Children's Home run by Kattz (YH) Limited in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report children’s home: 2536455 1 Registered provider: Kattz (YH) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to five children who have experienced trauma in their lives and may experience social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in February 2020. A manager was recruited but left before registering with Ofsted. At present, no manager is in post.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 9 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on Ofsted’s website.

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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: 11 November 2019

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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: 2536455 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 2536455 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living at the home and they have positive relationships with the staff. The staff understand the children’s needs and provide the children with good support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress with their education. The staff support them to engage well in daily home tuition. One child had very poor school attendance before moving to the home. Good school attendance is a great achievement for this child and this has been recognised by his social worker. Working towards exams has given the child a sense of pride.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff regularly encourage the children to give their views about the day-to-day running of the home. The managers consider and act on children’s ideas. This helps children to invest in the home and know that their views are important.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff do some work with children to prepare them for independence. However, this is not reflected in the children’s plans. As a result, records do not accurately reflect the children’s abilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support children to take part in a range of activities. Milestones for children are celebrated. A celebratory meal recently took place for a child who had been at the home for two years. He was pleased about this and able to choose how to celebrate his anniversary. Recognition of achievements and important events helps children to feel cared for and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help the children to see their families. The staff build good working relationships with the children’s family members. This helps children to maintain and develop important relationships. Rebuilding family relationships supports plans for children to return to the care of their families.

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

The staff help children to reduce behaviours that put them at risk. A child who was at risk of criminal exploitation and substance misuse when they moved to the home has markedly reduced these risks.

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

Positive relationships between the children and staff contribute to reductions in children’s risky behaviours. Children who used to go missing no longer do so. One child said: ‘I used to go missing, but I don’t from here because I like it.’ Incidents of self-harm have reduced significantly, as have incidents of aggression towards others. One child moved back to the home at his own request following a period of living elsewhere. Wanting to be at the home helps the children to invest in the home and make progress. Inspection report children’s home: 2536455 4 Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans cover a wide range of risks. They include strategies for staff to use to manage these and to reduce potential harm.

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

The staff manage incidents well based on their knowledge of the children. They support children to reflect following incidents. This helps the children to learn and develop strategies to manage how they are feeling.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been no registered manager at the home since February 2020. Senior managers have tried to recruit a manager, but this has been ineffective. The group manager has been covering the day-to-day management of the home with the support of the responsible individual. This has mitigated some of the effect of the vacancy. Improvements have been made in several areas since the monitoring visit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have developed their understanding of the areas that require further improvement. They recognised the need for a period of stability while they have a relatively inexperienced staff team and no permanent manager. This led to a decision not to accept any new children into the home. This has been a major contributory factor to the home being more settled since the last visit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, reflective supervision. The staff are positive about the managers and the support that they receive. Induction records for new staff are thorough and include a range of areas to support their role. The managers provide staff with a wide range of training. This further helps to increase their knowledge and skills. However, one member of staff has not achieved a relevant level 3 qualification in the required time frame.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have made changes to recruitment processes. These processes ensure that all necessary checks take place for both permanent and agency staff working at the home. This helps to keep the children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have not always ensured that children’s case records are clear enough. One child’s plans contain out-of-date information and some other documents lack clarity. Unclear records mean that the staff do not always have access to good enough information. This could reduce the likelihood of staff responding appropriately to incidents. Inspection report children’s home: 2536455 5

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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

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and the registered provider—

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 26 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; 31 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2536455 6 or works, or has not worked, in a care role in a home on a part time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that records are up to date, clear, accurate and recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2536455 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 51 Station Road, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire SG6 3BQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Kofoworola Ibitoye

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Inspectors

Ashley Hinson, Social Care Inspector Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2536455 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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