Children's home 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:

 Good levels of competent staff ensure that care planning and care practice are highly individualised. Young people are given many opportunities to develop their interests by taking part in activities that they enjoy, while promoting their general development.  Good relationships are established between young people and the staff team. This ensures that young people have adults whom they can trust and enjoy spending positive time with in the home and the wider community.  The staff team benefits from a motivated manager, who is committed to supporting both young people and staff to achieve their potential and to secure continual improvement in the quality of care provided in the home.  Individual staff members say that they are well supported in their role by the manager, and have regular supervision and team meetings. They participate in regular training. This ensures that they are well equipped to meet the

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The children's home provision is good because:

individual needs of any young person placed in the home.  Young people make good progress living at the home, from their individual starting points. This is because of the high-quality care and support that are provided by the staff team.  Areas for the home’s development include ensuring that: – young people have access to a phone without having to ask permission to use one, unless there are clear safeguarding concerns – records are completed to include the effectiveness of any measures of control that are imposed by the staff team and that these records include the views of the young people – there is a clear record of any complaint made within the home

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The children's home provision is good because:

– monitoring of the home includes the opinions of young people, parents and other professionals in order to drive improvement – individual records appertaining to young people should be kept up to date and signed by the author – there is a clear workforce development plan in place for each member of staff.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets the Care Standards Act 2000, the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children are provided at all reasonable times with access to a telephone, which they may use without reference to persons working at the home. (Regulation 22(2)(a)) 20/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any measure of control imposed; that within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person has spoken to the user about the measure; and that the record confirms that the young person has been spoken to. The registered manager must review the measure for effectiveness and any consequence of the measure. (Regulation 35(a)(vii)(b)(i)(c)) 20/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39(3)) 20/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care, which must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(5)) 20/01/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The registered person should have a workforce plan. The plan should detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 All children's case records must be kept up to date and stored securely in the home. Records must be kept up to date, signed and dated by the author of each entry. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Information about this children's home

This children's home is operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 24/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/02/2016 Full Requires improvement 12/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 11/12/2014 Full Good

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Good

Young people make good progress, because they receive personalised and consistent support from staff with whom they have started to make good relationships. They benefit from living in a caring environment where staff treat them with unconditional positive regard. One young person commented: ‘Staff are always around. The staff look after us well.’ The consistency of the staff team means that young people feel confident and safe with the staff, and enjoy spending time with them.

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Good

Young people have opportunities to be involved in varied social and recreational activities, such as attending a local gym or badminton club and taking part in local fun runs. They also enjoy activities in the home, such as playing board games, watching DVDs and doing arts and crafts. Staff ensure that young people start to develop the practical skills and emotional resilience to prepare them for the transition to the next stage of their lives. They are encouraged and involved in the preparation of simple meals and they do their own laundry. This improves their skills and confidence and further equips them for adult life.

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Good

Effective collaboration with educational professionals ensures that young people can meet their educational targets. Both young people are making good progress and have good levels of attendance. When there are periods of exclusion, staff have a number of discussions and meetings with schools to ensure successful reintegration. There is an aspirational culture in the home that helps young people to aim high. As a result young people are starting to thrive educationally. One young person said: ‘I really like school and I’m doing really well there.’

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Good

Young people’s health is generally good. They are registered with healthcare services and attend routine health appointments. Young people are encouraged to understand the importance of maintaining good health. They are provided with good information and advice about a range of important health matters, such as healthy eating and the consequences of smoking and substance misuse. Their emotional well-being is well supported by the staff team and the in-house psychologist. This means that both staff and young people have the opportunity to discuss any emerging concerns as they arise. This ensures that the right level of support is initiated without delay.

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Good

Young people’s wishes and feelings are central to how the home is run. Their views are constantly sought, and they are fully involved in their individual care planning arrangements. They have a purposeful say in how they would like to be cared for and what they hope to achieve. Consequently, young people feel valued and motivated to work towards their individual incentives. Young people benefit from well-planned contact with their families, and this is enjoyable and safe. Staff maintain close links with families and, when appropriate, ensure that they are involved in care planning decisions. Contact is promoted and maintained in a way that meets young people’s best interests. As a result, young people are able to maintain links and develop relationships with those who are significant to them. However, the arrangements for young people accessing a telephone are restricted to staff handing over the phone. This prevents young

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Good

people from making calls without permission from individual staff members.

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Good

Young people currently live in a farmhouse on a working farm. Areas of the house are looking tired and would benefit from redecoration. However, the organisation has recently purchased a new property, which the staff team and young people will move to once the property is registered. The manager, staff team and young people are all looking forward to moving, which will provide them with a more homely environment.

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Good

Young people say that they feel safe in the home and that they benefit from individualised care. This is because they have individual staff allocated to them on a daily basis. The high level of staff support means that their individual needs are well supported. Young people are placed at the centre of the home, and both the management and staff team comment positively about the progress young people make, particularly relating to some of their known risk-taking behaviour. The manager is striving to provide consistency for young people which supports them to become stable and settled in the placement.

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Good

The manager and staff have worked tirelessly to support individual young people to reduce their risk-taking behaviour. In particular, the number of missing-from-home episodes for each young person has significantly reduced. One social worker commented: ‘The strategy to move X to this placement has been really positive. Support is in place to reduce risk-taking behaviour. She is now in a place where she can have the time to settle and start working with professionals.’ Risk management plans are in place to support staff to manage and reduce the risk- taking behaviour. The plans reflect the strategies in place to support and manage the presenting risks of individual young people.

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Good

Behaviour is generally well managed by the staff team. Young people, on the whole, do adhere to the boundaries and routines in place. However, on the rare occasions when staff have had to physically hold a young person, this has been as a last resort. The manager has ensured that the whole staff team has undertaken the agreed training package. However, recording of physical interventions is not consistently completed in full. The records do not show that the young person has been spoken to regarding the measure, or that the manager has reviewed the consequence for effectiveness in a timely manner. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that the action taken was effective and has enabled the young person to learn from the individual incident and to develop the skills to manage their own behaviour, to prevent further physical interventions.

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Good

Staff are clear about what action they would take in response to any arising concerns. This means that they understand their safeguarding responsibilities and prioritise the safety and well-being of young people at all times. The home has robust safeguarding procedures for staff to follow in the event of allegations, suspicion of abuse or unsafe practice. The manager has referred issues appropriately to the local authority and has responded in a timely manner to any requests for information.

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Good

New staff have been recruited since the last inspection. The principles of safer recruitment have been followed to ensure that staff are appropriately checked and vetted and to confirm that they are safe to work with vulnerable young people.

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Good

The manager ensures that regular health and safety checks are carried out in the home. The staff team and young people regularly undertake emergency evacuation of the home. This means that they are well prepared in the event of an emergency.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager achieved registration in May 2016. She holds suitable qualifications and has a significant amount of experience relevant to the post. Since taking over the role, the manager has continued to strengthen the management and staff team. She has established a very supportive and positive working relationship with the assistant manager, which consequently provides good management support for the staff and young people.

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Requires improvement

The manager has strived to ensure that young people are provided with consistent care by the staff team. Unfortunately, there has been a number of staffing changes, resulting in staffing vacancies. This has meant that the manager has had to take an operational role, working on shift to provide shift cover and oversee new and inexperienced staff members. This has limited the time the manager has had to oversee the strategic development of the home.

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Requires improvement

The manager has been involved in the recruitment of new staff to the home. Staff say that they are well supported in their role and do benefit from two shadow days to prepare them for the role and undertake appropriate training on managing challenging behaviour. However, the manager does not yet have a robust and detailed induction plan in place for the organisation. This means that staff have to rely on management direction as they do not have detailed knowledge and understanding of the processes related to the role. Given the amount of management cover in the home, this has not significantly impacted on the care the young people receive.

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Requires improvement

The manager does ensure that individual staff have regular individual supervision sessions and participate in team meetings. This ensures that staff feel well supported and have the opportunity to raise and share any work practice issues. The manager has an open door policy and, during the inspection, staff were observed seeking guidance and direction from the management team. One member of staff commented: ‘The managers are definitely approachable. I like that they are both really hands on. It means we are all working as a team.’ Given that the team are a new team, the manager has not yet undertaken any appraisals.

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Requires improvement

The organisation has systems in place to ensure that external monitoring of the home is regular. The reports support the manager in the development of the home. However, internal monitoring has not identified some of the shortfalls in practice raised during the inspection. Staff are not consistently keeping records up to date in the home. This means that some of the plans are not recorded with the agreed strategies and that records are incomplete. The manager acknowledged that this is an area for improvement and has identified this as a training need for the staff team. The manager has undertaken monitoring required by regulation. However, these reports lack evaluation and do not identify timescales for improvement in relation to areas of weakness. The manager has not incorporated the views of the young people, parents and other professionals into this reporting procedure, which is a missed opportunity to holistically review the quality of care provided in the

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Requires improvement

The manager has not ensured that the complaints procedure is robust and comprehensive. Despite staff being aware of the procedure, new staff members have not shared complaints with the management team in a timely manner. This has resulted in significant delay in the manager addressing complaints. The manager does not yet have systems in place sufficiently to record the action and response to any complaints received in the home. Despite this shortfall, the manager did address a complaint during the inspection, once she had been alerted to it.

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Requires improvement

The home is adequately resourced, and delivers the services and support outlined in the statement of purpose, which has been received and reviewed recently by HMCI. The management team leads by example and is starting to develop positive professional relationships with supporting agencies. No shortfalls were identified during the previous inspection.

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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 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, 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 ensure that their welfare is 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 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 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

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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