Children's Home run by Pebbles Care Limited in Leeds

Unique reference number SC417795 Inspection date 09/01/2012 Inspector Monica Hargreaves Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 23/06/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011).

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is owned and managed by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for no more than four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making satisfactory progress.

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Progress

At the last inspection, the overall effectiveness of the home was judged to be good. Since that inspection, the home has made satisfactory progress overall.

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Progress

The three recommendations made at the last inspection are all met. The manager has started work on gaining a management qualification in order to ensure that they are suitably qualified for their role. There is a clear system in place to ensure that all new care staff work through the Children's Workforce Development Council's induction standards so that they develop their knowledge and skills in working with children and young people. The young person's guide to the home now includes full details about the Children's Rights Director and independent advocacy services. This means that they know how to contact people who are independent of the home if they wish. The work that the home has done to meet the recommendations demonstrates a clear commitment to continuous improvement.

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Progress

Staff have maintained the quality of care for young people and young people themselves report that they feel that staff look after them well and keep them safe in the home. However, since the last inspection there have been incidents of bullying in the home. Staff are fully aware of these and are working to ensure that bullying does not happen and that young people are protected and supported. Young people spoken with say that they know that bullying is not acceptable and they report that staff try to make sure that it does not happen. However, they say that on occasions it still does and this has a negative impact on some young people. One young person said 'it makes me unhappy.' Young people have complained about these incidents and about the behaviour of other young people which they feel is disruptive. These complaints are being responded to appropriately by the home's manager and senior managers in the organisation. Staff are trained in countering bullying and have put in

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Progress

place different strategies to reduce the risk of bullying and to protect young people. The manager and staff continue to review the work they do with young people and they make sure that young people are appropriately supervised. However, they have not been totally successful in addressing the concerns.

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Progress

Each young person has a detailed care plan that shows how the home will care for them. This incorporates a behaviour support plan which identifies a young person's main areas of need and the strategies that staff will put in place to promote positive behaviour and manage challenging behaviour. Staff are trained in safe care, including in the safe management of challenging behaviour. Restraint is only ever used as a last resort in order to protect young people and staff and there are very few incidents of physical intervention. However, care plans and risk assessments do not all accurately reflect current issues regarding the behaviour of some young people and therefore do not fully inform and support staff in their work with young people.

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Progress

The home is generally very well maintained, although there are some areas of repair and maintenance that require attention in order to bring the home back to its previous good condition. In particular, carpets in the hall require cleaning and some damage has been caused to some fittings, for example, to a bedroom door handle and in the kitchen. The manager has put in place a plan to ensure that this work is completed.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure that individual care plans are kept up to date and accurately reflect children's current behavioural needs (NMS 3.7)  ensure all young people understand that bullying is unacceptable (NMS 3.11)  ensure that all areas of the home are well maintained and decorated and that repairs are attended to. (NMS 10.3)

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