Children's Home run by Pebbles Care Limited in Leeds

Inspection report children’s home: 1275189 1 Registered provider: Pebbles Care 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 one child or young person from age eight to 17 years, irrespective of gender. It provides care and support for children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home offers a safe and nurturing environment. It demonstrates commitment to working positively and in partnership with children and young people, families, local authorities and other external agencies to ensure that there is continual development, with a collaborative and multi-disciplined approach to providing care. The service offers short-, medium- and long-term placements for children and young people who may have low self-esteem, who display challenging behaviours and who do not have a stable educational background or who have experienced repeated placement breakdowns. The manager of the service is working towards achieving a level 5 qualification in leadership and management of residential care settings. She was registered with Ofsted

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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: not applicable, as this is the home’s 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: 1275189 2

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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 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—

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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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that impact risk assessments completed prior to placement contain further information gathered from the placing authority and a full evaluation of how the home intends to meet the needs and mitigate risks in order to safely accommodate children and young people. 31/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)) 31/01/2019

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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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report children’s home: 1275189 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the first inspection since the home was registered in July 2018. Young people have developed good relationships with a competent and nurturing staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthcare is prioritised. Young people are registered with appropriate local services and have had regular appointments to address eye care, dentistry and their general medical needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people were not in education prior to their arrival at the home. Leaders and staff worked collaboratively with other agencies to establish an appropriate plan for education that met the individual young person’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person was able to bring a family pet to the home. This had significant therapeutic benefits and helped her to feel more settled and secure in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have accessed a wide range of activities. They are encouraged to develop active hobbies and interests such as swimming, Zumba and attending the local gym. This provides them with social opportunities and promotes self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with families and those important to young people to ensure that contact is regular and that young people retain a clear sense of their identity and belonging.

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

Impact risk assessments are completed with sufficient consideration and exploration of risks to young people prior to placement. This has not been fully evidenced within the documentation. A requirement is made to enhance this area of practice.

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

Young people who have been missing from the home have received a well-coordinated response. Incidents are reported swiftly and staff have worked alongside the police and other agencies to return young people home safely.

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

Records of incidents of going missing, including times and the detail of independent return interviews, were not fully explicit in the main incident report. This information is available in other records, but this means that monitoring and evaluation are more difficult. A best practice recommendation is made.

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

The staff have intervened physically to keep young people safe. Physical interventions are proportionate and comprehensive records are made. The records do not always sufficiently denote the duration of single holds and a requirement is made to address this matter.

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

Staff have had safeguarding training, including enhanced topics. This helps to ensure that staff know how to identify and reduce risks to young people from forms of Inspection report children’s home: 1275189 4 exploitation.

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

Medication administration and storage arrangements are stringent. The physical environment in the home is well maintained and kept free from hazards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a strong leader who is appropriately experienced in providing residential care for children. She is in the process of completing a level 5 leadership qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that the service is well managed, and they feel well supported to meet the needs of the young people in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has accessed a wide variety of training. Supervision and team meetings are regular and provide opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is introducing topics of research to the staff to further enhance their practice. The development plan for the home reflects a culture of continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care planning processes are child-centred and demonstrate that the team is heavily invested in ensuring that the needs of the young people in their care are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Family members and placing social workers have provided positive feedback about the service. One social worker said, ‘The team in the home is friendly and welcoming. The staff communicate positively and have engaged [the young person] well.’

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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: 1275189 5

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Nicola Thomas: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1275189 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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Inspector

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