Children's home run by Kirklees Council in Kirklees

Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 1 SC356963 Registered provider: Kirklees Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides residential care for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and are aged between 13 and 16 years on admission. The staff team cares for young people who have been assessed as needing residential care due to a breakdown in family relationships or where young people are deemed to be at risk of significant harm.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the service was recently appointed by the provider and registered with Ofsted in June 2018. He has a level 5 qualification in leadership and management of residential settings. He has had significant supervisory experience in other residential care settings.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 31 July to 1 August 2018

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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: 21 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 21 November 2017, the home was judged to have declined in effectiveness. A notice Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 2 of suspension was served to the provider.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was carried out on 21 December 2017. The inspector confirmed compliance with the notice. There were no children or young people living at the home.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Further monitoring visits were carried out on 26 January and 4 April 2018. Inspectors found that all the compliance notices that were served had been met. Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 10/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/08/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 4

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure– that staff– assess whether each child is a 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)) 31/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees– have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(c)) 31/10/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person must specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28) The behaviour management strategy should be understood and applied at all times by staff and must be kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.37) This is with particular regard to ensuring that the approach to behaviour management is tailored to the individual child’s needs.  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s

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Recommendations

homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) This is with particular regard to ensuring that staff are able to access refresher training on the administration of medication. Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three young people have recently moved into the home. Members of the staff team visited the young people in their previous placements, also the young people visited the home. The young people enjoyed meals and activities with the staff and other young people prior to moving in. This is excellent transition planning and has resulted in a happy, stable and settled group of young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are provided with a high standard of care from a dedicated and nurturing staff team. Young people have developed close relationships with the staff team, which has contributed to helping them to feel secure. One young person said, ‘I get on with all of the staff. They are all nice. I could talk to any of them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are all attending their educational settings and engaging well. One young person has been supported to return to mainstream education through a progressive plan. He has a history of poor attendance and non-engagement in education, yet is now attending daily. This is good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthcare is prioritised. Young people are registered with local services and attend appointments to maintain good health. One young person accesses specialist support provided by a clinical psychologist. The staff team has taken appropriate steps to assist him to improve his mental health and emotional well-being. A nutritious and balanced menu is provided for the young people. The staff team promotes an active lifestyle. All of which promotes good health outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are supported to engage in positive, structured activities in the community. Activities include going to the cinema and to the gym regularly. The staff team celebrates the individual interests and talents of the young people. One young person has recently won a trophy at a county rugby tournament. A suitable celebration has been planned. This helps to provide the young people with a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team has planned a city break and an activity holiday for the young people over the summer. The staff help the young people to nurture and sustain good relationships with peers, which is helping to build their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One independent reviewing officer said, ‘(Name of young person) has found it difficult to go out into the community due to anxiety issues. However, with therapeutic support as well as support from staff, he is making progress in this area and has been on a number of activities, and is due to go on an overnight trip to London.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team supports the young people to maintain links with their families and people who are important to them. This helps young people to build and retain their own identities, and enhances their emotional health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people attend regular house meetings and make decisions about their day-to- Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 6 day care arrangements. The staff ensure that young people know their rights and entitlements and how to make a complaint. The young people are consulted regularly. Their views are central to care planning processes.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been no incidents of challenging behaviour or safeguarding matters requiring notification to Ofsted.

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

One young person was regularly missing from his previous home. Since moving into the home, he has been missing twice for short periods of time. This has not occurred at all in recent weeks. This is good progress.

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

When the young person was missing, the staff team took appropriate action to locate him. Staff followed the appropriate procedure and reported the matter swiftly to the police and social care. Independent return interviews were offered and took place.

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

The missing from care risk assessments for young people could be tailored to fully address the individual needs and risks of each young person. A good practice recommendation is made.

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

One young person has a history of being at risk of sexual exploitation. Leaders and staff have taken appropriate action to complete a multi-agency risk assessment. The staff team is undertaking direct work with the young person, using a variety of resources to help him to understand the risks to his safety and the basis of healthy relationships.

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

Risks are identified and understood by the staff team. However, the strategies to manage the risks have not been constructed in consultation with relevant professionals. The strategies should be outlined more comprehensively in the documented risk assessments to make them clearer. Some risks have not been explored fully, such as the use of mobile phones and social media. A requirement is made to address this shortfall.

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

The staff team implements agreed strategies and boundaries to provide a consistent approach to behaviour management. The manager is in the process of devising behaviour management plans with strategies tailored to the individual needs of each young person. To ensure that this remains a priority, a good practice recommendation is made.

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

The staff have had suitable safeguarding training and know how to keep young people safe. The physical environment in the home is well maintained and checked regularly for hazards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is competent, child centred and committed to ensuring that young people achieve the best possible outcomes while they are in his care. He is supported by a very experienced deputy manager. Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 7 Leaders have improved the decision-making process when considering admissions to the home. The registered manager conducts comprehensive impact risk assessments. This is to ensure that the needs of and risks to young people are given careful consideration. This provides the young people with the stability and secure base that they need to build trust and confidence in the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel well supported. The team attends regular meetings which include clinical input from an in-house psychologist. This provides team members with opportunities to reflect on their practice. Some staff team members have not had their performance formally appraised in the past year. A requirement is made to address this matter.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff benefit from regular and varied training opportunities which provide them with the necessary skills to care for young people to a good standard. A recommendation is made to refresh the staff team’s skills and knowledge in administering medication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care planning processes are effective, and there is clear evidence of the young people making progress in their education and social development and improving their physical and emotional health.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is evidence of a good level of monitoring and evaluation of practice standards in the home. The manager is implementing a monitoring system which will provide greater ease in identifying patterns and trends of incidents and behavioural issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Placing authority partners have given very positive feedback about this service. One social worker said, ‘The quality of care to (Name of young person) has been of a good standard, and they have been attentive to his needs and have encouraged him to socialise and be part of activities, but also will leave him alone when he needs this.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 8

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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: SC356963 9

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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: SC356963 10 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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