Children's home run by Kirklees Council in Kirklees

Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 1 SC356963 Registered provider: Kirklees Council Interim 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 children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, and are aged between 13 and 16 years on admission. The home cares for children or young people who have been assessed as needing residential care due to a breakdown in family relationships or when children and young people are deemed to be at risk of significant harm.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home continues to look after young people to a good standard. Young people are generally settled and there are few incidents of challenging behaviour. Staff are developing their relationships with the young people in their care and know them well. The young people generally get on well together and take part in group activities.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Social workers and other professionals are pleased with the quality of care provided for the young people. One young person told his social worker that he is happy living at the home and wants to stay there until he is 18 years old. Young people said that they can talk to staff about anything that is upsetting them. They get on well with most members of staff. Professionals said that staff advocate on behalf of the young people.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff meet the health needs of the young people to a good standard. Young people contribute to menus for the week ahead and fruit is available at all times. All the young Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 2 people are healthy and are taken to routine medical appointments. Staff ensure that any young people who need medication take it at the correct times. All staff have completed training around the administration of medication.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young people like playing on games consoles. However, staff encourage them to take part in a range of activities and to lead a healthy lifestyle. The home has organised two short breaks for the young people. These have included a variety of activities, such as going on high-rope walk equipment, climbing and mountain biking. Two young people also enjoyed a trip to London with staff. Shared experiences help to build positive relationships between the young people and members of staff. The emphasis on a healthy lifestyle improves the young people’s physical and emotional well-being, including their self-esteem.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has established good links with professionals who support the emotional needs of the young people. Professionals meet with individual young people when that is required. They also support the staff team to provide safe and nurturing care for the young people. Because of this, staff understand the needs of the young people better, and are able to meet their needs more effectively.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff try to ensure that all the young people attend school. When schools are reluctant to accept the young people, staff escalate this appropriately. For one young person, this resulted in him achieving very well in school. He now has aspirations for his future. When young people are not in school, the home should ensure that they undertake educational activities during the day. A recommendation is made in this respect.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is well decorated, kept clean and tidy and is as homely as it can be, given the physical layout of the building. Staff encourage young people to help keep the home nice, including their bedrooms. This approach is working for most of the young people in the home.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff make considerable efforts to keep the young people in the home safe. All the young people have up-to-date risk assessments. None of the young people use drugs or alcohol. Incidents of young people going missing have reduced in number. When they are missing, young people are now more likely to keep in touch with staff. The young people have developed confidence that members of staff worry about them. This means that young people face fewer risks from sexual or criminal exploitation, including risks from county lines activity.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff follow missing-from-home procedures, making use of a helpful flow chart as a guide. Young people would benefit from staff reviewing the missing-from-home episodes. This would allow staff to understand patterns of behaviour. As a result, greater efforts could be made to reduce the number of times young people are missing from home. A recommendation is made regarding the importance of evaluating this behaviour.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Each young person has an individual behaviour management plan. The home uses restorative practice rather than sanctions for any problematic behaviour. Because of the positive relationships between staff and young people, there have been few Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 3 incidents where sanctions are required. Staff have not used any physical restraints with the young people. When staff use restorative practice, it is recorded on the young person’s file. The paperwork should be easier to understand and the outcome of any restorative practice should be evaluated. A recommendation is made in regard to this.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager is an effective leader who inspires good practice in his staff team. He cares deeply about the young people and expects the same of his staff. This includes an expectation that members of staff will search for young people when they go missing. The registered manager is involved in what goes on in the home. He spends time with the young people and ensures that he knows what they think about the care they receive. This allows him to address any issues at an early stage. This approach means that young people know that members of staff worry about them and want them to be safe and well.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has managed transitions into the home well. All the young people had a planned moves, which involved visits for tea and overnight stays. Each young person was comfortable and secure before the next young person moved in. The most recent admission process was more complex. However, staff showed perseverance and commitment with the young person and he is now settled.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager described effective processes for withstanding emergency admissions. He considers the needs of the young people in the home before those of any young person who might need a placement. This has resulted in a stable environment in which the young people have flourished.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager is developing good processes for tracking the progress of young people. For example, he has developed monitoring systems that relate to the education of the young people. These systems allow him to understand any difficulties at an early stage. The systems also highlight positive progress, allowing appropriate recognition and reward. This has had a positive impact on all the young people and ensures that they know staff place value on their education. The registered manager has a home development plan which includes other forms of monitoring he is preparing.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

All members of staff have at least a level 3 qualification in residential care. The registered manager does not use agency staff to fill any gaps in the rota. He has access to experienced and qualified casual staff when necessary. Supervision generally takes place monthly. All members of staff have had an appraisal of their practice, unless they have been at the home for less than 12 months. The manager has a schedule for future appraisals. The approach to staffing means that competent, confident members of staff look after the young people in the home. This reassures the young people and helps them to feel safe and well looked after.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 4 21/11/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 10/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recommendations

 Where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education, and be engaged in suitable structured activities. If no education place is identified by the placing authority, the registered person must challenge them to meet the child’s needs under regulation 5 (engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met) (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15.). In particular, children and young people should be expected to take part in educational activities with staff if they are not in school.

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4.). In particular, records, including key-work recording, should be in good order, easy to locate and able to tell the story of the child or young person. Children and young people should be encouraged to sign their records when appropriate.  Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s

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Recommendations

parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff, or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (see paragraph 15.2) (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.31). In particular, the registered manager should review the missing-from-home incidents. This evaluation should be used in key-work sessions and staff meetings, to ensure that patterns are identified and addressed. Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 5

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Jane Titley: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 6 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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