Children's home run by Flourish (Gloucestershire) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 1 Registered provider: Flourish Gloucestershire 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 owned by a private provider. It is registered to care for up to three children who have learning difficulties and may have autism and/or social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children are currently living in the home. All were present during inspection. Three children were seen and two were spoken to by the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since the home was first registered in September 2023.

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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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school because staff have supported them to engage in education. All children have excellent attendance, enjoy school and are doing well which is progress from their starting points. Professionals and parents said communication with the home is good and all children are making positive progress with the support of staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff’s interactions with children are warm and nurturing. Staff speak to children in a kind and caring manner and there is laughter and fun, demonstrating the positive relationships that staff have built with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children express their views in various ways. An emotions board includes a range of feelings and helps children to express themselves using pictures. Staff understand children well and support children to communicate using expressions, gestures and body language. Children have external support or advocates to ensure their views are expressed outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to meet their health and well-being needs. Children are taken to appointments. When additional resources are needed, the registered manager takes steps to seek relevant services, so children engage with external professionals. This helps to promote children’s overall well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide choice of food and eat a healthy and varied diet. Staff support children to eat together at mealtimes and promote positive mealtimes. The registered manager has explored cultural needs, so children with specific dietary requirements eat foods in keeping with their religion and beliefs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to enjoy regular activities within the community. Children go for walks, to the park and swimming. Children also go shopping with staff to choose their own clothes. Staff encourage family relationships, so they develop positively for children. Family and friends are welcome in the home and parents often visit to spend time with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move in and out of the home, there is good planning. Before the last child moved into the home, staff created a video so they could have a visual tour of the home. Staff meet with children before they move in and arrangements are made for children to visit the home for tea, so they can meet the other children and staff. This helps to alleviate any anxiety and makes children feel welcome.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming and is well furnished and decorated throughout. There is a craft room and sensory area so children can engage in range of activities inside the home. There are soft furnishings and pictures on the wall, so it feels homely for children. Children have large bedrooms that are personalised to their interests. Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 4

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

The registered manager is a good advocate for children and understands when it is important to challenge professionals in the best interests of children to ensure their needs are met. He highlights areas of concern that need attention, so children have access to wider support services, and their specific needs are addressed.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs and risks, and they know how to support these. Detailed plans focus on behaviours of children and help staff understand how to respond to any risk or harm. Strategies are clear so staff keep up to date and informed.

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

Children are supported to understand clear routines and boundaries, so they know what to expect. All children have a regular, structured daily routines, and staff support them with these. Children enjoy getting up and ready for school and having a story at bedtime.

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

Children use devices with internet access, but this is limited, and staff constantly monitor and support use. This means that children are kept safe. Staff guide children and help them access child-friendly content.

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

There are no safeguarding concerns. Restraint has not been used, as staff find positive ways to support children to express their feelings and behaviour. However, staff understand how to respond if support is needed to keep children safe.

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

Concerns that arise about staff are addressed promptly, with effective management oversight, and external professional advice is sought in the best interests of children. Safer recruitment checks are thorough and follow statutory guidelines, to ensure that all staff working with children are safe. Leaders and managers learn from incidents to help improve staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Arrangements for the safe storage of medication are not always effective. On two occasions, a child gained access to medication stored in a secure cabinet. Measures taken were not effective to prevent a second incident occurring. The child did not consume medication of either of these occasions. Once managers identified the issue of how the child managed to access the locked cabinet action was taken to reduce this risk. However, in a separate incident to this, on one occasion, medication was not administered to a child as required and was not identified until two days, once identified managers took action to seek advice and have since completed comprehensive medication training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there have been a number of changes to staff. However, there is now a stable and consistent staff team. Agency staff were used to ensure there were enough staff to meet the childrens needs, but over recent months, this has declined. The Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 5 impact of this for children has been minimal as some staff have been in post since the home opened.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has a good understanding of children. He is focused on strengthening the team so that there is consistency for children. He ensures that children live in a home where they feel loved and cared for. Leaders and managers promote training and learning opportunities in line with children’s needs, so staff can upskill. Staff also receive clinical advice and guidance each month from a clinical psychologist team, so they are equipped to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff said they are well supported by the registered manager, and he is very approachable. They said they have open discussion with him and share ideas regularly. Staff enjoy working at the home and have built strong relationships with children. Staff give examples of positive progress which shows they understand children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 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 registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that action is taken to ensure the arrangements for the safe storage of medication are effective and that children are unable to gain access.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children are given their prescribed dose of medication on the day it is due. 25 April 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: 2741488 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Flourish Gloucestershire Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 27 Westend Office Suites, Westend, Stonehouse GL10 3FA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Summers

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Inspector

Emma Fryer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2741488 8 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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