Children's Home run by Wakefield Council in Wakefield

Inspection report children's home: SC062573 1 SC062573 Registered provider: Wakefield Metropolitan District Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to seven young people, irrespective of gender, who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home’s main aims are to support young people to move back home with their families or to move on successfully to independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Inadequate

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager and staff team have developed a robust procedure to manage Inspection report children's home: SC062573 2 young people who go missing from home.  The manager and staff team have worked hard to address the concerns raised at the last inspection.  The majority of young people in this home are making good progress in aspects of their development.  There is a stable and consistent staff team supporting young people.  Young people are supported to successfully move on to independence.  Staff promote the needs of young people and access services for them.  Young people are learning to manage their emotional well-being because of the consistent support that they receive.  Communication between the home, professionals and parents is good.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children's home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Ensure that all significant and serious events are shared with the regulator.  Update young people’s risk assessments following any incidents of concern.  Maintain clear and consistent records in relation to the work that staff undertake with young people.  Improve documentation for matching new young people to the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/06/2017 Full Inadequate 21/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/10/2016 Full Good 12/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC062573 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)) In particular, staff must ensure that risk assessments are updated quickly following any changes. 15/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust; In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— encourage each child to take responsibility for their behaviour in accordance with the child's age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(2)(a)(iii)) In particular, ensure that when young people are spoken to in key-working sessions this is recorded. 15/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) In particular, ensure that there are robust systems in place so that all serious incidents are reported to the regulator. 15/12/2017 Inspection report children's home: SC062573 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a large, purpose-built home that has communal space, along with their own private rooms and bathrooms. Some aspects of the home are warm and inviting. Young people have the opportunity to personalise their own rooms and take interest in choosing their decor. They are involved in house meetings in which they have the opportunity to put their views across. All the young people have recently planned and enjoyed a short summer break away with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have individualised care provided by a stable staff team. This ensures that they receive consistent support and guidance from staff. Young people benefit from a stable placement where they can build good-quality, trusting relationships. Staff address issues around unacceptable behaviour or aggression with young people. However, they are not consistent in how they record this and therefore miss opportunities to demonstrate the direct work undertaken with young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the young people well and show genuine care and concern for their well- being. They are positive, and want the best possible outcomes for young people. As a result, the majority of young people are interested in their plans and want to make progress. The majority of young people work well with their key workers to develop their plans. One young person is anxious about his plans for the future, but said that he can talk to the manager about how he feels. The young person said that he is supported when he is worried.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The majority of young people are accessing some form of education or employment. As a result of the efforts made by staff to secure a service provision, one young person is now receiving much-needed support in line with his health and educational needs. The young person now has a support plan that matches his level of need. Although the young person is anxious about his plan for leaving care, some level of anxiety has reduced because of his new plan. One young person has secured a place at college and is looking forward to starting in September, while another young person has recently lost his job.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have support to enhance and develop their independent living skills. Staff ensure that their progress is measured against their ability. Due to the individualised support provided, young people are able to progress at their own speed, in line with their Inspection report children's home: SC062573 5 capabilities. As a result of targeted support, one young person has successfully moved on to live independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Complaints information is readily available in the home and detailed in the literature for young people. Young people know how to complain. Although they may not always use a formal procedure, they said that they can approach staff and that they are listened to.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager and staff team have worked to address the concerns raised at the last inspection. As a result, there is improvement to the procedures for when young people go missing from home. Staff follow clear guidance and actively search for young people when they go missing. They know where young people are and make good efforts to remain in communication with them. A new door alarm ensures that staff are always aware when someone leaves the building.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Much-improved working relationships with the police and professionals mean that staff work in collaboration to keep young people safe. A professional said, ‘There have been lots of improvements made, missing episodes have decreased slightly, however staff are now actively looking for [name of young person] and always following the procedure.’ Staff follow clear procedures for managing high-conflict situations with young people.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There has been one incident in this inspection period that left staff vulnerable. The behaviour of the young person was out of character and therefore difficult to pre-empt. This incident was managed well. However, the risk assessment for the young person was not updated in a timely manner to reflect the young person’s change in behaviour.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are skilled at using de-escalation techniques, such as distraction or humour. Due to the good relationships that young people have built with the staff, these techniques are generally effective. One young person has a pattern of targeting staff. The manager and staff are proactive in identifying the issue. Staff are capable of defusing volatile situations using a combination of distraction techniques while maintaining the safety of all involved. Reflective practice and discussions following incidents enable both staff and the young person to gain a better understanding of the young person’s emotional well-being. In turn, this helps to identify potential triggers to behaviour and improve the management of risk. Staff are suitably trained in physical intervention. However, they have not needed to use this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has been in post since January 2015. She is appropriately qualified and experienced. The manager is child focused and has a strong commitment to young people and her team. Current staffing issues have resulted in a temporary plan for management arrangements at this home. This involves the deputy manager acting up in this home and the registered manager having oversight of another home. Thorough Inspection report children's home: SC062573 6 planning means that disruption to young people is kept to a minimum. They continue to receive the same level of management oversight from staff who they know and trust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been several serious incidents involving staff and young people. Not all notifiable incidents are reported to the regulator. Consequently, the regulatory body does not always have an oversight or true reflection of the issues that affect the quality of care for children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager knows the strengths and can identify the weaknesses in the home. Regular external monitoring visits provided by the independent visitor support the manager to identify areas for improvement. The manager does not consistently use the recommendations in the reports generated from the visits. The manager is aware of this and has a plan to use these more effectively to evaluate the running of the home. There is a clear plan in place to address improvements with her team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Regular team meetings are generally well attended, and young people and their needs are discussed. Key-working sessions with young people do not always show important reflective discussions. Discussions are present in other documents. However, they are not consistently recorded as part of the one-to-one discussions with young people. Consequently, staff do not have a reliable system to quickly access information in one place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The managers and staff complete a detailed risk assessment of young people’s needs before they move into the home. This ensures that staff can maintain stability for young people and manage a smooth transition for a new resident. In order to improve this further, more information is needed about the impact to current residents and how staff will manage the current issues and conflicts.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The requirements raised at the last inspection have been partially met. Further work is required with regard to updating risk assessments. The recommendation is fully met. This demonstrates that the manager and staff team have the ability to understand and address the serious concerns raised at the last inspection. Swift and effective changes to the missing from home procedure have resulted in an improved response to missing young people. New guidance is in place that prompts staff to check on young people regularly while they are in or away from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Regular supervision ensures that the staff team members remain committed, focused and enthusiastic in their role. Staff said that they have the opportunity to reflect and analyse their practice during their supervision. Their manager and assistant managers provide support daily. Staff said that they are accessible and approachable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Improvements have been made to staffing. The manager has identified times of the day when more staff are needed in the home. As a result, staff are able to go looking for missing young people while ensuring that other young people receive a consistent level of care. Clear rotas for shifts are now in place, and temporary staff known to the young people are used when necessary. Inspection report children's home: SC062573 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children's home: SC062573 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wakefield Council, County Hall, Bond Street, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 2QW

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Inspector

Abigail Maspero, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC062573 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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