Children's home run by Harmony Children’s Services

Inspection report children’s home: SC424759 1 SC424759 Registered provider: Harmony Children’s Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned and run children’s home. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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

Date of last inspection: 21 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is good because:  Young people become safer as a result of living at the home. Staff work well with other agencies to provide a stable environment that helps young people to grow in emotional resilience.  Young people’s life chances improve through the actions of staff and the individualised care that staff offer. Inspection report children’s home: SC424759 2  Young people who struggle in education are fully supported to attend, and appreciate the value it has in their lives.  Staff offer reliable and trusting relationships that enable young people to discuss the difficulties they face and better manage their emotional responses. The children’s home’s areas for development:  Strengthen management oversight of key documentation and recording by staff to ensure that files fully reflect the care that young people receive. In addition, improve management oversight so that the views of young people are fully

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Key findings from this inspection

responded to and addressed through the complaints system.  Ensure that management systems take into account timescales for the submission of the ‘quality of care review’ report and respond appropriately.  Ensure that staff undertake training to enhance their skills and insight regarding young people’s specific needs.  Improve information sharing systems to ensure that all staff fully appreciate the care arrangements for each young person.  Regularly review incentives set for young people in order to enhance their progress, and provide creative care when young people stall in their progress.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/05/2016 Full Outstanding 20/10/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/06/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC424759 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

*The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least every six months. In order to complete a quality of care review, the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided for children. After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (‘the quality of care review report’). The registered person must supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(3)(4)(a)(5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; and details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure. Within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’)— has spoken to the user about the measure; has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 31/03/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC424759 4 within five days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(v)(b)(I)(c)) The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake

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Requirement Due date

appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) 30/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)) In particular, that the care plan sets out the arrangements made for the child’s health and arrangements made for contact with the child’s relatives and friends. 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(2)(b)(f)) In particular, that information is clearly disseminated and understood by all staff regarding care arrangements for young people. In addition, that the approach by staff is regularly reviewed for its impact and effectiveness.

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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)) 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

*This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively review the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report children’s home: SC424759 5  It is essential that homes understand what will be required of them before they accept responsibility for a child’s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in future and for other children in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5) In particular, managers must fully appreciate and assess all information relating to the child’s history and behaviour.  For children’s homes to be supportive and nurturing environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, the settee in the living room needs to be replaced or re-covered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people experience care that is sensitive to their individual needs. Staff work hard to motivate young people to achieve and be successful in their lives. Although some young people have struggled with regular school attendance in the past, since living at the home this aspect of their lives has improved. Staff regularly liaise with schools and colleges and attend carers’/parents’ evenings. They understand the aspirations that young people hold for their futures and regularly talk with them about their education. Relationships between young people and staff are positive. Young people are supported to develop and maintain positive use of their leisure time, including activities such as horse riding, trampolining and football. Safe contact with family and friends is promoted and this contributes to young people’s growing sense of identity. Young people are encouraged and supported to take responsibility for age-appropriate

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

tasks such as keeping their personal space clean and tidy, assisting with household chores and maintaining optimum health. Incentives are set to encourage this responsibility, but these are not regularly reviewed for their effectiveness. When young people stall in their progress, opportunities for staff to set more creative ways of working are missed. Clear and consistent boundaries are set by staff, and young people develop the skills to manage their emotions in a more positive way. One social worker said: ‘The home has invested a lot into her and meets her needs. I think she is happy there and we are happy that the home is meeting her needs.’ Staff spend time with young people, and dedicate time to talking about sensitive issues such as safely managing relationships and any self-harming behaviours. Young people are given good support to regularly attend specialist appointments to address their emotional development. Staff work in conjunction with other agencies to enhance the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

day-to-day care they give to young people. One professional said: ‘She is more positive and has more self-confidence and self-esteem.’ Young people are consulted regularly about their care. However, the recording of complaints and their outcome is confusing and spread over a number of files. It is not always clear that issues raised by young people have been fully resolved. Inspection report children’s home: SC424759 6

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

Young people’s safety and well-being are high priorities for the staff. Staff follow reporting procedures and liaise effectively with other agencies when missing from home incidents occur. Risks to young people are fully understood by the staff and they are alert to increased indicators of risk. A specialist police officer said: ‘This home is one of the few that have cooperated in full and just do what we expect and don’t need asking. They fully understand what is important and assist us as best they can. They have been brilliant.’ The staff offer a stable home life and are good role models. As young people’s emotional resilience grows and they become more aware of their feelings, they are better able to manage their responses. As a result, incidents involving young people have decreased, as has the need for staff to physically intervene. However, when physical interventions have occurred, the young person has not always been debriefed by the manager or

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

‘authorised person’. This reduces management oversight of such incidents. Young people’s involvement in criminal activity has decreased as a result of living at the home. Staff regularly talk to young people about their actions and behaviours, and when staff and managers believe young people’s risks to be increasing they take appropriate steps to escalate these concerns with other professionals. Not all risk assessments have been appropriately reviewed within timescales set by management. As a result, restrictive measures put in place to ensure young people’s safety may not be in line with current risks or behaviours.

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

The manager has been registered to manage this home since 2013. She is suitably qualified and experienced. At the last inspection, a requirement was reset from a previous inspection regarding the completion of the quality of care review within timescales set by regulations. This requirement has not been met. A requirement regarding the induction of staff has been met, and there are now improved systems for tracking staff’s progression through the induction process. The manager has good insight and knowledge of the young people at the home. She is readily available to them and has a positive relationship with each of them. Young people make progress from their starting points and the manager understands the plans for each child. She is supported by newly appointed team leaders and this strengthens the staff team. The staff team is stable, and provides consistency of care to young people. Most staff understand the care plans that are developed for young people. However,

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

some newly appointed staff do not demonstrate comprehensive knowledge with regard to young people’s contact with family and health arrangements. Managerial systems to ensure that young people’s plans are fully understood by all staff are not sufficiently robust. The management and staff team work well with other agencies to ensure that young people receive comprehensive care that is responsive to their needs. Staff are open and inviting of other professionals’ input and advice in order to improve the outcomes for Inspection report children’s home: SC424759 7 young people. Training available to staff is varied and wide in its scope. However, few staff have undertaken training pertinent to some of the young people’s needs, such as using particular types of drugs and issues relating to self-harming behaviours. Young people living at the home have experienced planned and thoughtful admissions. Young people moving on from the home into semi-independence have done so

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

successfully with the continued support of staff. However, some previous admissions and discharges have not been as successful. In some cases, decisions resulting from the analysis and assessment of previous behaviours and presenting problems were over- optimistic, leading to some young people experiencing placement breakdown. Managers have learned from this and have strengthened their approach to the planning process. Young people benefit from living at a home that is, on the whole, well maintained and looked after. However, the settee in the young people’s living room is worn and in need of re-covering or replacing.

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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 differences 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 whom 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: SC424759 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Harmony Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Grants, 11 Park Place, Leeds LS1 2RX

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Inspector

Pauline Yates, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC424759 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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Inspector

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