Children's Home run by G B A Care Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 1 SC462591 Registered provider: G B A Care 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 run by a private company. It provides care for up to 3 children, who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. Both children were 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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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 inadequate

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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: SC462591 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/07/2025 Full Good 09/07/2024 Full Good 05/06/2023 Full Good 13/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 3

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Summary of findings

Children are not effectively safeguarded. Significant failings in safer recruitment practice means children have been exposed to avoidable risk. This has affected the home’s overall judgement. The manager has missed opportunities to meet regulations through regular care reviews and notifications of serious incidents.

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Summary of findings

Despite these concerns, children are making progress and have been able to engage with education and access supportive services promoting their health and wellbeing. However, one child expressed concerns over a lack of consistent practice at the home to ensure safety and security for children.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to build positive relationships with staff. Staff understand children’s needs and effectively respond to them. However, serious shortfalls in the senior leadership of the home have adversely affected the home’s overall judgement

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improvement to be good

Children live in a family-orientated home. Their bedrooms are personalised, with ample space to accommodate their belongings and for them to relax. Each child has chosen an area within the home where they like to spend time, such as the lounge and conservatory. The kitchen is welcoming and is at the heart of the home. It is where staff and children spend time together and cook meals.

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improvement to be good

Staff are proactive in their communication with families and professionals. They build sustained relationships with children’s parents through regular meet ups and visits outside of the home. One parent described staff as ‘therapeutic, supportive and understanding’. Staff engage with professionals through timely and detailed updates on children’s progress.

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improvement to be good

Children are regularly encouraged to participate in weekly planning. They express their views and are supported to get involved in making decisions about their own care. Staff act upon children’s wishes and requests and offer flexibility with a range of activities and trips. This helps the children to feel heard, be active and have new experiences.

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improvement to be good

Staff have developed new ways to plan and support children, when moving into the home. This includes assessing how they can meet individual children’s needs and mitigate against any risks. This provides a foundation for improvement in practice for staff, when children have moved recently into the home.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 4 Children are not consistently protected because of ineffective safeguarding arrangements in safe recruitment of staff. Significant failures in recruiting new staff resulted in one staff member commencing employment at the home while subject to the barring list for working with children and vulnerable adults. This has exposed children to avoidable risks from adults, who are unsuitable to work at the home.

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improvement to be good

Aside from safeguarding shortfalls by senior leaders, staff who support the children have a clear understanding of children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Staff are responsive to concerns and communicate well with professionals and the wider care team, ensuring risks are managed well. When children are exposed or vulnerable to exploitation, staff respond with balanced and protective measures.

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improvement to be good

Staff speak to children about risks, both to support their understanding and learning following incidents. Staff use their relationships with the children to encourage engagement and understanding. This helps children to strengthen their understanding of the risks posed by others. One professional described how responsive care from staff has encouraged a child to think about wider issues and develop a better understanding of the risks associated with social media and online influences.

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improvement to be good

Children have access to a therapeutic support and attend this regularly with an in-house clinical team. This enables each child to develop appropriate emotional responses and manage their own emotions. Staff are consistent in their approach to children, using caring and positive behaviour modelling.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not put in place thorough or effective safer recruitment processes to mitigate risks to children. The unsafe practice of recruitment has had a negative effect on the home in meeting its aims and objectives to protect children from risk of harm. This leaves children vulnerable to adults with exclusions, current offending or safeguarding risks. This has wider implications for the organisation as a whole. Specifically, the provider has not managed a contractual worker well within the home to ensure all people in the home are safe to work with, or alongside children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not informed Ofsted of notifiable events, which have been substantiated by safeguarding professionals. Also, the quality-of-care review has not been submitted by the registered manager since the last inspection. These failures reduce regulatory oversight and demonstrate weaknesses in monitoring and compliance arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager challenges relevant professionals when these affect children’s care, such as decisions when children move from the home. However, leaders and managers have not consistently examined their own part in children’s moves. Leaders and managers are not consistently reflective on areas for improvement, when consulting with local authorities. Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 5 This means opportunities to evaluate practice and identify lessons learned are not consistently taken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision sessions, which identify areas for staff development. Children are discussed in detail and where improvements can be made in the care provided to children. The manager has ensured staff have appropriate training to meet the needs of the children and enhance the provision of care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that—

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete; full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and the registered person ensures that the 31 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 7 individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. (Regulation 32(1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(d) (7))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that safer recruitment procedures are rigorously implemented to safeguard children, when employing new staff and hiring contractors.

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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 regis- tered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 31 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 8 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous im- provements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must submit the review of quality of care in line with regulatory requirements.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the regula- tory body are made aware of all serious and significant safe- guarding incidents.

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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: SC462591 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor Brian Royd Mills, Saddleworth Road, Halifax HX4 8NF

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Inspectors

Chrissie Edmonds, Social Care Inspector (lead) Deirdre Silkstone, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC462591 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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