Children's home run by Kirklees Council in Kirklees

Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 1 SC356963 Registered provider: Kirklees 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 children’s home is owned and operated by a local authority. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children or young people who may have behavioural and/or emotional difficulties. The manager is registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 26 to 27 November 2019

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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

Date of last inspection: 20 November 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/11/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 31/07/2018 Full Good 21/11/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 10/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and the staff team work in partnership with professionals, families and other agencies. They are ambitious and motivated to provide the best care for young people to enable them to flourish, aspire and achieve. The young people have up-to- date care and pathway plans which reflect the areas of support and development for each young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are supported to engage in positive activities, including rugby, boxing, playing football, going to the cinema and go-karting, which encourages them to develop self-confidence and social skills. The manager and the staff support the young people to become more resilient and begin to develop coping strategies to manage their emotions and access specialist services. The young people have access to the Children in Care Council, receive key-work sessions, play music and take part in poetry groups, all of which enable them to have a voice about their care. One young person has reduced his anxiety levels. He is now confident and a respected member of the Children in Care Council, where he has received positive feedback. Staff have seen a significant improvement in his emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and the staff team access support from the psychologist and the placement support team every six weeks. They are provided with clinical supervision which enables the team to develop positive parenting strategies to help the young people to feel safe, achieve stability and develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people access education which meets their educational developmental needs. Three young people have good school attendance, which is above 90%, and all the young people are making progress. Feedback from schools is that the staff support the young people to access education and when there are barriers, they work in partnership to reduce them. This approach has led to improved outcomes for two young people who are taking their GCSEs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people experience an environment where they can develop their independent living and social skills. This will enable them to transition in the future to accommodation which will meet their long-term care and developmental needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the young people to have quality time with their families and important people in their lives. As a result, they develop a sense of identity, self-confidence and build trusting relationships with the manager and the staff team.

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

Young people said they feel stable, safe and secure, and experience a sense of belonging living in this home. They have access to focused key-work sessions which enable them to make better decisions about their actions. The young people are supported to develop healthy and positive relationships with their peers. Because of the Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 4 strong relationships with staff, young people feel they can talk to them about their concerns.

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

The manager and staff have comprehensive risk assessments in place which are reviewed and updated regularly. The staff have access to regular training and development opportunities, including county lines, child sexual exploitation, and ‘Prevent’ to support their practice. The staff have a good understanding of the identified risks and work with other agencies to help reduce the risks for young people.

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

There has been a reduction in physical interventions. Staff are very focused on using the de-escalation strategies reflected in the young people’s individual behaviour management plans. These strategies support the young people to regulate their emotions effectively.

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

Missing-from-home incidents have reduced. When a young person does go missing, the staff follow the protocols to help keep them safe. The manager and the staff have worked particularly well with one young person who was frequently going missing from the home. The staff worked with the young person and met with his family, friends and other agencies to develop a consistent approach to managing this risk by recognising and responding to his wishes and feelings. Staff continue to complete welfare checks and encourage him to return when he is away from the home. These steps ensure that he is able to access support which enables him to return home safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager are passionate about their work and manage a very experienced team, which is motivated and committed to achieve positive outcomes for the young people in its care. There are well-developed links with other professionals who support the young people. Because of these strong relationships, young people have access to the support they need at the earliest opportunity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home and is aware of the strengths of the home and the areas for development. The manager implemented positive changes within the home to ensure that the young people are consulted and have a voice in their plans and the running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place to enable him to have a good understanding of the development and progress of each young person. Audit tools are used to track and monitor any drift or delay and ensure that the young people’s care and developmental needs are prioritised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides structured and reflective supervision regularly and uses team meetings and consultations to develop the staff’s practice. He has an effective training programme and provides yearly appraisals to support ongoing staff development. He recognises the strength and consistency of his current staff team. Its members work cohesively, flexibly and support each other. The staff are developing into restorative and therapeutic practitioners. Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 5 The staff team members are from diverse backgrounds and this has enabled the young people to access positive role models and begin to develop a sense of identity in the home and the wider community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been proactive in challenging senior managers when young people reach an age when they could be eligible for supported living. This challenge has given the young people in placement the time to manage and prepare for transitions. The manager’s sensitive handling of the situation meant the transitions were successful and his approach has been influential in ensuring that discharges and admissions are planned and are positive experiences for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the home has developed stronger leadership. The management is role modelling positive parenting which is enabling young people to have positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides a stable, safe, consistent and nurturing care environment which enables the young people to achieve their potential.

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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: SC356963 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kirklees Metropolitan Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre 3, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD1 2EY

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Inspector

Noel Cooper: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC356963 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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