Children's Home run by Pebbles Care Limited in Leeds

Inspection report children’s home: 1275188 1 Registered provider: Pebbles Care

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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 children’s home is owned and operated by a private provider. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child irrespective of gender who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered in July 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 November 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: this is the first inspection

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1275188 2

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Recommendations

 Whenever possible, staff in day to day contact with children should include staff from the different gender groups. Where the home’s Statement of Purpose makes it explicit that the home uses staff of one sex only, clear guidance will need to be in place and followed as to how children are enabled to maintain relationships with people of a different gender. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.22) In particular, the home should ensure that children and young people spend time with a range of adults, including those from other children’s homes in the group. Staff should evaluate the impact of this interaction on the child in placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made good progress from their starting point. The child benefits from living in a home where they are cared for and they are cared about. The staff team celebrates the child’s progress and encourages them to do well in all aspects of their development. This enhances the child’s emotional well-being and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a strong focus on safety inside and outside the home. The home provides the child with a warm, nurturing environment. Staff invest in developing relationships with the child. This enables the child to experience safe relationships with a small number of trusted adults. The child benefits from structured but flexible routines and is encouraged to participate and succeed in a wide range of activities and community groups. The child is also supported to develop and sustain friendships with children who are not in care. Attending such community groups broadens experiences. This is both enjoyable and good for self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and comfortable. It is nicely decorated, and the child’s room is personalised according to their interests and wishes. This includes fairy lights and their choice of pictures on the walls. There are many toys in all the rooms in the house, not just the child’s bedroom. Staff value the child’s interests and creativity, displaying painted pictures on the walls and the fridge. The child calls this their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making good progress in school and is encouraged to do well. When the child needs extra help, staff make sure that support is available. Staff encourage school attendance and celebrate the child’s achievements. Education professionals praise staff at the home and reflect how well the child has progressed through the care and support they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s emotional and physical health needs are well met. The child has been supported with good teeth cleaning habits. As a result, oral health is improving. When the child needs more specialised therapeutic support, the nurturing environment Inspection report children’s home: 1275188 3 militates against delays for support from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). Staff champion the child’s needs and make strong representations to health services when the child needs this intervention.

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

Staff keep the child safe. Staff know the child they care for very well. They understand children’s vulnerabilities. For example, when the child needs extra support outside of the home to stay safe, staff will accompany the child and provide additional supervision and care. Staff use key-work sessions to talk about how to be safe. Staff learn from resources available from Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command (CEOP). Risk assessments are detailed and pertinent to the child. They are reviewed and updated at least once per month and more often if there is any change to a child’s circumstances. Risk assessments consider vulnerabilities and the wider environment. Risk assessments for staff members are also undertaken. This means that when staff are on shift by themselves, there are no risks to the child in the home.

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

Staff provide consistent boundaries, so that the child knows that they are being kept safe. As a result, the child is developing a sense of being ‘held in mind’ by the carers. The small staff team means that there are few differences of opinion over expectations for the child. Because of the quality of the care that staff provide to the child, the child’s ability to play and socialise with other children and young people is improved. The child is encouraged to make friends with children in the local area and with children in other homes. Staff ensure that the child is supervised when spending time with other children if this is needed to keep them safe.

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

Staff have undertaken training on child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation and risks associated with radicalisation. The manager has planned further training around the specific risks of ‘county lines’. Core training includes the impact on children and young people of attachment difficulties. This helps staff understand the particular issues for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a very good, skilled and ambitious leader. She has high expectations of herself, her staff and for the child in their care. She asks for feedback from staff during supervision. The whistle-blowing policy is included in staff induction files. The registered manager asks the child how they feel about all members of staff, including herself. The manager ensures that the child has access to an independent advocate who they can talk to if they are unhappy with any aspect of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff keep in regular contact with people who are significant to the children, such as family members and former carers. This promotes the child’s sense of identity. The child is helped to understand their family history and the reasons for being in care. The child is supported to maintain safe contact with people who are important.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that there are systems in place to track the child’s Inspection report children’s home: 1275188 4 progress. Discussions in key-work sessions are cross-referenced to care plans, risk assessments and behaviour management plans. Any changes are evaluated. Staff keep a log of activities that the child participates in, to ensure that the child has opportunities to improve their socialisation skills. Feedback is gathered from a range of sources and evaluated by the registered manager. This approach means that staff know how well the child is doing and whether they need to make any changes to their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides staff with useful resources, including training on mental health awareness and awareness around autism spectrum disorders. This helps staff members to have a better understanding of the range of issues that the child might face. The registered manager has trained the staff team in a therapeutic model, ‘trauma pathway’. This programme is helping the child to recover from early trauma while maintaining their safety. The child benefits from the trauma-informed care that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager also manages another solo bed children’s home. The registered manager and the deputy manager communicate with each other often, to make sure that there are no gaps in the service for the child. Staff confirmed that children benefit from the strong management arrangements for the homes. The staff team is all female. The registered manager should ensure that children have opportunities to engage with a range of adults and a recommendation is made. For example, staff could arrange joint outings with other homes, where there are male members of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager deals with performance issues quickly. For example, when some concerns were raised in supervision sessions, she made changes to the organisation of the staff team. This made the best use of staff across the two homes. All members of staff complete written records well, as required by the manager. Daily logs and other reports are produced to a consistent, high standard. Should the child wish to read their files, these records will be of benefit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager responds well to learning from previous experiences. She fulfilled all the recommendations raised by the independent visitor. She also welcomes suggestions from members of staff about new ways of working with children with complex needs. The wider staff team embraces new approaches. As a result, the child’s care experiences improve, and the child receives bespoke responses to their needs.

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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. Inspection report children’s home: 1275188 5 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

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Information about this inspection

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: 1275188 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Wyther Lane, Leeds, Yorkshire LS5 3BT

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Inspector

Jane Titley: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1275188 7 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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