Children's Home run by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council in Wakefield

Unique reference number SC066796 Inspector Nicola McEvinney Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Wakefield Metropolitan District Council Registered person address Wakefield Council, County Hall Bond Street WAKEFIELD West Yorkshire WF1 2QW Responsible individual Mark Barratt Registered manager Ian Fraser Henderson Date of last inspection 14/10/2014 2 of 5 Inspection date 25/02/2015

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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 improved effectiveness .

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This inspection

This interim inspection assessed the progress made since the last full inspection conducted in October 2014 when the home was judged to be good. Two requirements and one recommendation were made at that visit which have been fully addressed. There were no requirements or recommendations raised at this visit.

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This inspection

All casual bank staff are due to commence the level 3 Diploma. This will ensure all staff will have the necessary skills to care for the young people. The Registered Manager conducts a robust monitoring of care practices in line with the regulations and forwards a copy to the Ofsted. This enables the regulator to have an overview of how the home is conducted. Individual protocols are in place to advise staff what action they should take when a young person goes missing or fails to return to the home when expected.

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This inspection

The home has changed its remit from a long-term children’s home to one that works with young people and their families to prevent them from entering the care system. The home also accepts young people in emergency situations and provides a short breaks service to young people who they are working with.

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This inspection

There are young people who have lived at the home since before the change of remit. These young people have been fully consulted during the transition and chose to continue living at the home. They consider that they are safe, well cared for and that their views are heard. These young people are attending a work experience placement which they thoroughly enjoy and are achieving. There are plans in place for them to return to 6th form college in the new academic year and resume their A levels. This will enhance their life opportunities.

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This inspection

The home is adopting a restorative justice approach. To assist this, those long-term 3 of 5 young people have been approached to talk to new admissions to enable them to have an understanding of how this works within the home. These young people feel valued and other professionals consider that they have developed in confidence and maturity. This impacts positively on young people’s self-esteem.

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This inspection

Young people who have been admitted in an emergency situation have been out of education for a significant period. Staff are proactive in identifying an alternative educational placement and there are plans in place for these young people to resume their education. These young people also feel safe and consider that they have someone they can talk to. There have been some incidents of them missing overnight but they were with family. Staff are proactive in searching for young people when they go missing. Young people are provided with a mobile phone to enable staff to maintain regular contact with them when they are away from the home.

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This inspection

Young people access a range of services to support their needs. For example, the substance misuse service has had some success in supporting young people with their substance misuse. The staff work closely with the intensive support team who work with families to help resolve difficulties within the family home. The child and adolescent mental health service provides fortnightly consultation with the staff team to offer support and guidance to help manage young people’s emotional needs and behaviours. Young people have an independent visitor who acts as an advocate to ensure their voices are heard.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager leads a team of highly committed staff who are embracing the new remit of the home. All express enthusiasm about working with families. Already they provide an outreach service to vulnerable young people. There are plans in place for the staff team to access relevant training which will enhance their skills to enable them to work more effectively with families in crisis. There are no child sexual exploitation concerns. 4 of 5

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to seven young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/10/2014 Full good 05/03/2014 Interim good progress 13/06/2013 Full good 10/10/2012 Interim good progress Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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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