Children's home run by Leicester City Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC038961 1 SC038961 Registered provider: Leicester City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by the local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to 10 children and young people who are unable to live with their families and have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2011.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC038961 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/03/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 03/10/2017 Full Good 15/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC038961 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive care and support from a highly dedicated and committed staff team and managers. Over time, they make good progress in all areas of their lives and have improved life chances. Agencies praise the excellent support that staff provide, and they report noticeable improvements in the behaviours and emotional well-being of young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good support is in place to ensure that young people’s needs are known and met. There is positive evidence that a range of agencies are working proactively to support them at all times. A strength of the staff team is how well it works with parents and carers. Relationships have improved for young people and their family members because of this support. It has led to young people either returning home to live with family members or to an increase in the time that they spend with them outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive prompt and appropriate healthcare support. This includes more access to specialist services. A nurse visits the home regularly to offer advice and guidance to both staff and young people. The nurse feels that the health needs of young people are clearly known, recorded and well met by staff. The staff provide nurturing and therapeutic-focused care. Staff encourage young people to consider their own health needs and to make their own appointments, where possible. The requirement set at the last inspection relating to health and well-being has been fully met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people attend education, training or employment. They learn the value of education and have aspirations for their futures. Staff support them to apply for paid employment and promote education and learning within the home. Young people develop a positive work ethic, due to the support and encouragement that staff provide.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have a clear and positive influence on how the home is run. Their views, wishes and feelings are sought by staff on a daily basis. Records reflect how staff seek to engage and encourage young people to read their records and to make comments on the care that they receive. Young people attend regular meetings with staff. They feel able to express their wants and needs. They also feel confident in making complaints or raising any issues with staff and managers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have opportunities to have new experiences. This includes social activities and holidays. Staff fully support young people to engage in the local and wider community. They support young people to try out new things. This increases their confidence and sense of being valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are very well prepared for their futures. Staff encourage them to be as independent as possible. Staff assess young people’s skills and areas of need well. The home has two self-contained flats and supports young people to manage their own finances, to budget and to meet their personal care needs. The staff team also provides outreach support to those young people who move to independent or supported Inspection report children’s home: SC038961 4 accommodation. This provides them with practical and emotional support during the transition period.

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

Staff and managers know and understand the actual/potential risks for young people. Managers have improved their impact risk assessment format and practice when considering new placements. They have detailed risk assessments in place and a good system for reviewing and updating them. The requirement set at the last inspection has been met.

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

Managers have implemented clearer and more robust systems to ensure that young people are offered a return home interview following a missing from care incident. There are clear and detailed recording systems now in place, including monthly casework file supervision with staff. Managers and staff have a clear sense of why young people may go missing and undertake work with them to reduce this. The recommendation set at the last inspection has been met.

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

Staff and managers understand the need to keep young people safe. They ensure that any specific strategies used which may restrict a young person’s access within the home are closely monitored and reviewed. Young people understand why restrictions may need to be put in place. Their views are considered and well recorded. The recommendation set at the last inspection has been met.

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

Staff and managers work closely and proactively with relevant agencies, including the police. They understand their roles and duties in relation to the protection and safeguarding of young people. They challenge agencies where they feel that young people are at increased risk of harm and require support or services.

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

Recruitment procedures are robust and prevent unsuitable adults from working with vulnerable young people. Detailed checks are undertaken by the manager, including consideration of gaps in employment histories, identification and verification of references.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and assistant manager have worked hard following the last inspection to make improvements. They are ambitious for the young people and want them to achieve their very best. They talk with passion and commendable insight about the young people in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers know and can articulate the progress that young people make. They work as a team to ensure that young people get the support that they need. They challenge the placing authority and other agencies for any failure to provide support and services to young people. The requirement set at the last inspection has been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have implemented a range of new systems to monitor and track the progress Inspection report children’s home: SC038961 5 of young people. They have introduced monthly case file supervision meetings with key staff. This is to ensure that all documentation, plans and records are up to date, signed and dated. Records reflect the current needs and risks of each young person. Managers ensure that relevant incidents are reported to Ofsted and other relevant agencies. The requirement set at the last inspection has been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose for the home has been regularly reviewed and updated. The manager has ensured that the most recent version is sent to Ofsted. The requirement set at the last inspection has been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent visitor produces reports from their monthly visits to the home. These are sent to Ofsted in a timely manner. Managers act on recommendations set in those reports. This further ensures that young people receive appropriate and timely care. The requirement set at the last inspection has been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported in their roles. They receive regular formal supervision, training and annual appraisals. They speak highly of the managers and of the improvements made since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers regularly involve young people in the care and support that they receive. They value young people’s contributions. They actively encourage young people to discuss openly any issues that they have. They promote a culture of openness, honesty and equality. Young people report feeling valued and able to influence the care and support that they receive.

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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: SC038961 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:

Tracy Murty: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC038961 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 after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

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