Children's Home run by Gims Care Solution LTD in Essex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2728656 1 Registered provider: Gims Care Solution 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 by a small private organisation and provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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 April 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2728656 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/07/2024 Full Good 10/10/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2728656 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children living at the home spoke to the inspector. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out unexpectedly to another home operated by the same company. The staff stayed with the child, which helped to provide consistent care and familiarity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress with their education, and they are aware of this. They have both achieved over 95% attendance. Staff work well with education professionals to make sure that children receive appropriate support for their learning needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s health needs. Children attend regular check-ups, hospital appointments and see their local doctors. Staff make sure that children can access other health services and support for their mental health when required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to maintain regular contact with outreach workers. One child has been seeing a mentor for over a year. This enables the child to express any worries or concerns with someone independent of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to see people who are important to them. Increased visits and regular telephone calls have made these relationships stronger. Children are happy about spending more time with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have enjoyed different activities with staff. Staff tailor activities to each child’s interests and preferences. Children enjoy time on their bikes, visits to the skate park, walks to the forest, boxing and gaming. These activities help the children to develop positive relationships with staff and enable them to build social networks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals provided positive feedback about the manager and staff. They have no concerns about the quality of care provided to children. All the professionals said that the children have made progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is generally well presented, clean and tidy. Photos of the children enjoying different activities are displayed on the walls. Children are encouraged to decorate their bedrooms according to their tastes. However, the furniture in one bedroom is damaged, which does not provide a well-kept or welcoming space for new children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff do not always capture positive observations in children’s records. Some staff focus on what the children might lose, rather than what they could gain. This puts pressure on the children instead of motivating them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728656 4

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

Staff keep children safe. Overall, incidents at the home are well managed by staff and have reduced. When there are incidents, staff remain calm and follow children’s care plans. As a result, children receive a consistent approach to safeguarding.

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

Staff act quickly and appropriately when children go missing from the home. Staff locate the children and work with families and professionals to help the children understand the risks. Staff support children in returning to the home safely.

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

Staff are trained in the use of physical intervention. Occasionally, this has been used as a final measure to keep children safe. Physical interventions are proportionate and well recorded. Leaders follow these up well by speaking with staff and children. Staff look for ways to prevent the same incidents from happening again. Professionals who work with the children are always notified and kept up to date.

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

Staff provide support for children who misuse substances. They remove items that may cause harm and help children understand the risks. Staff communicate effectively with other professionals to consider how to reduce the risks posed to children. Children receive specialist support, including mental healthcare and assistance with smoking cessation. This helps keep children safer.

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

There have been no complaints since the last inspection. When children raise minor concerns, staff take the right steps to address these.

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

Staff carry out regular fire checks to ensure that the home is safe. Fire evacuations take place regularly, and children leave the building without any issues. When a serious fire- setting incident happened, staff responded quickly and prevented further harm. Staff put extra safety measures in place to reduce the risk of such an incident happening again.

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

Children said that staff keep them safe. They feel that the rules are too strict. The manager listens to children’s views and supports them in developing more independence while keeping them safe. Sometimes, extra action is needed to keep them safer. Leaders receive support from other professionals to put the right safeguards in place. These measures are then kept under review.

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

Children are making good progress in relation to their behaviour and independence. Both children are no longer subject to deprivation of liberty orders. However, the children’s risk assessments are not always kept under review to highlight the progress made, which means information can be confusing in relation to care planning and guiding staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management and has the necessary skills for the role. Leaders support staff’s goals and aspirations. Staff receive support for their professional development to enhance their skills and knowledge. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728656 5 Staff’s feedback about working at the home is positive. They praise the support they receive from leaders and managers. Staff said that leaders and managers help them to develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular team meetings. Team meetings are child centred and support staff practice discussions. This gives staff the support to reflect and develop. Leaders ensure that staff take regular annual leave and are on task with their diplomas. This supports a positive work-life balance and provides time for professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment processes are followed. New staff receive helpful inductions that include the required training and shadow shifts. Existing staff have received relevant training, which is updated regularly. This training has been refreshed in specific areas following incidents at the home. Further training takes place that is specific to the needs of the children who live at the home. This shows a responsive approach to staff knowledge and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have devised a location risk assessment that they keep under review. However, the document does not include an incident that involved a member of the public. As a result, the positive action taken to respond to this incident is unclear to anyone guided by this assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are considerable gaps between staff supervision sessions. As a result, staff do not always have the opportunity to express their concerns or experiences. Furthermore, they do not receive regular feedback on their performance. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728656 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets children’s needs. In most cases, children’s homes are homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that they keep children’s risk assessments under review and make changes as necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that they review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff receive regular supervision that enables them to reflect and act on how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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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: 2728656 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Gims Care Solution Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office 10, The Old Courthouse, Orsett Road, Grays, Essex RM17 5DD

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Inspectors

Dan Williams, Social Care Inspector Emilja Myers, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2728656 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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