Children's home run by Partners in Care Limited in Leeds

Inspection report children’s home: SC053145 1 SC053145 Registered provider: Partners in Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three children who display a number of antisocial behaviours and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager was registered with Ofsted on 26 April 2018 and holds a relevant qualification.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers 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: 5 December 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: SC053145 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 27/09/2016 Full Outstanding 23/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC053145 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 within 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff –

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Requirement Due date

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; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12(1), (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi) 05/07/2018

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legalisations. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The ethos of the home should support each child to learn, emphasising the value of independent study and reading for enjoyment. The home must make available suitable facilities, equipment and resources for learning. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.18) In particular, ensure that each child receives an educational daily routine and has access to educational resources during the school day if they are not routinely accessing full-time education.  Children’s homes staff should encourage children to take a proactive role in

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Recommendations

looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 34, paragraph 7.10). In particular, staff should adhere to the policies and procedures regarding children smoking tobacco. Furthermore, children should receive ongoing support regarding substance misuse.  Staff should have a clear understanding of the expectations of the children’s behaviour. Staff should address poor behaviour in a consistent way. Agreed Inspection report children’s home: SC053145 4 strategies should be in place and staff should apply these when managing challenging behaviours. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11) Inspection report children’s home: SC053145 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is nurturing and supportive. Staff know the children well and help them to achieve good outcomes. Children have good and trusting relationships with staff. Consequently, children make steady yet good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s placement plans are of a good standard. Information is clear and the documents are easy to read. They are child focused and provide the reader with a good insight into the child’s journey.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide good care and support to the children. However, this is not always consistent. This is particularly in relation to behaviour management. In these instances, children do not receive the support and guidance that they need to make better choices about managing and the de-escalation of incidents is effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are clear that staff care about them. They understand why routines and boundaries are in place. Children understand and acknowledge the progress that they have made and the areas in which they need further support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage children to establish and maintain positive friendships with their friends and family. When these are not having the desired effect, staff are able to explore other options to ensure that children are safe and happy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children attend education on a regular basis. In these instances, staff do not routinely provide children with a structured educational day. When children do access education, they progress well. One child recently passed a qualification, which was a great achievement for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have moved on from the home have done so in a planned way. This is also evident for children who have moved into the home. Transition arrangements at the home are good and child focused.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and plans are not robust enough, because the information in the assessments lacks analysis. Furthermore, staff do not have a full understanding of children’s risk-taking behaviours and safeguarding plans lack important information.

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improvement to be good

When children display risk-taking behaviour, staff do not always intervene in a timely way. There is sometimes a delay in instigating the required safeguarding procedures.

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improvement to be good

Children do not always receive the continual support and help that they need to meet their holistic health needs. This is particularly in relation to children smoking tobacco and Inspection report children’s home: SC053145 6 cannabis. As a result, children do not have the correct plans in place to reduce this risk- taking behaviour.

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improvement to be good

When staff understand the risks to children, they manage these well. They work in a proactive way with partner agencies, and multi-agency safeguarding plans are clear. As a result, children reduce their risk-taking behaviours and their outcomes improve.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff undertake a range of training in safeguarding practice. This supports the learning and development of staff. Consequently, safeguarding practice improves and children are safer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers and staff have high aspirations for children. They are passionate and committed to the work that they do. The responsible individual offers the required support to the staff team, and the home benefits from this leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers and staff have worked together to improve the home and address the shortfalls from the last inspection. The thorough monitoring undertaken by the independent visitor has further enhanced these improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While there has been progress made since the last inspection, there are areas of practice that need further attention. The relevant requirement and recommendations have been made to address these shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and the staff work well with other professionals involved with each of the children. A social worker spoke positively about the partnership working with the home. She also talked about how staff support the child to make good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff are committed to developing the home and enhancing their practice. They are able to reflect and learn from their experiences. This provides them with the opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities further. Inspection report children’s home: SC053145 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 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: SC053145 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partners in Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rouse House, 2 Wyther Lane, Kirkstall, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS5 3BT

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Inspector

Lisa Gregoire-Parker, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC053145 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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