Children's Home run by Leicester City Council in Leicester

Inspection report children’s home: SC039056 1 SC039056 Registered provider: Leicester City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to nine children and young people: five children and young people under short- break arrangements and a further four children and young people under other arrangements. The home cares for children and young people who have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. The home provides care for children and young people on a long-term basis, for overnight stays, and provides day care.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 13 November 2017

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC039056 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/11/2017 Full Outstanding 24/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/11/2016 Full Outstanding 25/11/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC039056 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children receive excellent individualised care in an environment where staff have high aspirations for them. Children are happy, safe and make very good progress given their starting points. The emphasis is on enabling all children to become as independent as possible. Children’s self-esteem and confidence improve. The positive outcomes for children are due to the skills, commitment and resilience of the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

There is no difference in the quality of care for those children living at the home or for those receiving short-break services. The appreciation of families for the care and support that their children and they, as families, receive shines through all feedback. A family member expressed their thanks to staff by writing, ‘My sister’s world is brighter and more beautiful because of you all.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Partnership working is excellent. A multidisciplinary approach ensures that children’s needs are clearly identified and met. Children get the best opportunities to make progress. Care records reflect this integral partnership working and are very detailed, child-friendly and identify children’s needs, risks and preferences. Records are reviewed regularly to ensure that children receive care based on their current needs and to track their progress or any areas of concern.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children and their families receive very well-planned support during their transition to and from the home. Transitions consider the needs of each individual, their previous experiences and the needs of their families. During the last year, there have been a number of children admitted on an emergency/crisis basis. There is no evidence that this has affected the quality of care but it has meant that some children’s planned short breaks have had to be rearranged.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The support provided to the children admitted on an emergency/crisis basis, some of whom had not been in residential care before, has been exceptional. One child’s school reported that staff at the home were ‘amazing’ in supporting the child with their admission to the home. The child had not been attending school regularly since September 2018 and within days of admission returned to school. The child is now attending school daily and their behaviour has improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Many of the children have complex health needs which require close multidisciplinary working to ensure that children’s health needs are met. This multi-agency approach and research by staff at the home also help to ensure that children have a range of aids and equipment to improve their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The voice of the child is a priority in the home; their voices are strong. Those children who can verbally communicate are central to their care planning and the running of the home. They are supported to advocate for themselves as much as possible. This includes children making complaints to service providers and challenging decisions made that they consider unfair or discriminatory. Staff are very skilled at communicating with Inspection report children’s home: SC039056 4 children who cannot verbally communicate and work with their families and other professionals to ensure that children’s views are obtained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Education is a priority for all children. Excellent partnership working with schools means that children have the best opportunities to reach their potential. Children who live at the home are making very good progress in school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have excellent opportunities to experience different leisure pursuits and follow their hobbies and interests. They take part in activities that they have not had the opportunity to experience before. Every effort is made by staff to ensure that all children can access everyday activities. This also extends to families. The commitment of staff to children and families is second to none and staff have arranged trips for whole families.

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

Safeguarding children is a top priority and is embedded in day-to-day practice. Children are safe because staff are well trained and have an in-depth knowledge of children’s needs. Staff fully understand their responsibilities in protecting children from harm while at the same time giving them space and opportunities to grow and experience ordinary life opportunities. Children’s risk assessments and other care records reflect this balance.

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

Clear safeguarding policies inform staff practice. Any concerns regarding the safety and well-being of children are reported immediately to the relevant professionals. Management monitoring systems are robust and are quick to identify any practice that may place children at risk, although this is rare.

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

The management of children’s behaviour is very good and their behaviours improve. This is because staff are very skilled at interpreting children’s behaviour; they know children very well and understand what triggers their behaviours. This can also be attributed to close partnership working and regular review of care plans, risk assessments and support plans. Physical intervention is only used when absolutely needed and robust management monitoring systems ensure that it is not used inappropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has worked with disabled children in residential care for many years. She is very experienced, suitably qualified and totally committed to improving the lives of children and their families. The registered manager provides exceptional leadership and direction and is ably supported by an equally committed management team. The commitment to improvement remains an integral part of the ethos in the home. ‘Standing still’ is not an option.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

It was evident throughout this inspection that the embedded culture of having high aspirations for all children is shared by the whole staff team. Staff clearly enjoy their work. They are passionate about ensuring that children have positive life experiences and that they have the best possible outcomes. This commitment by staff also extends to children’s families. Staff really understand the challenges that disabled children and Inspection report children’s home: SC039056 5 their families face. Staff go over and above what is expected of them regularly to ensure that children and their families can spend quality time together and share fun experiences. For example, last summer staff arranged to take the whole family of two children who use the short-break service to the seaside for the day. This was a rare opportunity where the whole family spent time together having fun. Another example which reflects this commitment was a member of staff, who was due to have Christmas

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

day off, going in to work to support a child and their family due to a crisis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Challenging barriers to children receiving care and services and being able to access everyday life opportunities is an unquestionable strength of the whole team. There are numerous examples of where children and staff have challenged a range of services, some of which have clearly discriminated against disabled children. As a result, children have received services that they need, which increases their independence. An example of a successful challenge is that a railway company is reviewing their services to ensure that they are accessible to children who have mobility problems.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a real commitment to staff training and development which is responsive to the changing needs of children. Staff feel well supported and valued by the management team. They receive good-quality supervision in addition to other monitoring forums which are used to regularly review children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A key strength of the home is the comprehensive monitoring systems which are shared by both the management team and the staff team. Shared responsibility is part of the ethos in the home and underpins staff practice.

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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: SC039056 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City Hall, 3rd Floor, Rutland Wing, 115 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FZ

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Inspector

Katarina Djordjevic, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC039056 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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