Children's Home run by Pebbles Care Limited in Leeds

Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 1 SC417795 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 is a privately owned children’s home. The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home aims to offer children or young people a family environment where they can settle, relax and find stability in their lives. There is a registered manager in post who holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2018 Full Good 19/07/2017 Full Good 27/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are provided with individualised care, where their complex needs and behaviours are clearly understood. This has helped them to develop positive attachments with staff. The staff become attuned to the children’s and young people’s worries and anxieties. The staff listen to them and engage and support them, enabling them to move forward with their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people have opportunities to participate in a range of activities with staff in the home and in the local community. The home has a wide selection of board games and craft materials and the children and young people enjoy group activities, such as games evenings, outings to the cinema and bowling and visits to museums. One young person has recently joined the cadets. She thoroughly enjoys this first-time experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly engage and consult with the children and young people and have been proactive in maintaining and rebuilding relationships with families. This has resulted in improved family contact. For children and young people living out of the area, this has been a priority. One young person has re-established relationships with her grandfather and is now travelling independently for overnight contact. Another young person has been supported to reconnect with her birth parents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is promoted and is tailored to ensure that the right provision is identified to enable the children and young people to reach their full potential. Staff have supported one child to re-engage in education and two young people are being supported in their preparation for attending college. Staff work collaboratively with education providers and for one young person a bespoke package of education is seeing improved engagement and attainment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of relationships with other professionals is a key strength and facilitates multi-agency decision-making and planning. The independence work undertaken has seen the children and young people develop their practical skills in preparation for future independence. The close working relationships with leaving-care services support the young people to confidently leave the home and live independently.

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

Children and young people have made progress relative to their starting points. Staff promote positive engagement through key-work sessions in areas such as sexual health and well-being, friendships, contact, staying safe and free time. For those children and young people who are not ready to engage in specialist services, key working has helped them to understand the impact of their behaviours on themselves and others.

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

The risks and vulnerabilities of each child and young person are clearly understood and Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 4 any risk-taking behaviours are managed and responded to. This response ensures that future risks are minimised. This is because staff know the children and young people well and staff are instinctive and they are responsive. Strategies and actions to reduce risk are detailed and effective.

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

Thorough and rigorous assessments underpin effective and good-quality practice. Risk assessments are individualised. Staff understand the triggers to behaviours that inform their ability to de-escalate situations before they reach crisis. Some risk assessments have not routinely been updated to show the evidence of reduced risk; this is important for the children and young people in acknowledging and recording their progress. A recommendation has been made at this inspection.

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

Work with the children and young people and the involvement of specialist services has seen an overall reduction in self-harming behaviour and risks associated with being missing from care. Staff listen to the children and young people. They equip them to take measured risks and offer a high level of support and guidance. A young person said: ‘I feel safe living here and staff want the best for me.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She has managed the home for nearly five years and continues to demonstrate enthusiasm, dedication and commitment in providing safe and nurturing care for children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a core staff team alongside some newly recruited staff. Good staffing ratios ensure that the children and young people continue to receive support, stability and consistency of care. The environment is cheerful and homely. The children and young people feel comfortable in their surroundings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager takes any complaint or allegation seriously, which promotes a culture of openness and transparency. This demonstrates the manager’s strong obligation to improving the quality of care and outcomes for the children and young people. Furthermore, the manager has rigorously challenged a placing authority to promote the safety and well-being of one young person, escalating concerns when necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Robust and safe referral processes that match the children and young people and assess compatibility help children and young people to safely transition in and out of the home. This is underpinned by the good working relationships with partner agencies, specialist services and placing authorities. These relationships ensure that there is a team-around- the-child approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed systems that monitor and evaluate the quality and regularity of staff supervision, training and professional development. This ensures that new and existing staff are equipped with current knowledge and skills to meet the needs of all the children and young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 5

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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)

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Recommendations

In particular, individual risk assessments need to be updated to reflect the level of risk to inform care planning.

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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: SC417795 6

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Cath Sikakana: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 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 looked children after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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