Children's home run by Pebbles Care Limited in Leeds

Inspection report children’s home: SC379274 1 SC379274 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

A private company operates and runs this home. It provides care for up to four children and young people requiring short-, medium- and long-term residential care.

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Information about this children’s home

The suitably experienced manager was registered in February 2019 but has been acting manager since March 2018. She is currently undertaking an appropriate leadership qualification.

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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: SC379274 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/05/2018 Full Good 07/02/2018 Full Good 16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/11/2016 Full Good

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are making good progress in their emotional and social development. Their enhanced day-to-day experiences are having a positive impact on their outcomes, both at the home and in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people who have had difficulties with attendance in education have been supported to re-engage in education. They have benefited from improved attendance, attainment and behaviour in school. The staff celebrate the achievements of the children and young people and encourage them to have high aspirations for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A new therapeutically based assessment system is designed to enable the staff to track children’s and young people’s emotional well-being more accurately. The staff have started making ‘calm boxes’ with the children and young people to be used in times of distress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people develop an understanding of expectations and consequences through the firm, but fair, boundaries implemented by the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have helped the children and young people to maintain and, in some cases, improve relationships with their families and other significant people in their lives. This is improving the chances of some of the children and young people returning to the care of their families. A parent said, ‘I can’t speak highly enough of the place. All the staff, including the manager have time for me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people live in a large and comfortable home. It is well maintained and homely. Children’s and young people’s bedrooms are furnished to a good standard, providing them with a secure and private space that they have personalised. The children and young people enjoy caring for the home’s pet rabbit. Inspection report children’s home: SC379274 3

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

The children and young people feel protected and safe in this home. Because of the good relationships with the staff, the children and young people can identify trusted adults from the staff team whom they trust. The children and young people confide in the staff, which leads to children and young people making safer choices and more effective preventative action from the staff.

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

In line with children’s and young people’s plans, the staff provide a proactive response to keeping the children and young people safe when they are unsupervised in the community. This is proving successful in decreasing missing episodes for one highly vulnerable young person. Other children and young people do not go missing from the home.

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

Physical intervention is uncommon because of the insightful knowledge that the staff have about the children and young people. This enables them to pre-empt and de- escalate situations effectively. Records of physical intervention are comprehensive and evaluated by the manager to ensure that there is a culture of learning from incidents.

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

The staff promote positive behaviour through the provision of firm behavioural expectations and the use of positive consequences and incentives. The children and young people respond to these well, and incidents of challenging behaviour are decreasing as a result.

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

Key-work sessions around behaviour and keeping safe are comprehensive and contain clear messages that are grounded in a restorative approach. The children and young people are encouraged to reflect on their behaviour and have made significant positive changes. They are now able to regulate their emotions better so that they can react in a more socially appropriate manner. An education provider said that one child’s behaviour was the ‘calmest’ they had ever seen, after only a few weeks of living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a child-centred and committed manager. She is supported by a competent deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Several of the staff are relatively new. However, the management team provides the staff with strong leadership, which enables them to develop sound care practice. The manager ensures that all the staff who need to do so are undertaking the appropriate professional qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Careful consideration is given to the matching process to ensure that the children and young people placed together are a positive influence on each other, and that relationships in the home are harmonious.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel well supported by the manager. They receive consistent supervision, which both supports and challenges their practice. Regular team meetings are used to help the Inspection report children’s home: SC379274 4 staff to develop their knowledge. They feel that their skills are increasing because of the inclusive and empowering management style in the home. However, staff have not received an appraisal of their performance in the last 12 months. This restricts the opportunity for the management to identify training needs and to assess the care practice of individual staff members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not submitted the six-monthly quality of care review. This impedes both the manager and the regulator from maintaining appropriate oversight at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place to provide monitoring of the day-to-day care and progress of the children and young people. However, systems for consultation with children and young people, their families and other agencies about the quality of the service are insufficient, and the views of the children and young people are not captured adequately. This restricts the manager’s ability to identify improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Placing authorities and other partners have provided very positive feedback on this service. One independent reviewing officer said: ‘[Name of young person] has made excellent progress. I am happy for him to remain there.’

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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, 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 ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(c)) 07/06/2019

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s 30/05/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC379274 5 home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (‘the quality of care review report’).

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(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

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

Inspection report children’s home: SC379274 6 Unique reference number: SC379274

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Janet Black, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC379274 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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