Children's home run by Kirklees Council in Kirklees

Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 1 SC033387 Registered provider: Kirklees 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

This home provides residential short breaks and emergency support for children and young people aged up to 18 years who have physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairments. The home encourages and enables children and young people to take part in a variety of leisure activities during their stays. The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2018. He has nine years of deputy leadership experience in a residential childcare setting, caring for children and young people who have disabilities.

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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 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: 24 October 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 2 24/10/2017 Full Good 13/02/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 20/07/2016 Full Good 14/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 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, 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who ─

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ─

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document. (Regulation 7(1)(c)(2)(a)(iv)(c)) 30/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children ─

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14(1)(a)) 30/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties to employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25(2))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, persons working at the home, and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to 30/06/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 4 be followed in case of fire. In order to complete a quality of care review, the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating ─

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it.

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Requirement Due date

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(2)(b)(5)) 31/07/2018

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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 legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  Staff must also be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are 59 children and young people who access this short-breaks service, which is provided by a warm, caring and committed staff team. The staff have a good level of Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 5 knowledge and understanding of the needs of the children and young people in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are provided with opportunities to socialise with staff and their peers. The children and young people engage in regular, positive activities and enjoy new experiences in the home and in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people have recently visited a local farm, an ice-cream parlour and parks. The manager of the service arranged for a local wildlife expert to bring in a variety of animals for children to watch and hold. There are a wide range of learning opportunities and new experiences provided by the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people have complex healthcare needs that are met through the staff team following comprehensive plans. Some of the children and young people have allergies and specialist dietary requirements. These are fully accommodated through a varied and nutritious menu.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff use a variety of methods to communicate with children and young people who have a limited ability to verbalise their feelings. The children and young people are provided with choices, which enables them to influence their day-to-day care arrangements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff at the home work well in partnership with families. One parent said: ‘[The young person] really enjoys this. It’s a break for both of us. The staff are really honest; I trust them and they are very good.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child or young person has an ‘all about me’ plan that outlines their likes and dislikes, methods of communication and personal care and feeding needs. All of the children and young people will have a short plan outlining the goals for the placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager is able to accept emergency admissions of children and young people who are known to the home. Since the last inspection, there has been one such admission. This child will not be returning to the care of a person with parental responsibility and the care planning documentation does not meet regulatory requirements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has not yet developed a children’s guide to the home. The children and young people are encouraged to communicate their wishes and feelings on a day-to-day basis. There has been insufficient consultation about the quality of the home’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is undergoing a considerable programme of modernisation. Some communal areas of the home would benefit from redecoration. The sensory area and the resources available for the children and young people to play with require further investment.

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

The service is resourced appropriately and the levels of supervision in the home are Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 6 suitable for meeting the complex needs of the children and young people who stay at the home.

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

Individual risk management plans are created and tailored to the needs of each child or young person. The strategies for staff to use in order to reduce risk to the children are outlined, and are understood and followed by all staff.

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

On occasions, the children and young people exhibit challenging behaviour. The staff practise distraction and de-escalation successfully. There have been few incidents requiring physical intervention. When this has occurred, it has been appropriate and proportionate to the circumstances.

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

Medication is stored securely. The staff audit the contents of prescribed medication when the children and young people arrive and before they leave. There is a stringent process in place to ensure that medication is administered safely, with two members of staff signing the record to ensure accuracy.

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

The children and young people who require personal care are treated with dignity and respect. The staff communicate their next steps clearly and explain what they are doing while maintaining gentle interaction. The hoist equipment is regularly serviced and the team is trained to safely move and handle children and young people who have mobility needs.

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

There have been no serious incidents, allegations, complaints or safeguarding matters requiring notification to Ofsted. The children and young people do not go missing from this home.

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

The children and young people have personal emergency evacuation plans which outline their needs and risks in the event of a fire alarm. The home is risk assessed and the equipment is regularly checked and serviced. Fire evacuations have not taken place regularly enough to ensure that all members of the very large staff team are able to evacuate the children and young people safely in the event of a fire.

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

The physical environment appears to be free from hazards. There is a monthly health and safety check that has not been routinely completed at the frequency intended.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and qualified. He is very committed to and passionate about his role. He is supported by two deputy managers. Staff state that the service is well managed, and that they feel well supported in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The large staff team has accessed mandatory training. There is limited evidence of any additional courses and the staff team would benefit from being offered a wider range of development opportunities. Leaders have not completed a workforce development plan. Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 7 The manager holds a weekly meeting with deputies that allows reflection on practice and a review of the children accessing short breaks at the home. The large staff team benefits from regular supervision and team meetings. The deputies have not had enough regular, formal opportunities for supervision with the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is in the process of reviewing the documentation that outlines the way that care is arranged and how children are supported to enjoy themselves and progress against their goals. This work has progressed significantly, and will continue throughout this year.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of care review submitted does not contain feedback from children and young people, their families or other partners. The manager should obtain this information and use it to ensure the continuous improvement of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Parents and placing social workers have provided very positive feedback about the service. One social worker said: ‘I have very good experiences of working with staff from [the home] and feel they do a good job of providing respite provision for young people and their families.’

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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: SC033387 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, 3 Market Street, Huddersfield HD1 2EY

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Inspector

Nicola Thomas: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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