Children's Home run by Leicester City Council in Leicester

Unique reference number SC039025 Inspector Catherine Honey Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Leicester City Council Registered person address New Walk Centre Welford Place LEICESTER LE1 6ZG Responsible individual Michael David Evans Registered manager Kevin Curtis Date of last inspection 02/07/2014 2 of 5 Inspection date 12/02/2015

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Previous inspection good Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

Managers and staff are skilled, experienced and confident in providing care to young people with highly complex needs and challenging behaviours. Over time, the majority of young people learn to manage and take responsibility for their own behaviour. Managers and staff understand that, while this learning takes place, firm boundaries and careful management of young people is required. A placing social worker commented, 'Care is absolutely spectacular. The home have been incredible at meeting my young person's needs. My young person is nurtured, loved and safe. There are fantastic relationships with staff. They work very closely with me. They are committed to my young person.'

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This inspection

The home has strong relationships with social workers and external professionals, such as the police, who confirm that good safeguarding systems and practice helps protect young people. If young people are at risk of harm, robust and well- implemented risk assessments help reduce the levels of risk. If young people go missing from the home, staff are proactive in searching for them and quickly share any intelligence they gather with the police. Despite clear boundaries and safeguarding practice, there are still incidents of risk-taking behaviour and some young people are at significant risk of child sexual exploitation (CSE). Where the home is no longer able to protect young people, urgent action is taken, in conjunction with placing social workers, to seek an alternative placement.

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This inspection

Safeguarding policies are fully understood and implemented by staff the majority of the time. However, on one occasion, the provider's safeguarding policy was not followed appropriately, meaning an allegation of abuse was not passed on in a timely way. The management team acted immediately when they became aware of the shortfall and safeguarding procedures were followed ensuring the safety of young people. This shortfall has undermined the otherwise robust and tight safeguarding practice in the home. 3 of 5 Staff are confident in their roles and understand the needs of all young people living in the home. They talk positively about their work and support they receive in often challenging situations. Where areas for improvement in staff practice are identified, the management team respond robustly through supervision and support.

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This inspection

There have been a number of significant events relating to the welfare of young people in the home. These have been notified to all agencies, including Ofsted. However, the provider's process for submission of these notification reports causes a delay in receipt by the regulator. This means any review is unnecessarily delayed and undermines the ability of Ofsted to scrutinise and take action on any potentially concerning incidents. However, there has been no direct impact on the safety and welfare of young people as a result of this shortfall.

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This inspection

The home has been effectively run since the last inspection, with three recommendations made at the last inspection now met. A recommendation was made about ensuring young people receive annual looked-after health assessments. These are now completed helping to ensure young people’s health needs are fully understood and documented. A recommendation was made to help ensure the home felt homely. A metal cage around a fire system has been removed making the entrance area feel less institutionalised. The maintenance of the home remains a priority. The décor of the ground floor of the home helps ensure the home feels homely and warm. The Registered provider is now considering ways to ensure communal areas in the first floor of the home can be made more homely. A final recommendation was made at the last inspection about staff qualification levels. The majority of staff now hold the required qualification in residential child care, ensuring

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This inspection

young people are cared for by a skilled and appropriately qualified staff team. 4 of 5

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by the local authority and registered to provide care and accommodation for six young people. The home offers care and accommodation for young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/07/2014 Full good 04/03/2014 Interim good progress 07/08/2013 Full adequate 21/02/2013 Interim good progress

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the written a policy which sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of any allegation of abuse or neglect is effectively implemented (Regulation 16 (1) (b)) 01/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that if any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, that the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table. This is with specific reference to notifying Ofsted of relevant events. (Regulation 30(1)) 01/03/2015 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Reg. Requirement Due date

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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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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