Children's Home run by Leicester City Council in Leicester

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

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

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The service continues to deliver a good quality of care to young people, who are each making progress against their starting points on admission. Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have taken actions to further develop the service in response to a requirement and recommendation set at that time. However, some areas of weakness identified later in this report indicate that the service has not yet broadly improved in effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leadership and management continue to be strong. Managers monitor the quality of the care provided and push forward service development. An independent person visits the home on a monthly basis and produces a report on their findings. Managers address areas of weaknesses and recommendations as they arise. The management team is very knowledgeable about each young person’s needs and plans, and very proud of the service. There is a very stable team, with some staff having worked at this home for many years. As a result, young people have been able to build secure relationships. Since the full inspection there has been a change in manager, following the retirement of the previous registered manager. An internal promotion to this role has assisted a smooth transition to the new arrangements. Consequently, there has been no detrimental impact on the care young people receive. An application is in the process of submission to Ofsted for

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the time of the previous inspection, one young person has had a planned move on, and one has been admitted. The young person speaks very positively about the support they received on admission.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people attend an educational placement identified to meet their individual needs. Attendance and achievement within education are very positive, when balanced against individual starting points and complex histories. Staff speak with equal pride about a young person identified as having the potential and desire to progress on to university and another who has improved their self-management of the school day. Comments from education professionals show that staff prioritise young people’s education; for example, one said: ‘They have been absolutely brilliant at supporting the way we work.’ This confirms that effective joint working is assisting young people’s progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people start to become more emotionally resilient while living in a caring and settled environment. They are prepared for future independent living. Care arrangements include the opportunity for one young person to live in a semi- independent area within the home, taking increasing responsibility for all areas of their daily living. Young people are very confident in, and speak highly of, the care that they receive. They confirm that they have positive relationships with staff and can easily talk to them about personal issues. Comments include: ‘Living here is like one big family’; ‘coming here has changed my life. I now have started to trust adults’; and, ‘I would not change anything.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Behaviour is generally well managed. Young people say that the home’s rules and use of sanctions are fair. They also say that staff talk to them about undesirable behaviours, which has encouraged them to start to make changes and to think more about the impact of certain behaviours. Young people confirm that staff talk to them after any occasion involving the use of physical intervention. A recommendation has been made in this report to strengthen the recording of debrief meetings with young people after a physical intervention. This is because they do not currently have the opportunity to personally add their own comments to the record. Additionally, while a record is made of the discussion with a young person, this area of reporting is found to mostly reflect on behaviours rather than young people’s feelings about the use of physical holds. There has been an occasion when the poor supervision of young people contributed to circumstances

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

resulting in a young person receiving an injury. Managers quickly identified learning from the event and took immediate and effective steps to strengthen practice. As a result, there is now a structured shift plan for each day which sets out the agreed activities, support and supervision of each young person. Staff confirm that the additional detail of this day plan has improved their understanding of their role and responsibilities.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Consultation with a link person from the child and adolescent mental health team informs the team’s understanding of young people’s differing vulnerabilities and potential risks. Young people who at the last inspection said that bullying was a problem now say that this is no longer a concern. This shows that recent training and management guidance have strengthened practice and that young people feel safer.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people live in an improving home environment. The registered person has driven forward actions to improve the home in response to a requirement set at the time of the last inspection, including new carpeting laid in the communal stairs and landing areas. Young people were recently involved in decorating activities, choosing purchases and colour schemes for the lounge area. Finances are agreed and plans are being finalised for more major refurbishments, which include the addition of en-suite bathroom facilities. The management team is also assessing options to reduce the level of interruptions to young people while they are relaxing and watching television in the lounge. This is because the current layout of rooms means that the access to staff offices results in staff having to walk across the lounge area, thus invading young people’s relaxation time by interrupting their view of the television.

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Information about this children's home

The home is operated by a local authority and registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

12/02/2015 Interim Sustained Effectiveness

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  ensure that any child who has been restrained is given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint. Children should also be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 49, paragraph 9.60)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection 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

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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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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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