Children's Home run by GAC Family Services Limited in Middlesbrough

Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 1 Registered provider: GAC Family Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately operated. It provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in April 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection there were 2 children living in the home. Both children were seen and spoken with 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/05/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/06/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/06/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 3

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Summary of findings

Children are happy and settled. One child moved on from the home successfully to independent living.

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Summary of findings

Staff work with education professionals to support the children’s education. Staff’s approach is helping to build children’s confidence to return them back into formal learning. Safeguarding practice is effective. Children do not go missing from the home or need to be held for their safety.

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Summary of findings

The manager’s leadership of the team is effective though there are some areas of development. The workforce development plan does not fully identify staff’s training needs; practice-related supervision is not always reflective; and the rationale for not notifying Ofsted of an incident is not always clear.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in the home and have developed trusting relationships with most of the staff. Children are settled and like to have fun. They enjoy lots of different activities with staff at home and in the community; for example, arts and crafts, going to the cinema, shopping trips, and watching West End shows in London. These experiences enrich the children’s lives and help to develop their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff understand the previous experiences of the children and recognise the struggles that they have in engaging with education. The manager has developed a clear routine to support the children to be ready to learn during the time that they should be in school. Although the children are not actively engaging with the tutor due to their anxieties and emotional trauma, staff continue to offer educational activities, trips, and rewards to motivate them in their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has advocated strongly for alternative education provision that can meet the children’s needs. They have helped professionals with the evidence they need to progress an education, health, and care plan for both children. Education professionals are positive about the input and communication from the manager and staff. Staff take a small ‑ steps approach when discussing and reintroducing education, ensuring that the children feel safe, understood, and gradually more confident about learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend routine health appointments and engage with the health services they need. They have supported one child to have a temporary hearing aid prior to attending an appointment with the audiologist regarding surgery to improve their hearing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensured that the young person who has moved on from the home was well prepared for independence and parenthood, additionally, achieving a qualification that Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 4 has led to a career in their desired field. Staff were instrumental in ensuring that they had suitable accommodation arranged when they left the home and the skills to take on their own tenancy after a short period of time.

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

Staff produce risk assessments that are clear, concise, and regularly reviewed. Plans are detailed and help staff reduce risk effectively. The behaviour support plans are equally informative to guide staff’s practice. Staff promote positive behaviours with a restorative approach and the use of incentives. This helps children to feel well cared for and motivated to make positive choices.

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

Staff know what causes children to experience overwhelming emotions and provide children with emotional safety and support on these occasions. Since the last inspection, missing-from-home incidents have stopped, and incidents of self-injurious behaviours are rare.

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

Children are encouraged to use their phones safely and understand the dangers of social media. To promote the children’s safety, the manager ensures that the children have appropriate safeguards in place, relevant to their level of vulnerability. Wi-Fi in the home is managed appropriately to encourage children to settle in the evening. Staff take opportunities to reinforce online safety through regular conversations with children.

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

The manager provides staff with training on allegations and medication to develop their safeguarding knowledge. Training is revisited when the need arises. As a result, staff know what to do and team leaders are confident in delegating tasks. Documents and conversations after incidents are completed in timescale by an appropriate person and the manager’s oversight is evident.

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

While staff have not been able to get the children to engage in a fire drill for a significant period, they have recently completed focused key work discussions with the children to explain the dangers and arranged for the fire brigade to visit the home.

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

The manager has oversight of all safeguarding incidents. However, their rationale for not notifying Ofsted when incidents occur is not always clear in records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is established in their role and provides effective leadership to the team. Staff feel well supported and they value the support from the manager. This contributes to the positive team culture that focuses on making a positive difference to children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed a new format for children’s plans that are easy to read. Frequent reviews ensure that the plans include up-to-date information and that information that is no longer relevant has been removed. The manager has also Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 5 improved her audit and monitoring systems to provide increased oversight of the functioning of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leaders and managers advocate strongly for the children ensuring that they have the right support for their education and when they move on from the home. They escalate concerns about missing documentation, along with decisions and issues raised by the children effectively. All documentation is in place, and any issues are resolved for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the team’s strengths and areas of development; recognising the importance of building a well-trained team, ensuring that they have the knowledge and skills to carry out their role. However, workforce planning and staff development lacks analysis and does not relate to the children’s needs or gaps in staff knowledge. This may limit staff developing their knowledge and skills in response to children’s changing needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Practice-related supervision sessions are regular, and staff engage with the process. However, the quality of the supervision staff receive is inconsistent, in both content and recording. Not all staff are encouraged to reflect on their practice and care of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that every member of the team receives practice related supervision that allows time for reflection and is accurately recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 39, paragraph 8.15)  The registered person should maintain a workforce development plan that effectively identifies training and development needs for staff and promotes a culture of continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that they record their rationale for not notifying Ofsted of an incident that could be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 63, paragraph 14.11)

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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: 2679276 7

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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

Kirstie Sutherland, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2679276 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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