Children's Home run by Leeds City Council in Leeds

Unique reference number SC033723 Inspection date 26/06/2013 Inspector Michael McCleave Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 10/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Brief description of the service

This is a purpose-built children’s home, which is operated by a local authority. The home provides medium- to long-term care for up to five young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

The young people make good progress based on the positive care and commitment provided by the staff. Their welfare is at the heart of the work carried out by staff, who demonstrate a professional approach in all aspects of their relationships with the young people. There is a culture of wanting the young people to succeed in their personal, social and educational development. This is underpinned by well thought out care plans that give direction to staff on the work to be undertaken with each individual young person. These are supplemented by good evaluative assessments on the progress being made against the care plan.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff work together as a close knit professional team who will go the extra mile to ensure the well-being and safety of the young people. They have a good understanding of the care needs of all the young people. They positively support and nurture the young people as they progress through the journey towards adulthood. This is a very supportive environment for vulnerable young people, who are able to achieve their best with strong support and guidance from a team of dedicated staff.

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Overall effectiveness

Safeguarding is a prime focus at the home and young people are supported to lead safe lifestyles in preparation for the time when they move on from this home. Young people feel safe at the home although there is an issue of bullying taking place between some young people. Staff are alert to this and take appropriate action as required.

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Overall effectiveness

The management of the home is sound and there is a commitment to improvement in the operation of the setting. The recommendation made at the last inspection relating to the quality of case recordings has been addressed by the manager. This is a good demonstration of a capacity to improve and change.

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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 all staff are trained to recognise and deal with any indications or incidents of bullying. (NMS 3.12)

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Outcomes for children and young people

The young people have improved their self-confidence since coming to this home. They all lacked a belief in themselves and did not trust adults. Through the work of the staff, the young people now participate in various activities that involve them interacting with other young people in the community and adults. Examples include attending scouts, karate lessons, army cadets, chess class, youth project in arts and music, managing chickens, shopping, and using public transport. These are major achievements for each of the young people. Staff said, 'we aim to build up their confidence through a step-by-step approach to gradually improve confidence in themselves.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

All the young people enjoy good health and they are not engaged in smoking or taking illegal substances. They have learned to take good care of their health. Examples include improved oral hygiene through regular brushing of their teeth, daily showering, skin care, healthy meals and taking exercise through activities such as biking. The young people have recently won an award from a healthy foods competition. The young people have developed a good understanding of risks to their health in relation to smoking, sexual health and taking illegal substances.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The young people are achieving educationally. They are all receiving an education either at school, college or other planned provision. Their attendance at these settings is good and all are achieving in line with their abilities. Their progress is impressive compared to their records prior to their move into this children's home. Most of the young people are predicted to achieve good outcomes in relation to examinations.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The young people have learned how to behave in the community and to foster good relations with neighbours. For example, they regularly give away free range eggs to neighbours and they have been fund raising locally for good causes such as animal welfare. This concern for others is a major achievement among the young people. Young people have shown improvement in reducing offending behaviour within the local area. Some young people are preparing for semi-independent living and they have learned how to budget, and undertake domestic activities such as cleaning and meal preparation. They have successfully achieved a place on a work programme with a national retail organisation that will enable them to compete for full-time work.

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Quality of care

This home provides young people with a safe, nurturing environment. Staff demonstrate a commitment to ensuring the young people are given every opportunity to experience a friendly and harmonious place to live. This is in contrast to their previous situations before coming to this home. As staff point out, 'we have our stroppy days but they are normal teenagers after all.' The relationship between the staff and young people is warm and positive. Staff have a good understanding of the care and emotional needs of the young people. They are skilled at managing challenging situations in a calm and caring manner. This approach promotes a more stable environment for the young people. One young person stated, 'I like being here, there is lots to do and we have nice trips out.'

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Quality of care

Staff have high aspirations for the young people and they work individually with each young person through the key worker system. This ensures that young people receive personal time with a member of staff who they have built up a trust with. This approach of aiming high for the young people is demonstrated by staff who said, 'we want the best for our young people because of the poor level of support they had before they came to us', and, 'our aim is to give them the best chance in life before they leave us.' This demonstrates a commitment to equality and diversity.

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Quality of care

Young people are actively encouraged to take a responsibility for activities at the home. For example, they plan all trips out to places of interest, they choose the decoration at the home and decide on the décor of their bedrooms. Some of the young people have been involved in organising the local authority annual achievement awards ceremony. This approach fosters a sense of responsibility among the young people. It is also a demonstration of the staff commitment to support and to encourage the young people to have confidence in their abilities. Young people are actively involved in all aspects of their care plans and any decisions made or changes to their plans are agreed with them.

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Quality of care

Strong links have been established with the schools attended by the young people and with the education services. For example, the education support service teacher attends at the home to help young people who are temporarily on a reduced school timetable. This ensures that young people are able to maintain an effective educational programme. Staff attend meetings at the school to ensure that the interests of young people are represented. It is very evident that staff take a proactive approach to enhance the education of the young people. One young person commented, 'staff have been encouraging me to do well at college.' The quality of life for young people is enhanced by the comfortably furnished children's home. This provides the young people with a nurturing environment. All young people enjoy having their own bedrooms which they are free to decorate to their own preferences. The building is located within a housing estate and this gives

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Quality of care

the young people the opportunity to experience life in a community setting.

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Quality of care

Staff work hard to ensure that the young people know about leading a healthy lifestyle. They regularly discuss health-related matters with the young people in order to impress upon them how to look after their personal health. This work is supplemented by input from the looked after nurse, who is a regular visitor at the home to meet with the young people. The looked after nurse and staff actively engage with the young people to encourage a more responsible approach to all health-related matters. None of the young people at this setting smoke or take drugs.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is adequate at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home provides the young people with a safe place to live. All staff are trained in the management of safeguarding. The young people feel safe among the staff team, who they trust and respect. However, young people feel unsafe about the behaviour of some of their peers who behave at times in an intimidating manner towards them. Staff are alert to these concerns and they adopt appropriate strategies to manage and control this bullying behaviour. This demonstrates that staff are proactive in their work to keep young people safe. It nevertheless remains a source of some concern among young people that bullying does take place and they feel unsafe at times when bullying tactics are employed by certain young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a good track record in reducing levels of young people who go missing. This is due to the positive caring culture generated by staff at the home. Young people do not feel any need to go missing as they have a trust in the staff. For example one young person said, 'why would we want to run away; staff treat us ok and are good to us.'

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people enjoy good relationships with staff and this is demonstrated through behaviour management that is based on mutual trust and respect. Restraint is rarely used. Staff base their approach to behaviour management on de-escalation of tense situations through calm dialogue with the young people. Staff are very clear that restraint is a last resort in order to prevent harm to the young person concerned.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home operates a robust recruitment and selection procedure and this promotes the safety of young people. This means that only those staff who have been cleared through a rigorous selection process are appointed to work at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Investigations into any concerns or allegations are carried out promptly and effectively by the management at the home. The safeguarding procedures set out by the local authority are followed appropriately and this ensures that the young people are protected. There is a clear understanding among staff of the importance of transparency in all matters relating to safeguarding.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The building provides the young people with a safe place to live.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

This home is appropriately managed and demonstrates a capacity to change and improve as it was judged as adequate at the last full inspection. The recommendation made at the last inspection to enhance the quality of record keeping has been complied with. These records are now more meaningful for young people to read now or in the future about their time at the home.

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Leadership and management

The home continues to meet the aims and objectives listed in the Statement of Purpose. All staff are managed and supervised in line with this document and they are appropriately trained to meet the care needs of the young people. However, in view of the concerns about bullying from some young people, further training for staff in managing these situations may enhance their skills and competences.

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Leadership and management

The staff work well as a team, supporting each other to ensure that young people are provided with the highest level of care. The overall quality of work in the home is monitored by the Registered Manager and through monthly unannounced inspections in line with regulations. Any shortfalls in standards are readily addressed by the management team.

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Leadership and management

A strength at this home is a strong committed staff team. The staff are described by management as, 'brilliant, who will go the extra mile for the young people.' The staff bring a wealth of experience to their work. They have a range of skills that include social work, play therapy, and psychology, all of which enhance the richness of competences available for the benefit of the young people. This gives young people the opportunity to progress and to make positive gains in their lives.

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Leadership and management

All staff are appropriately supervised to ensure that they are operating at a competent level. There are training opportunities provided by the local authority to enable staff to enhance their skills. This means that young people are cared for by staff who are appropriately managed and able to meet the challenging demands of the young people in a busy children's home.

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Leadership and management

The records are well maintained and these provide a detailed account of the lives of each young person living at the home. Care plans and monthly evaluative summaries give a good account of the progress made by the young people. These important records have been completed involving the young people This gives a clear demonstration of the commitment attached by staff for young people to take a proactive role in their care plans.

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Leadership and management

The home is appropriately staffed. The Registered Manager is currently absent and the local authority has taken positive steps to ensure that the leadership and management of the home remain effective. To this end a temporary manager has been appointed. This means that operations are continuing to be carried out efficiently.

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Leadership and management

Effective links have been established with the appropriate statutory services to ensure that young people are provided with the required resources. Professionals from some of these services commented very positively about the effective work being carried out at this home with the young people.

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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 main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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