Children's Home run by Leicester City Council in Leicester

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

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

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children and young people continue to thrive and make excellent progress as a result of living here. They have a strong sense of belonging. This is evident in their relaxed attitude when they come home from school. They feel comfortable in the company of staff. As a result, children and young people continue to make excellent progress across all areas of their development. This is significantly enhanced due to the longevity of their placements, which enables them to enjoy warm, trusting relationships with a stable staff team.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the last inspection, two recommendations were made. Both have been addressed. Communal areas downstairs are no longer locked at night time. This ensures that children and young people can access rooms in their own home should they wish too. An extensive redecoration was being carried out during the inspection, and works to improve the garden are due to start imminently. The management team is pursuing other improvements to the home such as an IT suite and lift. These improvements will help ensure that the home and garden meet the needs of children and young people now and in the future.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are excellent professional relationships and partnership working with parents, carers and the different agencies involved in children and young people’s lives. A social work team manager commented about the home, ‘It’s all really positive. They are dynamic in their care. They are very good at facilitating contact and very good at consulting with young people. I can’t fault it.’ A parent said, ‘The staff are brilliant. My child is very settled and happy. My child has come on so well. There is not as much self-harm, and communication skills are better. Everything that pops up, they are well on it.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Members of staff have an excellent understanding of young people’s individual and specific needs. They are highly sensitive to young people’s emotional health needs. For instance, in agreement with all the important people involved in a young person’s life, a piece of life story work is being sensitively and thoughtfully planned to help one young person understand their background. Preparation for the work has been extensive, with thorough research being undertaken, as well as staff seeking advice from mental health practitioners and experts. Some members of staff are also undertaking additional training in attachment theories to improve the way that they support young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The safety of young people is a priority. The home takes appropriate and decisive action, and liaises well with external agencies to safeguard and protect young people in the event of any incident of concern. Following a review of the management of a recent allegation, areas for improvement were identified. Consequently, safeguarding and incident management protocols are now considered in more depth at team meetings, and staff recording in daily logs has improved. This demonstrates how the management team ensures that staff skills remain up to date.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and management team are committed to the home’s ongoing development. Monitoring of the home continues to be robust and enables the staff to explore new ways of working. For example, staff are currently taking part in training in autism awareness, which they intend to use to improve children’s and young people’s care plans. The impact of this training will be monitored by managers over the forthcoming months to judge its effectiveness.

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Information about this children's home

This home is owned by a local authority and registered to provide care to seven children and young people who have learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 13/12/2016 Full Outstanding 15/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/07/2015 Full Outstanding 24/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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 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 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

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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