Children's Home run by Within Reach Services Limited in Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2684355 1 Registered provider: Within Reach Services 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

This home is managed by a private provider. The home provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2024.

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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: 12 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2684355 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2023 Full Outstanding 31/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2684355 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children living at the home were seen and spoken to during the inspection. Children enjoy living at this home and say they feel happy here. Children form positive relationships with some staff. These relationships help children settle and make progress over time from sometimes difficult starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers work effectively with health professionals to ensure that children’s health needs are met. When children have specific or complex health conditions, staff have a good understanding of these. Practice in this area is underpinned by good-quality, clear support plans and guidance for staff. For one child, the quality of the care they are receiving has meant a reduction in the frequency and duration of incidents relating to their health. This has led to a reduction in the frequency of emergency services being called to provide support at the home, which has previously resulted in increased anxiety and distress for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work creatively and communicate well with education professionals to remove the barriers to children attending education. As a result, attendance for one child has improved significantly in the past few weeks and another child is working towards their GCSE exams. Children are encouraged to maintain age-appropriate routines when they are not in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves to the home are rigorously planned. Before a move is agreed, careful consideration is given to the needs of children and the skills and experience of the staff team. Extensive consultation with children’s family members and professionals working with them also takes place. The views and wishes of children are sought, clearly documented, and used to inform planning for moves to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and contain their toys and games. Children enjoy regularly taking part in activities outside of the home with staff, such as horse riding.

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

The needs of the children living at this home are complex and deprivation of liberty safeguards are currently in place for one child. Managers and staff work with children to help them understand why restrictions are in place and what they need to do for these to be reduced.

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

Managers and staff worked effectively with one child over several months to build their independence and reduce the restrictions that were in place to keep them safe. As a result, the deprivation of liberty safeguards that were in place for them were removed and they were able to begin spending time outside of the home independently. Inspection report for children’s home: 2684355 4 When children self-harm, staff generally take action to reduce immediate risks and provide children with an appropriate and empathetic response. However, children’s care and support plans do not provide staff with clear enough guidance about how to support them during the most serious incidents. While this has not yet impacted significantly on children’s well-being or safety, staff do not always feel confident supporting children during these incidents. Managers took some initial action to address this issue during the inspection and additional guidance was prepared and shared with staff.

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

Staff and managers work well with other professionals to review levels of risk and adapt the strategies that are in place to safeguard and support children in response to their evolving needs. When physical intervention is used, this is largely in appropriate circumstances and to prevent serious harm. Records contain detail about the events leading up to the restraint and the de-escalation techniques used by staff. Leaders and managers provide appropriate oversight of incidents where restraint has been used and consider the effectiveness and proportionality of the actions taken by staff.

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

When there are concerns about staff practice, managers identify these quickly and follow appropriate safeguarding procedures. Investigations are carried out promptly and lessons learned taken from these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been multiple changes to the staff team, with several staff leaving or moving to work at other homes within the organisation. This has impacted on staff morale and how effectively managers have been able to maintain consistent oversight and establish a clear culture and ethos in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are aware of these concerns and have taken some action to address them and build the stability of the staff team. Team meetings are used effectively to reflect on practice, share information and reinforce expectations of staff. Supervision has not taken place consistently for all staff over the past three months. Managers have since ensured that all staff have had a supervision, with a plan for additional sessions to be arranged for affected staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective monitoring systems are now in place which the manager uses to track children’s progress and to identify significant patterns and trends. Managers respond to the changing needs of the children and work to source additional support and training for staff as needed. The responsible individual has also recently increased the time he spends at the home, which has strengthened management oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good insight into the strengths and areas of development for the management and staff teams. She knows the children well and has a good understanding of their individual needs and risks. Professionals speak positively about the communication from the manager, the progress made by the children and the quality of care staff provide. Inspection report for children’s home: 2684355 5

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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

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that guidance to staff on how best to support and safeguard children is clear and unambiguous. 9 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2684355 6 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—

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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.

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met;

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Requirement Due date

and feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that monitoring systems are being used consistently to ensure regular review of staff practice and the care provided to children. 9 January 2025

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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: 2684355 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Within Reach Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hazlewoods, Windsor House, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham GL50 3AT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Trevor Ridgewell

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Inspector

Janet Jauregui, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2684355 8 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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