Children's home run by GAC Family Services Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2614999 1 Registered provider: GAC Family Services 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

The home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may have emotional and social difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

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Information about this children's home

Three children were living at the home. Their views were sought during the inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: 17 September 2024

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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: 2614999 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/09/2024 Full Good 05/09/2023 Full Good 20/09/2022 Full Good 14/06/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2614999 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three children have remained at the home since the last inspection. They are very settled. Children have well informed care plans specific to their needs. Plans are updated regularly to ensure they stay relevant. Children have positive relationships with staff; they spend time with them and do activities. Staff involve children in cooking diverse meals which helps them to experience foods from different cultures. The staff are taking children on their chosen holidays this year which is providing children with exciting experiences. The manager and staff prioritise education. One child is currently studying for their A levels and plans to go to university. They have also secured an internship which they are very proud of. Another child has engaged well in education more recently and their attendance has improved considerably. All three children have a formal education provision and are achieving academically.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have active lives. They have hobbies and interests which is important for their emotional well-being and building confidence. One child enjoys writing and recording songs and plays football for a team. Another child does gymnastics and goes to a youth club regularly. Children see people who are important to them. Family and friends are made welcome at the home. One child has reconnected with an important family member with support from staff. This is important for their sense of identity and coming to terms with some of their life experiences. Staff support children with their health. They have good routines and attend medical appointments. Children have access to specialist services to talk about their feelings. This is helping them to reflect on their experiences and make sense of them. One child is moving to semi-independent accommodation imminently. There is a plan in place to support this transition, however the child is finding it difficult emotionally to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

engage with the plan. The manager and staff are working on ways to help the child however their strategies are not yet fully effective. Children know their rights and have the confidence to express their views. They understand the complaints process and make use of this. The manager responds to children’s complaints and provides timely outcomes.

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

The manager and staff keep children safe from harm. They understand the children's risks and vulnerabilities well. Risks posed to and from children are gradually reducing over time. Risk management and safety plans are in place, although not always aligned in terms of content. On some occasions staff are not following some of the guidance detailed in the plans and some information in risk assessments is not up to date. This Inspection report for children's home: 2614999 4 has the potential to cause confusion about how to respond to incidents where children are at increased risk of harm. The manager has not had full oversight of all incidents and checks in relation to children’s safety. Examples are incidents of self-injurious behaviour, mobile phone checks and room searches. This has not impacted on children’s safety; however, it reduces the opportunities for the manager to ensure that staff are providing consistency

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

in their approaches. Staff work with children well regarding online safety. Children allow staff to oversee their activity on devices such as mobile phones. This is effective in reducing risks of exploitation and contact with unsafe adults. Children have trusted relationships with the manager and staff. Overall, their concerns are responded to well. Allegations of harm are listened to and reported to the relevant authorities. Investigations take place where appropriate. Children receive written outcomes to their concerns which demonstrates their worries are taken seriously. The manager supports staff to develop their understanding of trauma informed care. This is helping them to respond sensitively to children when they become overwhelmed by their feelings. Consequently, serious incidents involving children are reducing in severity as are physical interventions. Children have debriefs following a physical

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

intervention; however, the measures used are not specifically discussed. This means children are not being given an opportunity to say how they feel about their experience of being restrained by staff. The director of the organisation takes children out for activities. The manager and responsible individual have not ensured that the required checks have been updated before spending time with children. The manager keeps records of these occasions however the purpose of the activity is not clearly documented on children’s files.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to her role. She has strong relationships with children where she strives to achieve a balance of empathy and setting appropriate boundaries. The manager has helped children to become safer and improved their quality of life. New staff have been safely recruited which has relieved some additional pressures on the team to cover staff vacancies. When staff are absent temporary ‘bank’ staff provide cover. These staff are familiar to the children which helps with consistency of care. This is an improvement since the last inspection The staff team speak about children with warmth and kindness. They take pride in children’s achievements. The team says they are well supported by the manager. Staff receive regular supervision where they can discuss personal and professional issues and reflect on their relationships with children. Training is provided for staff to ensure they have the relevant skills and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

knowledge to care for children’s changing needs. They are now supported by an internal therapist which is helping them to embed trauma informed practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2614999 5 The manager and responsible individual are not always keeping full records of meetings relating to concerns raised by or about staff. Consequently, the accountability of these events is undermined by incomplete documentation, for example, the team meeting minutes that do not contain all information which may be important should they be relied upon in the future. Professionals and parents have confidence in the care provided by the manager and staff. The manager is a strong advocate for children and attends important meetings to ensure she has influence over the wider care planning for children. Inspection report for children's home: 2614999 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

(b) 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;

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children's safety plans and behaviour support plans are aligned and contain all the information required to support staff in keeping children safe. This also relates to ensuring that staff follow these plans when dealing with incidents involving children.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that when children are taken out by members of the organisation police checks are up to date and the purpose of the outing/activity is clear and recorded in children's files.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(b)) 17 October 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 17 October 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2614999 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager having oversight of records relating to incidents of self-injurious behaviour and checks undertaken in relation to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to leaders and managers ensuring that there are records of meetings relating to concerns about staff or raised by staff. That the records contain all relevant information and are signed by participants.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home's support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. This includes supporting children with the emotions associated with leaving home. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this (regulation 7(2)(b)(iii)). (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, page 50 paragraph 9.60) Inspection report for children's home: 2614999 8

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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 Childrens Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children's home: 2614999 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: GAC Family Services Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Unit 29a, The Link, 49 Effra Road, London SW2 1BZ

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Inspector

Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2614999 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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