Mercy Gold Limited

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Mercy Gold Limited 1 Mercy Gold Limited Registered provider: Mercy Gold Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is owned and operated by a private provider. It can accommodate up to 14 individuals in three shared-living homes that are limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, this service was providing supported accommodation for 11 individuals, 10 of them children aged 16 or 17.

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provider

The organisation and the service manager registered with Ofsted in January 2024. The nominated individual and registered manager roles are held by the same person, who is also the director of the organisation.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced and started on 24 February 2025. The inspector was on site from 26 to 27 February 2025.

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action. The next inspection will be within approximately three years.

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Summary of findings

Most children enjoy living in their homes. They have good relationships with staff, who help them when they need it.

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Summary of findings

Most children are involved in education or employment. When children are not, staff are proactive in identifying learning opportunities and supporting them with education while they wait.

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Summary of findings

Children have access to support that is tailored to their individual needs. Staff work through the support that children need during key work sessions. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Mercy Gold Limited 2 Support plans for children are of good quality and support staff to identify the progress children have made.

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Summary of findings

When children have known risks, their plans do not provide staff with clear direction on how to support the child to manage their risks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children say they are happy where they live and they like the homes they live in. One child said, ‘The houses are nice. It is clean and tidy here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are supported by staff to make progress towards independence. Managers create detailed support plans that identify the progress children have made as well as the areas that continue to need development. Staff implement the actions from the support plan, working with children creatively to find ways to help them to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children who are new to the country are supported well to register with universal health services. Staff make sure that children receive access to health services quickly when they arrive in the country. When children have health concerns, prompt action is taken by staff to address them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to remain engaged in education and learning and most children attend college. When children are not enrolled, staff actively try to find ways to get children access to education services. For some children, this has involved accessing a personal tutor to help them engage in learning. When children are unsure about attending education or employment, staff support them to look at different options to help them pursue their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff arrange activities for children to participate in. Children attend regular football sessions with staff. The homes are also resourced to support children’s interests, such as having football nets and boxing equipment. Staff encourage children to attend events in the area, such as those focusing on important issues like culture, identity and exploitation. This helps children who are new to the country to understand these issues and keep themselves safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children feel able to spend time with friends and people who are important to them. When they need help, they feel staff are there for them and do their best to keep them safe. One child said, ‘I know if I needed anything staff would be there to help me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff understand the diverse needs of children. For children from different faiths and cultures, staff make sure they have the resources they need to support their identity. Where facilities or religious centres are not available in the local area, staff will support children to travel to them elsewhere. This enables children to develop, explore and follow their cultural identity. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Mercy Gold Limited 3

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff understand and support the children well, as children’s needs are known at the earliest opportunity. When children first arrive at their accommodation, an assessment of their needs is completed quickly. When little is known about children due to them being new to the country, leaders and managers work well with external professionals to make sure known information is shared.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children are kept safe and receive the help they need quickly. When children are involved in incidents, staff are quick to act. Managers are available to support staff to manage incidents and ensure that appropriate action is taken by staff. When children are believed to be in unsafe situations, staff take appropriate action and work well with police and other agencies.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children rarely go missing from their home. They have positive relationships with staff and are invested in their homes. Managers and staff work closely with children’s social workers to make plans to support the children when they are away from their home. Children are involved in developing these plans, so maintain contact with staff and share their whereabouts.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers do not have an effective system for reviewing children’s risks. Staff are not provided with clear guidance so they can consistently support children to stay safe. Children’s plans do not include all their known risks, or the action staff should take. Furthermore, these plans are not updated and strategies adapted when the children’s risks and needs change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the service. They are a consistent presence in the home. They monitor the progress of children, ensure that staff receive guidance on the support that children need and regularly review these plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered manager is actively involved when incidents occur with children or when children go missing from their homes. The manager provides staff with clear advice on action to follow, helping staff to take appropriate action to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers advocate strongly for children, so they get additional support when they need it. This involves working with external professionals to obtain further support. For a group of children, the manager has sourced additional tuition to support them in their learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Social workers say they have positive working relationships with the manager, who works well with them to make effective plans for children. This ensures that children who need additional support, such as when they go missing, receive this. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Mercy Gold Limited 4 Leaders and managers ensure children receive support from a trained and supported staff team. Staff receive regular supervision sessions and feel well supported by managers. Staff have access to regular training to support them in their roles. Leaders and managers have systems in place to manage familial relationships among the provider’s staff team, and to make sure staff are clear about who they can go to if they have any worries or concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered provider has failed to make effective arrangements to support the registered manager’s development. She does not receive any formal supervision to enable her to reflect on her practice. This hinders the manager’s ability to consider how she could better support children to make further progress and be safer. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Mercy Gold Limited 5 ed manager appears passionate about improving outc omes for children. The registered manager has worked to bring about positive changes and im provements within the organisation, demonstratn openness to continuously improvingractice and outcomes for children.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023.

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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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

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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 children are supported to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 7 (2)(n))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that risk assessments are tailored to children’s needs and that children are involved in these assessments and are supported by staff to develop their ability to keep themselves safe. 30 May 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the registered manager receives supervision that allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children living in the supported accommodation. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 51) Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Mercy Gold Limited 6

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Mercy Shittu

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Inspector

Leah Stannard, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Mercy Gold Limited 7 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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