Children's Home run by Leeds City Council in Leeds

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Children are provided with warm, nurturing care which is delivered by a highly committed and experienced staff team.  Children have clear structure, boundaries and routines in place which provides for continuity of care.  Children are supported with their education attainment.  Staff recognise the importance of childhood and give the children opportunities and experiences that enhance their lives.  Children are safe.  The minor shortfalls identified at this inspection do not impact on children’s welfare.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Staff should provide an environment that is welcoming. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, Page 15. 3.7) In particular to ensure the garden area is attended to by having the hedges and grass cut.

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Recommendations

 All staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). (The Guide to the Quality Standards, Page 53. 10.12)

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Information about this children's home

This local authority children’s home is registered to provide care for up to five children of either gender with emotional and or behavioural difficulties. The home provides care for children from the age of 7 to 12 years of age.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

10/03/2015 Interim Sustained Effectiveness

p.5

good

Children make good progress at this home. This is made possible by the highly committed and experienced staff team who have a clear understanding of the complex needs and behaviours that the children present. Detailed care plans outline the individual needs of each child with guidance on how these are to be addressed. Alongside these care plans there are individual, ‘a day in the life of’ plans. These set out each child’s daily routine from waking up to going to bed. This ensures a consistent approach is maintained providing stability for the children. Both the care plans and the ‘a day in the life of’ documents are very child centred with clear reminders that the children want love and affection which is freely given with lots of hugs and cuddles.

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good

The children thrive in this warm and nurturing environment. They say, ‘They always care about me.’ There is good structure to the children’s day and consistent boundaries which the children respond well to. Meals times are a family affair, an independent reviewing officer (IRO) commented, ‘I was most impressed to find the children and staff eating their evening meal in a calm and relaxed atmosphere at the end of my visit.’

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good

Children have made good progress with their education, all are excellent attendees. As part of their daily routine, children on arrival from school have homework time. They are encouraged to practice their reading and writing; some children have tutors to support them with specific subjects. This has impacted positively on their learning. School reports reflect the progress children have made. There is effective liaison between school and home. The home supports the school in managing some of the challenging behaviours by way of the home providing incentives for good days at school. This has shown a marked reduction in challenging behaviours at school.

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good

Despite their young age the children’s views are sought in all areas of their lives. For example, the IRO visits the children prior to their review to ensure that their views are sought. Children said that they understood what their review was about and were happy that they were being heard. Children are proud that they devised their menus and they were able to choose the décor of their bedrooms.

p.6

good

The children lead very busy lives. They enjoy a range of fun activities such as fishing, swimming lessons, football, ice skating, horse riding and gymnastics. During the summer holidays they have joined activity clubs doing gymnastic and football. Lots of outings have been planned; for example, going to the seaside, a cooking/dining competition and visits to an activity park. Staff spend a lot of one- to-one time with the children playing games, watching television or DVD’s. The home has a spacious garden with a range of outside play equipment which the children enjoy.

p.6

good

The aim of the home is to prepare the children for either to return to their family or to move to foster placements. Staff work tirelessly to support the children to become ‘family ready’. They help them to develop socially acceptable behaviours and encourage them to participate in some of the basic chores in the home. For example, they wash-up after meals, change their beds and tidy their bedrooms. Some children may require more support undertaking these jobs but it helps them to develop independence skills and responsibility.

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good

Children are safe in this home; they say they feel safe and that there is not any bullying.

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good

Children are safeguarded by staff’s adherence to the individual risk assessments which identify potential dangers with strategies in place to minimise the risk. The children are closely supervised which reduces significantly the risk of harm.

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good

Missing person’s protocols ensure staff have a clear understanding of what action to take in the event of a child going missing. This is a rare event although there has been two incidents that children have been reported missing within the last month, relating to one child. Going missing was a regular feature of their behaviours prior to being admitted. The child was returned to the home within a couple of hours during daylight. This child was in crisis and found his way back to his home. A return home interview was conducted giving the child the opportunity to share why they have felt the need to ‘run away’.

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good

Children’s behaviours are well-managed and understood by staff. Those children who have ingrained learnt behaviours which in the past has enabled them to be in control demonstrate their frustration now they are no longer in the driving seat. On these occasions they exhibit extremely challenging behaviours which impact on the other children. The use of the restorative practice approach has enabled the children to become aware of the impact they have on the other children when these outburst occur. This helps to create a harmonious environment where children are learning respect for one another.

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good

There have been a number of physical interventions which have been appropriate. Staff speak positively about the use of the behaviour management approach that is utilised in the home. They make good use of the de-escalation strategies that help the children to regain control. It is evident that staff care about the children, and despite some of the extreme behaviours displayed, they remain highly committed to them.

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good

This is a well-managed home. The Registered Manager holds a Social Work qualification and the level 4 Diploma in Leadership and Management. She has been in post for over eight years. She leads a stable staff team who are highly committed to provide warm nurturing care, where children thrive. The manager’s ethos is one which values childhood, an ethos shared by the staff team. Social workers speak highly of the care provided and staff’s understanding of the specific needs of the children. A social worker said, ‘The staff have a good grasp of his needs and he has a made great strides in that setting. He has done wonders; he is developing a deep and meaningful relationship with his keyworker.’

p.8

good

The children make good progress, even those children who have been admitted in crisis as an emergency, have continued to attend their education, and have adapted to the stability and routine provided. Children are being well-prepared for their move-on placement whether this is to return to their family or for a foster placement. There is an emphasis that this will be done at the child’s pace, ensuring good matching, with introductions taking as long as required and on-going support if necessary. This approach strengthens the likelihood for a successful outcome.

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good

There are sufficient numbers of staff deployed on each shift to meet the children’s needs and to ensure that they all have individual time with a member of staff. The staff feel well supported, they have regular supervision and the management team are always available for support and guidance. They are provided with good training opportunities. All permanent staff are appropriately qualified although regular casual staff do not hold the Level 3 Diploma as required by regulation.

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good

The Statement of Purpose sets out to interested people what the service has to offer. A child friendly children’s guide enables children to have an understanding of what they can expect when they come to live at the home. Staff go through this with the children ensuring that they understand.

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good

The Registered Manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service. The strengths being the consistency of the staff team who genuinely care for the children. She recognises that she and the staff strive to provide a homely environment for the children. The weaknesses she recognises as sometimes there is an over reliance on one plan and contingency plans are not always in place. This can lead to drift in children’s plans. She is putting forward the proposal to twin-track children’s plans to ensure children move-on without unnecessary delay. The manager is proactive in addressing with other professionals where children’s plans are not progressing.

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good

Good monitoring systems ensure that the home is run efficiently. The independent visitor has raised the issue of the external area needing attention; the grass and hedges need cutting. This has been identified as a shortfall at this inspection.

p.9

good

The recommendation raised at the last inspection has been met. The admissions register is now completed correctly.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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