Children's Home run by Pure Grace Homes Limited in Bexley

Inspection report for children's home: 2612013 1 Registered provider: Pure Grace Homes Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in November 2021. The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022. They are currently taking a suitable manager’s qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2612013 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/04/2024 Full Good 27/06/2023 Full Good 26/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2612013 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s needs are not always well understood and there is poor planning for their move into the home. The admission process is not always sufficiently robust. Although leaders and managers complete an assessment based on referral information, there have been occasions when children have been admitted in emergency situations. As a result, essential information about their needs is not always available at the point of admission. The lack of planning negatively impacted on other children in the home, particularly when additional support needs were not anticipated or properly managed.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not manage incidents well. Their response to children during incidents has led to unnecessary restrictions being placed on other children, which has negatively impacted on their experiences. For example, staff remove basic items such as cutlery, cups and plates for safety reasons. However, this affects all the children in the home, and there is currently no clear plan in place to manage the situation in a way that minimises the impact.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers understand that children’s past experiences at school can impact on their behaviour and their ability to engage in learning. They are strong advocates for children facing these challenges and support them well. As a result, children have moved from home tutoring to attending school, and children who had been out of education for a long time are now in school. When decisions are made that result in children being unable to access their education setting, leaders and managers advocate for a different education provision to be provided that will meet their needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff have built relationships with some of the children and are supporting them to develop their independence. Staff support children to learn daily living skills. Some children are still developing relationships with staff, and this means that consistent expectations are not fully in place for all children.

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improvement to be good

All children in the home were spoken to as part of this inspection and each one said they are happy living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently provide clear boundaries for children. Concerns have been raised by people in the wider community about children’s behaviour. Leaders and managers have not responded effectively. They have not established clear expectations or consistent structure and strategies to support children. As a result, the environment in the home has become less predictable, increasing risks and incidents that have impacted on the safety and well-being of other children Inspection report for children's home: 2612013 4 Staff do not always respond well to children when they need support to manage their emotions. When incidents occur, staff do not always take effective action to support children. De-escalation strategies often do not work, resulting in situations where children and staff have been harmed. On some occasions, the police have had to intervene to help manage situations to ensure that everyone is safe. There are currently

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improvement to be good

no plans in place to address these challenges, improve staff responses, reduce harm, or create a safer, more supportive environment for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff practice when children are missing from the home is inconsistent. When children go missing, staff make efforts to maintain contact with them and encourage their safe return home. If necessary, staff collect the children from where they are to ensure that they return safely. The number of missing person reports made to the police has decreased, which appears to be a result of new approaches that involve allowing more time before formally reporting a child as missing. However, curfew times are frequently not followed, and children continue to be absent. At present, there are no clear strategies or plans in place to address this ongoing issue.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not notify Ofsted of all significant incidents as required. This failure to report serious incidents compromises the regulator’s external oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers demonstrate many strengths. Social workers and staff spoke about their passion and commitment to children. However, there are shortfalls in their effectiveness, which impacts how well children’s needs are met and the quality of children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff receive effective training and learning opportunities. When initial strategies to support children, implement boundaries and manage behaviours are ineffective, they do not review why they are not working and how to support staff to address the issue. Current training is insufficient, leaving staff ill equipped to manage challenging situations. Furthermore, a lack of consistent management oversight has resulted in difficulties managing incidents safely and compromised the well-being of everyone in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not managed maintenance issues effectively, leading to delays in completing repairs. Some children’s bedrooms are not personalised, and some essential items have not been provided such as hand soap in their bathrooms. Additionally, some furniture is worn and broken, highlighting the need for ongoing attention to the living environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

Children spoke positively about their relationships with leaders and managers, describing them as ‘trusting’ and ‘supportive’. They said that they feel comfortable turning to them for help and guidance. However, these experiences were not reflected consistently when children spoke about their interactions with the wider staff team. Inspection report for children's home: 2612013 5 Staff report that leaders and managers offer strong support through regular supervision and constructive feedback. Team meetings take place regularly. Staff discuss relevant topics such as the children’s presenting needs. However, there is a lack of follow-up action to support staff in effectively managing behaviour that challenges. Inspection report for children's home: 2612013 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 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; help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children have individualised plans at the point of moving into the home. This will ensure that staff have the information needed to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that the behaviour management strategy and staff training promote positive relationships with children, involve children in behaviour 17 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2612013 7 management and reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing behaviour.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 17 July 2025

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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 outcomes it seeks to achieve for children

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1) (a) 2(b)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the home environment and ensuring that maintenance and repairs are carried out swiftly. They must 17 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2612013 8 ensure that the environment is more personalised to children and that they have essential items.

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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: 2612013 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pure Grace Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 61 Bridge Street, Kington, HR5 3DJ

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Inspector

Jo Tarbie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2612013 10 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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