Children's Home run by Pebbles Care Limited in Leeds

Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 1 SC417795 Registered provider: Pebbles Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is a privately owned children’s home. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home aims to offer children a family environment where they can settle, relax and find stability in their lives. There are currently three children living at this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since December 2014 and holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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: SC417795 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/04/2019 Full Good 24/07/2018 Full Good 19/07/2017 Full Good 27/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at this home are very settled and they are making progress in areas specific to their different needs. All the children have previously experienced a number of disruptions in their care. The stability that they are now experiencing, given their complex histories and previous trauma, is commendable. This is largely due to the very positive relationships enjoyed by staff and children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff respond in an effective and timely way to emerging health issues. Staff are persistent in sourcing and establishing the correct support for the children, and this promotes both their physical and emotional well-being. When children do not initially engage with specialists in their health needs, staff try to motivate them to see the benefits, while simultaneously considering alternative ways of meeting those needs. This results in children receiving support at the point at which they need it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been progress in terms of the children’s education. During the pandemic, formal schooling has been disrupted and diluted, and staff have compensated for this by supporting learning in the home. For some children, this has resulted in academic achievement despite the particularly challenging circumstances. Although some children have reduced attendance at school, this is not as a result of a lack of support or encouragement offered by the home. Staff recognise the barriers to education for the children and try to mitigate these.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The key working sessions with the children focus on areas including education, health, culture and individual risks. They are well documented, and sensitively delivered. Children are able to express their views, and these are taken into account. Children are also encouraged and supported to attend meetings concerning their care where this is appropriate. As a result, the children feel part of the decision- making process and in turn make more informed choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are able to personalise their own rooms in the home and can also influence the communal areas. This results in an environment which is clean, warm and comfortable and resembles a family home. There are photos on the walls of the children with other people who are important to them, and the games, activities and books reflect the interests of the children. This contributes to a sense of their own identity and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are sensitive to, and take account of, the differing cultural needs of children and support them to celebrate their diversity and understand their heritage. They do this through helping them to research and talk about traditions, cuisine and beliefs particular to their ethnicity. Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 4

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

Children are better protected from harm due to the care and support they receive from the staff team. The children spoken to said that they feel safe and well cared for. In observing children’s interactions with staff, there is clearly a good rapport, and this conveys a real sense that the children trust the adults who look after them.

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

The children have a range of needs and vulnerabilities that manifest in different ways. Staff have a good understanding of what triggers heightened anxieties and behaviour. Staff use therapeutic techniques to de-escalate situations and avoid the need to use any form of physical intervention.

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

Staff are well informed about each of the children’s early life experiences and the impact of these on presenting behaviour. This means that safeguards and support are in place when, for example, the children have time with their families.

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

Risk assessments, behaviour support plans and care plans are generally well documented and regularly reviewed. This ensures that staff are aware of the strategies in place to respond appropriately to risk-taking or harmful behaviour such as self-harm. However, some risk assessments do not give the reader a sense of what action was taken by staff at the time or what strategies are in place to prevent further harm.

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

A low number of room searches have taken place to safeguard children from harming themselves. Room search records do not demonstrate that best practice has been followed, and children have not been consulted prior to the room search being undertaken. This shortfall means that children may feel an unnecessary intrusion into their personal space.

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

Key-working with children is of an exceptionally high quality. The voice of the child, their views and comments are recorded. This has helped the children to talk about why they behave in a certain way. It helps them to understand their emotions better and make progress relative to their starting points.

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

The children are very much attached to their home. They are settled and enjoy stability of care from a motivated staff team. There have been no circumstances in which a child has been physically restrained and only one occasion when a child has gone missing. Staff followed procedures, and the child returned safe and well. However, a return home interview was not completed. This did not allow the child the opportunity to talk openly with an independent person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a sound understanding of the children’s needs and backgrounds. She drives a culture in which staff take account of the trauma the children have experienced and respond to behaviours and incidents in a non-judgemental and nurturing way. Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 5 The manager and her deputy are a significant presence in the day-to-day running of the home. They have developed strong relationships with the children, allowing them to model positive and effective engagement for the wider staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Following a provider-led reorganisation, a new staff structure and ratio of care provided to the children is in place. This ratio of care is insufficient at times of crisis or, for example, should a child go missing. In addition, it precludes spontaneous activities which require one-to-one staffing. This means that children may lose out on the ability of staff to give good-quality time when they most need it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager, the wider staff team and the quality of care they provide are held in high regard by professionals. There is evidence of regular multi-agency collaboration to achieve positive outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by their manager and they receive regular reflective supervision. Staff inductions and training have been sustained despite the difficulties due to the pandemic. When face-to-face training has been unsafe, alternatives have been provided, and there have been creative solutions to delivering group training where this has been identified as necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a period of flux within the team, and a number of staff have left. As a result, the current team contains a number of new staff still in their probationary period. The new staff have worked hard to establish relationships with the young people, and this was clearly evident during the inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 6

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Statutory requirement

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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children as aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)) 28 May 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a child’s bedroom is not generally entered without their permission, though it may be necessary to establish routines to allow for rooms to be cleaned regularly. Usually, rooms should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in

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Recommendations

place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 45, paragraph 9.30) Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 7

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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: SC417795 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pebbles Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspectors

Cath Sikakana, Social Care Inspector Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC417795 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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