Children's home run by Pebbles Care Limited in Leeds

Inspection report children‟s home: SC066458 1 SC066458 Registered provider: Pebbles Care Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately operated. It is registered for up to three children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or mental health disorders. Careful referral and placement planning and risk assessing are undertaken before any child or young person is admitted to the home. The home offers placements on a short- term, medium-term and long-term basis. The manager is registered with Ofsted and is currently completing her 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 requires improvement to be 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: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC066458 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/01/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/06/2018 Full Good 05/12/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC066458 3

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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

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

details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person 02/08/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC066458 4 or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii) and (c)(iv)) The registered person must ensure that— the privacy of children is appropriately protected; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child‟s privacy or access to any area of the home‟s premises— is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate; and is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21 (a)(c)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

With particular reference to the completion of room searches in ensuring that the child has been consulted with and their views are ascertained and recorded. 02/08/2019

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Recommendations

 Many children placed in homes may undergo a difficult transition and what should be simple aspects of their care take on a substantial significance in this context. Homes must also meet children‟s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.7) With particular reference to steam cleaning carpets throughout the home.  The registered person is responsible for ensuring that all staff consistently follow the home‟s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home‟s care. Everyone working at the home must understand their roles and responsibilities and what they are authorised to decide on their own initiative. There should be clear lines of accountability. Each home must have clear arrangements in place to maintain effective management when the manager is absent, off duty or on leave. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including

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Recommendations

the quality standards‟, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Professionally qualified staff employed by the home, e.g. teachers or social workers, should be provided with relevant professional or clinical supervision by an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.2) With particular reference to ensuring that supervisions and inductions of new staff are kept up to date.  Care must be taken to ensure prescribed medicines are only administered to the Inspection report children‟s home: SC066458 5 individual for whom they are prescribed. Medicines must be administered in line

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Recommendations

with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 35, paragraph 7.15) With particular reference to ensuring that amended records are signed by the staff member making those amendments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with individualised care. They are welcomed and made to feel that this is their home through sensitive and careful planning. This is because their needs and vulnerabilities are clearly understood. A child recently admitted said: „It‟s pretty cool. It‟s great. Done me better and staff are really looking after me.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build relationships with the children and spend time with them. Staff listen to children and through this their health and well-being are being promoted. This has helped the children to make progress relative to their starting points. Children are involved in their day-to-day care and their views and opinions are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the children are engaging in some form of education and have plans in place for the future. The manager and her staff team are proactive in identifying education that is tailored to the children‟s individual learning abilities. The good communication with the virtual school service has resulted in one child remaining at his previous school and completing his GCSE examinations with no disruption.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to engage in a range of activities, both as a group and individually. They are encouraged to have positive peer relationships and activities are identified to facilitate this. For example, two children have developed a keen interest in fishing and have acquired membership of an angling club. Other activities include trampolining, cycling and going to the library.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children‟s health needs, both physical and emotional, are identified and acted upon. The children are supported to access specialist services such as the child and adolescent mental health service. The manager and staff also receive ongoing guidance from the in- house psychologist. Through this support, one child has reduced his self-harm, and another is beginning to open up and talk about his early childhood experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children are treated with dignity and respect. Work has been undertaken around sexuality and this has been explored in a safe and positive manner. This has meant that the children have been able to be open around their own sexuality and assisted to access support groups.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Contact with family is very much promoted and supported. The manager and staff work Inspection report children‟s home: SC066458 6 well with parents and carers. This has facilitated the nurturing of relationships between parents and their children. A parent spoken to said that she feels very involved in her child‟s care.

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

Children living at the home all say that they feel safe and protected. Children are very open and can discuss their anxieties and worries. All the children were able to identify a person they can trust.

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

The quality of the key-work sessions with the children to help reduce risks and understand the consequences of their behaviour is meaningful and relevant. Specialist support and advice is obtained where necessary and this influences practice.

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

Individual risk assessments identify and address known and probable risks for each child. However, in some instances, when new risks have emerged, these have not been included. This has not impacted on staff‟s ability to respond effectively and act to safeguard the children. Good staffing ratios ensure that the children are supervised appropriately both in the home and in the community.

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

Staff have received appropriate training in areas such as in relation to self-harm, around sexual exploitation, mental health and first aid. The manager has developed a resource file to share information, guidance and tools to use with children. This ensures that staff are equipped to support the children and to protect them from harm.

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

The manager and staff do understand the risks associated with the internet and social media and have safety measures in place, such as Nanny net. Work has been done with the children which enables them to keep themselves safe. However, some applications are not restricted by these measures. Further work is to be undertaken to ensure that the children do not have access to inappropriate content.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is suitably experienced. She has managed the home for a year and is currently completing her level 5 diploma in leadership and management. The manager‟s motivation and commitment are evident, and this contributes to the warm and supportive atmosphere.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been some instability in staffing due to vacancies, staff sickness and new staff members joining the home. More recently, staff have not routinely had quality supervision and induction, and this has impacted on some practice areas, such as recording. The manager is aware of these shortfalls and has systems in place to address them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Recruitment practice is safe. However, there have been some anomalies in ensuring that references are detailed enough and that Disclosure and Barring Service checks have been received. These issues were clarified on inspection. However, the manager needs Inspection report children‟s home: SC066458 7 to have more oversight to ensure that these are in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Records for the children such as medication, physical restraint, room search and incident reports lack reflection, detail and consultation with the children. Despite well- documented plans and risk assessments, it is not always evident that staff have read and understood them. The manager has arranged a staff development day to address these shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is very passionate about the children in her care and is very hands on in her approach. She has excellent relationships with the children and spends quality time with them. This, at times, can be to her detriment as it does not particularly empower the staff to use their initiative and to make decisions in her absence. The manager has again recognised and reflected on this to rectify this imbalance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The environment of the home is warm and welcoming. The children feel comfortable in their surroundings. There has been some recent damage to the home and as a result some areas still need maintenance and repair. The manager is timely in reporting such repairs but could be more proactive in managing the smaller issues.

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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: SC066458 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Cath Sikakana: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC066458 9 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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