Children's Home run by CareTech Community Services Limited in Kirklees

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The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children’s home’s provision is outstanding because:

 Children and young people make excellent progress in all areas of their development.  Children and young people thrive in an environment specifically designed for their needs.  Children and young people enjoy extremely close relationships with staff.  The staff team has an in-depth understanding of safeguarding procedures.  Children’s and young people’s behaviour improves.  Robust staff recruitment procedures ensure that children and young people are not exposed to any adults who may cause them harm.  The registered manager is dedicated to providing completely child-centred care.  The staff are well supported by the registered manager and deputy manager.  Staff receive a wide range of training, centred on children’s and young people’s very specific needs.

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private provider. It provides care for up to five children and young people who have a learning disability and autism. This is the home’s first inspection.

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people living in the home are

Staff have an outstanding knowledge of children’s and young people’s very complex needs. Staff have empathy and understanding for children’s and young people’s feelings. This enables them to develop excellent relationships with each individual. One professional commented: ‘He has great affection for staff. He goes for cuddles. He has such a good relationship with staff. It’s been so good to see progress there.’

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people living in the home are

Children and young people thrive in a beautiful, spacious home, which is completely designed to meet their specific needs. The calm and homely environment reduces children’s and young people’s anxiety and their social interaction improves.

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people living in the home are

Personalised targets ensure that children and young people make outstanding progress in all areas of their development. For example, some young people are now able to brush their teeth, sit at the table to eat and are using a knife and fork for the first time. Children’s and young people’s achievements are celebrated at monthly award dinners where they receive a prize for their efforts. This provides children and young people with a sense of value and achievement.

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people living in the home are

Excellent communication between staff and school professionals provides a seamless approach to managing children’s behaviour and care. This ensures that children and young people receive the predictable routine they need. As a result, children and young people make excellent progress, both at school and in their home. One educational professional commented: ‘They provide exemplary care there. They are always open to joint working. If we have a success, we share it with them and they follow. If they have a success, they share with us and we follow.’

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people living in the home are

Children and young people benefit from activities such as walking, swimming and bike-riding. This ensures that they maintain a good level of physical fitness. Staff are successful in managing children’s and young people’s complex health issues. They work closely with health professionals, such as children’s mental health services, to successfully reduce medication that children and young people take. As a result, some individuals progress to managing their behaviour and emotions, with support from staff, without the use of drugs.

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people living in the home are

Children’s and young people’s relationships with their families thrive because of the support from staff. For example, some children and young people enjoy meals out, trips bowling and days out at the seaside with their families for the first time. This helps to maintain children’s and young people’s sense of identity. One parent commented: ‘He goes out in the community now and we can have a meal out with him. We are pleased with the care and progress. He has come a long way.’

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people are helped and protected

Staff members’ in-depth knowledge of individuals enables them to identify subtle cues as to how children and young people are feeling. This allows staff to quickly redirect any challenging behaviour and instances of physical intervention are rare.

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people are helped and protected

Consistent routines and boundaries provide children and young people with a predictable world. As a result, their behaviour and social interaction improves. As their anxiety reduces, their opportunities to develop new skills increases. Some individuals who have never before been shopping now go and are able to wait for their purchases.

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people are helped and protected

Staff successfully manage risks to children and young people while allowing them to have the freedom to develop their skills. Children’s and young people’s behaviour improves and their life experience continues to grow. Some children and young people can now go out into the community and have been on holiday for the first time.

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people are helped and protected

Staff receive an excellent range of ongoing safeguarding training. Consequently, they have the knowledge to identify safeguarding risks and are quick to respond to any safeguarding issues. For example, staff are able to identify wider risks that may affect children and young people, such as child sexual exploitation.

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people are helped and protected

In the event of a child or young person, going missing from the home, detailed risk assessments provide staff with clear direction to enable them to find children and young people as quickly as possible.

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people are helped and protected

Robust recruitment procedures ensure that adults present no risk to children and young people. Judgement grade

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leaders and managers

The dedicated registered manager has been in post since this home opened in August 2016. She has the qualifications and experience to undertake this role.

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leaders and managers

Children and young people moved into this home with the manager and the staff team from another home. The manager’s meticulous planning ensured that this transition went well for children. Taking into account children’s and young people’s very complex needs, and resistance to change, this is an outstanding achievement.

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leaders and managers

The registered manager focuses her monitoring of the service on children’s and young people’s progress. As a result, she is successful in identifying the strengths and areas of development. The registered manager’s completely child-centred approach ensures that children and young people continue to make excellent progress in all areas of their development.

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leaders and managers

Staff receive regular supervision and all feel that they receive excellent support from the registered manager and her deputy. Staff feel happy in their work and the staff team remains stable. One member of staff commented: ‘It’s an open door policy. We do not need a supervision, we can go and talk to managers at any time. We have a bond with managers.’

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leaders and managers

Staff access a wide range of training, which centres on children’s and young people’s specific needs and vulnerabilities. The registered manager encourages continual staff progression. Consequently, staff have the confidence and knowledge to provide the specialist care that children and young people need.

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leaders and managers

The registered manager and her staff team work in partnership with other professionals, such as social workers, schools, mental health services and medical professionals. This ensures that they consistently meet children’s and young people’s social, educational and health needs. One professional commented: ‘Communication is excellent face-to-face, by email and by telephone. There are no concerns.’

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leaders and managers

This home is operating within its statement of purpose, providing outstanding care for children and young people.

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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 children looked after 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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