Children's Home run by Care Today Parallel Parents in Leeds

Outstanding

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 provision is outstanding because:

 Young people make excellent progress in all aspects of their lives, given their starting points, because of living here.  Staff create an extremely caring environment that provides a solid foundation for positive and trusting relationships between them and the young people.  There continues to be a dramatic reduction in all risk-taking behaviour, such as drug use and going missing. Staff are well trained in all aspects of safeguarding and protecting young people, and work closely with other professionals to ensure young people’s safety.  The manager and staff team have turned around a service that was struggling to provide good care, and the home is almost unrecognisable from the one inspected last year.  The views of others indicate that the care provided, progress and experiences of young people are outstanding. One professional commented: ‘I have nothing but praise for the home and staff.’

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Four recommendations are made, mostly in relation to recording. These minor shortfalls do not detract from the outstanding progress that young people make because of living here.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 A child’s plans should form the basis of their care, and providers should use their judgement as to what is relevant in each case. This is in relation to continuing to pursue the placing authority in order to provide clear and detailed placement and education plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1)  The children’s guide should help children to understand how they can access advocacy support. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. This is in relation to monitoring the risk of data about the home appearing on the internet and ensuring that all risk assessments provide clarity as to action to take to reduce risk. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph

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Recommendations

9.5)  The registered person should have a workforce plan that should be used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff. This relates to the recording of fire prevention training for staff and the clarity of training records. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Information about this children's home

This home is registered to care for four young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is owned and managed by a private organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

02/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

24/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Outstanding

Young people who live here make excellent progress in all areas of their lives, given their starting points. Those who move on from the home do so having achieved equally impressive outcomes. This provides excellent foundations for their new placements or their return to the family home. Education attendance and attainment are excellent. Staff help young people back into education that has been disrupted by numerous placement breakdowns or non-attendance through going missing from school. This means that young people have been attaining 100% attendance and achieving qualifications previously not expected. Young people engage in the right education package, which meets their needs. This is because staff are tenacious in engaging with other professionals to secure the right education, enabling young people to achieve. For example, one young person placed away from their home area was supported to continue to

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Outstanding

attend their school through negotiation of a part-time timetable and was able to stay locally with his family. This was combined with computer-based learning in the home. This not only enabled him to succeed in his education but also maintained his social and family links in his home area. Young people who previously had no interests or hobbies now take part in a range of activities, such as drum lessons, boxing, watching football, learning to play the guitar and motor biking. Young people have also been on holiday and on a ‘glamping’ trip. A number of activities promote the health of young people. For example, they enjoy cycling, going to the gym and adventure courses. These activities and the provision of healthy, varied meals result in the general health and well-being of young people being excellent. Primary healthcare needs are addressed well, ensuring that minor ailments are treated appropriately and that

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Outstanding

regular check-ups are performed. Young people who previously had extensive, daily drug use are now drug free, due to the support of staff working alongside drug and alcohol support agencies. This excellent progress is recognised by the young people themselves. One commented: ‘They have changed it all for me.’ Contact with families has become a much more positive experience, steadily increasing and extending to the wider family. This build-up of positive contact has resulted in a return home for some young people. Young people enthusiastically engage in independence programmes. Daily chores, such as shopping, cooking and laundry, provide opportunities for young people to learn skills for adult life and to engage one to one with staff. Staff have worked exceptionally well with an unaccompanied asylum-seeking young person. When he came to the home, he spoke no English and had no previous education. Staff thoroughly researched the local area and introduced him to the

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Outstanding

local Kurdish community, including a restaurant, shops and community groups, so that he could engage with people from his own culture. Staff and young people learned Kurdish words and helped him to learn English. Staff were able to secure him a place at a college for young people who have little or no English and supported him to learn independence skills, resulting in his moving into his own flat locally. Establishing such good local community contacts has enabled him to move on confidently, providing a strong social network and supporting his independence. Staff work extremely hard to build positive relationships with young people and to provide nurturing care. They provide routine structure and keep young people safe. This, in turn, provides for a stable placement. This is vital for young people, some of whom have had up to 14 previous placements. This stability is recognised by placing authorities, and social workers and placement officers thank staff for ‘the

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Outstanding

consistency and structure’, and praise the ‘stabilising of placement and education’. The building has dramatically improved since the last full inspection, having undergone substantial refurbishment and redecoration. It now provides a homely, warm place, complemented by the nurturing and caring staff, creating a real family environment. Young people comment that it ‘feels like it is a family not just staff’, and that ‘the best thing is the staff. I like them all. You can have a laugh, but they remain professional too.’ The new registered manager has gained important learning from previous placements that have been unsuccessful, either through poor matching or insufficient or inaccurate information from placing authorities. A robust matching process ensures that only those young people whose needs can be met, and who are a good mix with the current young people, are now placed here, even if this means that the home is not fully occupied.

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Outstanding

Moving on from the home is extremely well planned, with visits to the new home, tea visits and excellent communication between providers ensuring a smooth transition. Staff warmly welcome young people who have moved on when they come to visit, enthusiastically sharing news and discussing their progress. The home’s care plans provide clear targets for each young person. Excellent use of key work identifies the issues to be addressed, ways in which staff can help and the progress that young people make towards each target. Clear, visually effective charts and diagrams provide a clear reflection of the journey that they make. Consultation is a real strength. Staff utilise various formats, such as key work, residents’ meetings, feedback surveys and confidential meetings, ensuring that young people’s views are heard. This consultation results in changes to the routines and the home. For example, bedtimes have been revised because of

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Outstanding

young people’s views. An unused garage in the garden has been refurbished by staff and young people working together and now provides a games area and ‘chill out’ space for young people, again through young people’s discussions in a residents’ meeting. Judgement grade

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Good

Staff work hard to keep very vulnerable young people as safe as possible, working alongside a number of other professionals, such as safeguarding teams, sexual exploitation teams and police missing-from-home officers. Staff undertake a range of training in matters such as safeguarding, sexual exploitation, radicalisation and extremism. This increases their knowledge in how to keep young people safe. Incidents of young people being missing from home reduce dramatically and, in doing so, reduce the risks of sexual exploitation, inappropriate relationships and behaviours such as drug taking. Staff ensure that they know the young people’s social networks and places that they gravitate towards. This means that any incidents that do occur are well managed, enabling a swift return to the home. Independent people perform return home interviews and, if there is any delay in this process, staff perform their own interview in order to address any issues or

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Good

concerns swiftly. Young people’s behaviour significantly improves because of living here, and physical interventions have reduced from very high numbers to none in a 12-month period. Positive behaviour is encouraged, and young people enthusiastically engage in the incentives programme, working hard to obtain a number of individual rewards. The home is well maintained, clean and kept safe and appropriately secure. Regular fire, maintenance and health and safety checks ensure that this remains so. Staff have undertaken basic fire prevention training as part of their health and safety training, although this is not clearly recorded in the home’s training plans or records. Regular fire drills mean that young people and staff know what to do in the event of a fire. The registered manager and leaders in the organisation have worked hard to ensure that the risks from a recent data breach have reduced. The formation of a

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Good

risk assessment will enable the manager to constantly review this risk and to ensure that this does not happen in the future. The quality of risk assessments is generally good and provides information on the nature of the risk and the most effective way in which staff can manage and reduce the risk. There is one risk assessment that would benefit from more clarity in the action that staff should take. This is in relation to self-harm. This has been a risk in a previous placement but has not been an issue in this home. More clarity would enable staff to manage this effectively, should such an incident occur.

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Good

A relatively new, enthusiastic and motivated registered manager leads a committed staff team, driving improvement since the last inspection. This has resulted in a complete overhaul of the home and shift in the culture and ethos of the staff. She is currently undertaking the relevant qualification, and staff are either qualified to the appropriate level, are on the relevant course, or are probationary staff who will be referred once they have completed their probationary period. This will ensure that all staff are appropriately qualified within the required timescales. Regular supervision and annual appraisals enable staff to reflect on their work and to raise any concerns as well as highlighting the progress that they make as individuals. Staff develop the skills required to take on senior roles, and one has recently become the assistant manager. Team meetings provide a forum for open and honest discussion and encourage group learning.

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Good

External monitoring by the independent visitor provides a robust monthly review of the quality of care, welfare and progress of the young people. The internal monitoring by the registered manager is equally robust. Regular checks and analysis of information enable the manager to highlight patterns and trends and to identify improvements needed. A good development plan provides an effective vehicle for the implementation of these improvements. The statement of purpose provides a good overview of the service, its ethos and practice. The young people’s guide is in brochure format, providing them with a clear understanding of how the home operates. Although the guide includes information on the right to access advocates, it currently lacks their contact information. Despite this, young people have been in contact with various support agencies when raising concerns about their placing authorities, and staff have

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Good

supported them effectively. No complaints or concerns have been raised about the home. The registered manager and staff work successfully with a range of other professionals and agencies, improving the safety, welfare and outcomes for young people. The manager confidently confronts placing authorities regarding the availability of placement plans. She is also beginning to challenge the poor quality of some of these plans. A recommendation is made to ensure that she continues to pursue placing authorities in order to provide clear and detailed placement and education plans. Staff undergo a range of training in mandatory courses, such as safeguarding, physical intervention, sexual exploitation and medication, and courses on areas such as radicalisation, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Some of the recording of training undertaken is unclear, and a recommendation is made to ensure that all training records are clear about the training that staff have

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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 that 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 that 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 whom 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

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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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