Children's home run by Kirklees Council in Kirklees

Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 1 SC033387 Registered provider: Kirklees Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides residential short breaks and emergency support for children and young people aged up to 18 years old, who may have physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairments. The home encourages and enables children and young people to take part in a variety of leisure activities during their stays. The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2018. He has nine years of deputy leadership experience in a residential childcare setting, caring for disabled children and young people.

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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: SC033387 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/05/2018 Full Good 24/10/2017 Full Good 13/02/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 20/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide a warm, caring and nurturing home environment which provides positive short-break experiences for the children and young people. The staff are supported to develop their knowledge and experience to meet the complex, wide- ranging care needs of all the children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people enjoy positive opportunities and activities during their stays, and they can socialise with their peers in the home and on activities in the wider community. These activities include trips to theme parks, local walks, concerts, a pantomime and trampoline parks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff build positive and trusting caring relationships with the children and young people and support them in managing transitions and developing levels of independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people enjoy a new sensory room and visits from community groups who provide sessions in dance, drama and drumming. All the young people can access these activities during their stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help the children and young people to manage their complex healthcare needs. Each child or young person has an individual health plan in place which is completed in consultation with health professionals and families to meet the children and young people’s health needs. These plans are clear and consider health and dietary requirements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are consulted about the food they eat when they visit, and any requests are responded to effectively. This was evident when reviewing a children and young people’s meeting where they asked for a Halloween-themed tea which was arranged and enjoyed by the children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Many of the children and young people have limited communication. The staff work with them using communication tools which are specific to meet the needs of each individual child and young person. This ensures that they are able to communicate their wishes and feelings and are offered choices during their stay and can influence how the home functions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have developed positive working relationships with key professionals, families, schools and social workers. These quality relationships help them to support the care of the children and young people as they understand their needs from all their environments and provide consistency of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The matching of the children and young people is much improved, and the manager is now accepting new admissions that are planned and known to the service. This ensures that there is no impact on the other children and young people who access the service. Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 4

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

The home has good systems in place to help keep the children and young people safe. They receive high levels of staff supervision due to their complex needs. The home has good risk assessments in place which are individualised to meet the individual needs of each child and young person. Risk assessments are clear, and the staff are able to follow them to reduce risk and manage any behaviours which the children and young people may express.

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

There are very few incidents of physical intervention. When there are incidents, they are recorded, the staff, children and young people, where possible, have debriefs and there is good management oversight. Learning is revisited to support the behaviour management plan of the children and young people.

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

The staff are trained to administer medication and rescue medication, and have systems in place to record the medication that the children and young people bring during their stays to meet their health needs. Medication is safely stored and discharged, which is witnessed by two member of staff. The staff communicate with parents and health professionals to ensure that medication information is shared prior to each stay. However, a young person was given the wrong dose of medication on two occasions during their stay, which led to the young person having to attend hospital to ensure that there was no effect on their health due to the error.

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

Staff have access to specialist training to help meet the wide-ranging care needs of the children and young people, which include autism spectrum disorder awareness, communication, suction and enteral feeding. When there is a need for other training to meet a child or young person’s health needs, this is sourced to ensure that they can have their complex health needs met during their stays.

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

The children and young people are supported by the staff with a high level of personal care. Staff ensure that they respect the children and young people’s privacy and dignity throughout. The staff maintain a high level of reassurance and communication to support the children and young people through all their transitions, as some children and young people need access to specialist equipment to support their personal and healthcare needs.

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

The children and young people have high levels of supervision in the home and there is extra staffing provided for some children and young people in the community to help reduce the risk of absconding. This level of supervision helps to ensure that there are no episodes of going missing from home.

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

There have been no recent notifications in respect of complaints, allegations or safeguarding. The home carries out safer recruitment and ensures that new staff have a clear and thorough induction plan. Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 5 Many of the children and young people have mobility issues which can impact on their abilities to evacuate during a fire. They all have individual evacuation plans which are regularly reviewed. There are weekly fire and equipment checks, and monthly drills are carried out to help safeguard the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post for over two years. He is experienced and ambitious and is supported by his deputies to provide a good level of support to the staff. This quality support enables the staff to carry out their roles and provides a consistency of care to the children and young people during their stays.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager now has a clear workforce development plan to support the ongoing training and development of his staff. He has implemented systems to support good management oversight of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputies ensure that all staff have access to formal, informal and group supervision at a minimum of monthly intervals to support their development and practice. All staff have annual appraisals which are focused on their training and development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is striving to develop and improve the service and has encouraged positive links with other short-break services to share positive practice which will develop the home and improve outcomes for the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young people have clear targets in their plans and these are supported by key- work sessions and success is celebrated for children young people during their stay. The achievement boards, photographs and feedback forms reflect the positive experiences of the children and young people during their stays. Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 6

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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, the 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 compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16(1)(3)(a)(b)) 10/06/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e)) 10/06/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23(1)) 10/06/2020

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC033387 7

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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, Yorkshire HD1 2EY

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Inspector

Noel Cooper: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC033387 8 to 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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