Children's home run by Leeds City Council in Leeds

Inspection report children’s home: SC033389 1 SC033389 Registered provider: Leeds City Council Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority. The home provides care and accommodation for up to five children and young people aged between 11 and 18 years old. The home aims to provide a caring and safe environment in which all the children and young people can grow.

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Information about this children’s home

The home currently has a manager who has been registered by Ofsted at another of the provider’s homes.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 18 September 2017

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The provider has been served six compliance notices. The home was issued with a restriction of accommodation notice on 22 September 2017. Following monitoring visits, the restriction notice was lifted on 18 December 2017. One compliance notice was not met.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home has recently been refurbished and reopened. Children, young people and staff moved into this home to allow the authority to refurbish another home. The transition into the home has been well managed and there has been little disruption to the lives of children and young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC033389 2 One child has been admitted to the home. The transition was well planned and included visits to meet the child and meaningful discussions with the previous carers. This allowed for robust decision making in relation to matching the needs of the new child to the needs of the children and young people currently living in the home. The child visited the home and met with other children, young people and staff. The planning included sourcing an education placement for the child prior to him moving to the home. For this child, changes included moving from a small education environment to one much larger.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

His attendance has been excellent and he is receiving careers advice to guide his next steps.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

All of the children and young people receive education. The staff team understands the importance of education and this is evident in the progress that children and young people have made in relation to their attendance and achievements. One young person has made significant progress with his education. He has completed additional activities, supported by staff, that have improved his chances of getting on a course which interests him. The manager is hoping to support another similar activity in the near future. The manager described the transition he has made in such a short period of time as ‘phenomenal’.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has made significant progress towards improving the quality of care being provided. The staff are positive and look forward to carrying on the good work when they move back into the original home. The staff talked enthusiastically about the changes in the children and young people, and the progress that they have made. They have a desire for children and young people to do well and have positive experiences while in their care. The staff were also positive about the future, and were keep to build on the support and learning they have received from the manager. When asked about what was best about living in this home, one young person said that it was the continuous support of the staff, as it enables them to achieve.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has submitted a report on the quality of care. However, previous reports have not been submitted as required by regulation. A requirement is made at this inspection. In addition, the reports provided by the independent visitor do not routinely contain information from discussions with other professionals, children, young people or parents. A recommendation is made to improve the quality of the reports by supporting the visitor to gain the views of others.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children and young people living in the home are kept safe. There have only been two incidents of children and young people going missing from home since the last inspection, the last time being five months ago. This is a reduction in the number of missing-from-home incidents since the last inspection. The response to incidents of missing from home has been good. Staff have followed missing-from-home protocols and engaged other agencies when necessary, including providing an independent person for children and young people to speak to when they return. Incidents in the home are responded to consistently, which demonstrates to children and young people that the staff understand their risks and will discuss and implement strategies for improving behaviour, reducing risks and keeping them safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC033389 3 The staff build strong and trusting relationships with the children and young people. The

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

quality of these relationships allows the children and young people to open up about concerns that they might have or incidents that they have been involved in. The children and young people are supported to learn from their experiences. The staff keep the children’s and young people’s social workers up to date on any changes or incidents. One social worker commented that one of the home’s strengths was the quality of the relationships that staff have built with children and young people, and the effect that this has had on the children’s and young people’s confidence.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The health needs of the children and young people are being well supported by the staff. The staff support the children and young people to make and attend health appointments when necessary.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is well decorated and nicely furnished. There is ample space for children and young people, both inside and outside the home. It has a quality feel, demonstrating to children and young people that the home is prepared to invest time and resources in where they live.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There were no requirements or recommendations outstanding from the previous inspection.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/09/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 27/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 22/11/2016 Full Good

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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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every six months. 17/06/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC033389 4 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation (45)(1)(4))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to ensuring that a report is regularly completed and supplied to Ofsted.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) This is in relation to supporting the independent person to obtain the views of children, young people, parents, relatives, persons working at the home and any other persons relevant to assessing whether the children are effectively safeguarded and that the conduct of the home promotes children’s and young people’s well-being.

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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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC033389 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Merrion House, 7th Floor West, Merrion Centre, Leeds LS2 8TU

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Inspector

Mark Broomhead, regulatory inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: SC033389 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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