Children's Home run by Gracewells Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 1 Registered provider: Gracewells Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private company. The home provides care for four children who may be experiencing social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by an experienced and qualified manager who has been registered since November 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2024 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good 11/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel safe and happy. Children spoke positively about their experiences of living in the home. One child said, ‘Honestly, I love it here; it’s great.’ Children are listened to, and their views and feelings are taken into account as part of decision-making. For instance, children choose how their bedrooms are decorated, the food they eat and the activities they take part in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social workers speak positively about the manager and his team and say that the children have settled well. Children who move into the home do so gradually. Careful consideration is given to how a new child will fit in. Compatibility assessments are carried out to ensure the children are suitable to live together and that staff can meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at this home are cared for by a committed and stable staff team. Staff provide a nurturing and welcoming environment that supports the needs of children. Staff consistently deliver individualised care alongside encouraging children to be involved in their day-to-day care. However, some health and education documents were not up to date on the system or had been misplaced. This means that staff did not have access to up-to-date information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff build positive relationships with children. There are records of key- worker sessions that demonstrate that children talk openly to staff and discuss a wide range of issues. Children also complete reflective sessions with staff if they have been involved in any incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education has been a challenge; however, progress is being made for all children. Children’s educational needs are understood by staff. The manager and staff worked with the placing authority to find a suitable education provider for one child. When the child was out of formal education, staff provided education in the home with them, and this was supported by a moving-on booklet to prepare them for independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their loved ones and the people who are important to them. If there are concerns around family time, the manager and staff work with partner agencies to ensure that it is suitable and safe for the child.

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

The manager and staff are aware of and understand the ways in which the children can be exploited and how to safeguard them. Individual risk assessments are regularly updated and identify known vulnerabilities specific to each child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 4 Children are supported with their independence according to their needs, and they are encouraged to make choices to keep themselves safe. Staff work with children to ensure that they are happy and feel safe.

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

Staff are caring and nurturing towards the children and alert to the risks of unsafe and unkind behaviours. Staff respond to children’s negative behaviours in a calm and sensitive way.

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

Staff are proactive in supporting children when they feel overwhelmed by their feelings. Individual sessions support children to feel safe and explore behaviours in relation to self-harm and going missing from the home. Children are helped to manage distressing emotions and are encouraged to learn from incidents.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, they experience a well- coordinated response. Staff use their relationships with the children to support them in making positive decisions, and managers work with professionals and their families to reduce the risk of further episodes of missing from home.

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

Staff are recruited safely, and processes are in place to ensure that the right staff are employed to keep the children safe. The manager and the provider are confident that the staff are suitable to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a hands-on approach and leads by example. He has a strong working relationship with staff, and they say how much they enjoy working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an in-depth training programme, which staff complete in a timely manner. All staff are up to date with the provider’s mandatory training programme. However, there are some shortfalls in training that is individualised to the children’s needs, such as bereavement, sexual health, county lines and knife crime. Additionally, the manager does not keep the training matrix up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are now receiving regular practice-related supervision. Staff are also receiving daily advice and guidance on specific and relevant topics.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff rotas identify the staff who are planned to work at the home, including agency and bank staff and internal staff covering from other settings in the organisation. However, the manager’s hours are not recorded; therefore, the rota is not always an accurate record of who has worked in the home. This may hinder the monitoring and review of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers act in the best interests of the children. They have challenged professionals on decisions made in response to removing children from the home and placing them into semi-independence when they knew the child wasn’t ready for this. When children leave the home, staff promote positive endings and ensure the transition Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 5 is in place before they leave, remaining in contact afterwards if the child chooses to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose clearly sets out the ethos and objectives of the home. However, this has not been kept up to date with relevant information about staff training and their skills. Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 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

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that education, health and care plans and children looked after medical reports are kept up to date and are recorded on systems for all staff to be able to refer to. 31 January 2025

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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—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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; and 31 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 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)(c)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff complete training to meet the individual needs of the children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that the training matrix is up to date and relevant for the staff in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI and make a copy of it available upon request to—

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Requirement Due date

a child, or a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered;

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Requirement Due date

a parent of a child, or a parent of a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered; and

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the statement of purpose is up to date with the skills and experience of the staff that work in the home. 31 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 31 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 8 maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that the manager’s hours are recorded on the rota.

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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: 2577168 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Gracewells Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 36 Jubilee House, East Beach, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire FY8 5FT

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Inspector

Nicola Jeffery, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2577168 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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