Children's Home run by G B A Care Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC462593 1 SC462593

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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 and run by a private company. It offers care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The position of registered manager is currently vacant. A manager was appointed in June 2024, and she has submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 22 January 2024

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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: SC462593 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2024 Full Good 18/05/2022 Full Good 26/04/2021 Full Good 17/07/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC462593 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and views are heard. The voice of the child comes across strongly in the home. The staff create opportunities where children can talk and share their views, including regular direct-work sessions, children’s meetings and a suggestion box. Staff are keen to ensure that children know that they are listened to, which builds trust and gives children the confidence to be able to speak openly with staff. During the inspection, one child was spoken with, and the other two children spoke with staff to share their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make varied amounts of progress. One child has been supported to develop their independence and self-care skills. They can confidently travel independently and understand how to maintain the cleanliness of their personal space. Staff encourage children to take up hobbies and sports that are of interest to them. This means that the children become more sociable and spend less time isolated in their rooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has recently moved into the home. Feedback from their parent was very positive. They feel that the staff are developing a good relationship with their child, providing consistent boundaries while also creating a family home environment for them. They feel that the staff have been very welcoming and communication with staff is good. They are very happy with how their child has settled and the range of activities being offered to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has been struggling to manage their emotional and physical health. This has seen the child become very unwell, and they are now in hospital receiving medical care. Staff in the home have worked tirelessly to advocate for this child. They have worked collaboratively with the looked after children’s nurse and the child’s general practitioner to challenge the views of other health professionals. The looked after children’s nurse spoke very positively about the work completed by staff to ensure that the child had their health needs appropriately met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children are doing well in education, studying subjects that they enjoy. However, the education arrangements for one child are unsuitable and do not meet their needs. Staff have not challenged this effectively. However, the child has had a recent care review meeting, and their education needs were discussed and accountable actions were set.

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improvement to be good

Children do display self-injurious behaviours. These incidents are handled sensitively by staff. Staff use the therapeutic guidance from the clinical team to develop strategies to support children and help them to understand ways to manage their distress and intense emotions. Inspection report for children’s home: SC462593 4 Incidents are infrequent. Staff help the children when they present with behaviours that challenge. Staff use their relationships with the children to defuse situations, and therefore, the staff have not used physical intervention techniques.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff have recognised that historically the approach to using consequences has been punitive and ineffective. Lessons have been learned, and staff are working towards a more natural way of learning for children that aligns with the therapeutic training that staff complete.

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improvement to be good

Allegations made against staff are not managed in line with the home’s child protection policies. On the occasion that this occurred, the impact to the child and the member of staff was minimised because of the strength of their relationship. However, the investigation surrounding the allegation was not robust and the child did not receive an appropriate response.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessment documents are not up to date and contain inaccuracies. Risk assessments must be reviewed and updated regularly so that staff understand how to safely care for each child.

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good

The manager is settling in well and is developing relationships with staff and professionals. Staff report that they feel supported and listened to by the manager and deputy managers. Staff, especially those with less experience, also value the support from their peers, which they have said is very much appreciated.

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good

The home is in a state of flux with how its electronic records are created and stored. This has impacted significantly on the manager’s ability to produce records and demonstrate their oversight. There were several local authority documents missing from the system, and these records would support the care planning for children. However, the need for these records has not been escalated to the placing local authorities.

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good

The manager has not ensured that staff have the required care qualification or completed specialist training to meet the needs of the children. Staff have not had access to learning and development opportunities to improve their knowledge and understanding of how their care approaches affect the day-to-day experiences for children. This was a requirement at the last inspection and is being restated.

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good

The manager does not have sufficient oversight of all areas of practice and documentation within the home. There were numerous documents that needed additional management scrutiny to ensure their accuracy, and other documents were missing from the system. Inspection report for children’s home: SC462593 5 The manager has not had enough oversight of notifications of serious events that are sent to Ofsted. On several occasions, notification reports have been received by Ofsted outside of the timescale prescribed in the guidance. This delay means that Ofsted does not have a timely insight into this home and the safety and welfare of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC462593 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, risk assessments need to be updated regularly to reflect any identified risks to a child. This is to ensure that staff can take the appropriate steps to safeguard children.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, these risk assessments need to be consistent with the information that they contain. This is to avoid any possible confusion in the care provided by the staff to the children. 16 October

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 16 October Inspection report for children’s home: SC462593 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that they have sufficient oversight and monitoring of all areas of the home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b)) 16 October Inspection report for children’s home: SC462593 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have the appropriate specialist training required to meet the individual needs of the children.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that all staff complete the required qualification within the specified timescale.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the child protection policy of the home is followed regarding how allegations against staff members are managed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 9.44)  The registered person should ensure that children have appropriate education arrangements in place that meet their needs. Where this is not the case, they should challenge the local authority to ensure this is rectified in a timely way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.11)

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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: SC462593 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor Brian Royd Mills, Saddleworth Road, Halifax HX4 8NF

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Inspector

Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC462593 10 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 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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