in.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff support children to maintain their relationships with their family and friends. They understand that this can sometimes be difficult for children and provide support when required. Staff also encourage children to invite their friends to spend time in the home, which helps children to maintain their friendships.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children have raised their concerns about the number of unfamiliar staff in their home. Staff employed to work in other homes have started their induction in this home. This creates a lack continuity for children. However, the manager and core staff know the children well. Children develop positive relationships with permanent members of staff. Children said that they have staff who they can speak to if they have any worries or concerns.

p.3

improvement to be good

The home does not provide care as detailed in the statement of purpose. This states that children will be supported by staff who are awake at night. The children’s social worker was not informed when this changed. This means that the care provided to children is not always in line with the expectations of their placing local authority.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff do not always follow procedures when children go missing from the home. This means that they do not always report a child missing to the police in line with the child’s safety plans. Staff actively search for children when they are missing and provide Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 4 support on their return home. Return home interviews are arranged so that children can speak with someone independent about their experiences.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments do not accurately reflect how staff should respond to help children. Risk assessments hold information that differs from children’s placement plans. The manager’s oversight of these documents did not identify this issue. Consequently, the information available to staff does not support them in providing consistent care to children.

p.4

improvement to be good

One child’s complaint about a member of staff was not responded to immediately. This was because the arrangements for suitable management cover were not in place. Once alerted, the manager was quick to investigate the complaint and has identified systems to prevent this error occurring again.

p.4

improvement to be good

When children are upset or in distress, staff provide effective support. Staff use their training and understanding of the children’s past experiences to respond appropriately to their behaviour. Staff are skilled in de-escalating incidents, which means that physical restraint has not been used in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has not received a structured induction into their new role. Supervision of the manager takes place infrequently and is not in line with the home’s policy. This prevents leaders from having opportunities to discuss the manager’s progress or areas for development.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

No staff have the minimum qualification as set out in regulation. There is no prospect of staff achieving this qualification within the next six months except for one. Leaders and managers cannot be assured that the staff are gaining the required skills and knowledge that they need to provide good-quality care to the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A member of staff raised a significant concern about the behaviour of two other staff members. This behaviour is not connected to their care of the children but has not been followed up by leaders or managers and no investigation has taken place. Furthermore, managers did not notify Ofsted or the local authority designated officer to allow for independent scrutiny of the alleged behaviour.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has not established an effective system to gather feedback from others about the care provided to children. This prevents the manager from accurately evaluating the quality of children’s care and limits the effectiveness of plans to improve care or maintain good standards.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children’s records are not up to date. Children have lived in the home for months without a current care plan being in place from the placing local authority. The manager has not robustly escalated this with the relevant local authority. Consequently, there is not an up-to-date plan that reflects the care expectations of the local authority. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 5 Procedures for the safe recruitment of staff are not effective. Leaders and managers do not explore gaps in applicants’ employment histories. This prevents the manager from being able to demonstrate that safer recruitment procedures are effective in assessing the suitability of the workforce.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Positive feedback from staff demonstrates that they feel well supported by leaders and managers. Staff can access a range of training courses that help to support them in their role. The children’s social worker said that the manager and staff are supporting the children to make progress from their starting points. Staff attend important meetings for the children and contribute to the development of their plans. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.6

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vii)) 19 July 2024

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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 19 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 7 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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;

p.7

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)(a)(c)(e)(f)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

p.7

Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

p.7

Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

p.7

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d) (8)) 19 July 2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.7

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

p.7

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(a)(b)) 19 July 2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 19 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 8 there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(d))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

p.8

Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s. (Regulation 5 (c)) 19 July 2024

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

p.8

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.8

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.8

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 19 July 2024

p.8

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: 2679276 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: GAC Family Services Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 29a, The Link, 49 Effra Road, London SW2 1BZ

p.9

Inspector

Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 10 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.9

Inspector

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 . 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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10