Children's home run by Leeds City Council in Leeds

Inspection report children's home: SC033370 1 SC033370 Registered provider: Leeds City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to five children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection visit.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in September 2020.

p.1

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 on 17 March 2020.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 20 October 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 30 October 2019

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC033370 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/02/2019 Full Good 03/05/2017 Full Good 05/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC033370 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive a good standard of care. They benefit from routines and boundaries, which provide them with stability in a homely environment. Children have developed positive relationships with the dedicated staff team. The staff have aspirations for each child. As a result, the children are making good progress relative to their starting points.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made steady progress in relation to their education. However, one child has been out of school for over a year. Staff have provided education support within the home. In addition, the manager has raised challenge and escalation. This delay in accessing education has the potential to hinder the child’s future prospects.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff record regular key-work sessions with children. There is a wealth of information recorded about the work carried out. These records provide a good insight into the support provided, and as a result of this support the children are making progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have made extensive efforts to promote family time for children. They keep parents up to date of their child’s progress and work hard to promote positive family relationships. Good partnership working with parents has helped the children to settle and make positive progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from parents is positive. One parent said that communication is good, and staff keep them informed. They confirmed that staff give their child structure, nurture, routines and have a good understanding of their child’s needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans are detailed and address all of the children’s needs. They are regularly updated, contain relevant information and document the progress made by children. Good quality care plans help to ensure a consistent approach from staff in meeting children’s needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to be independent, and they are supported to learn independence skills. Staff maintain contact with children who have left the home and moved on to independent living. Support, advice and guidance has continued well beyond the time children have moved on from the home. This demonstrated that staff are committed to ensuring that children successfully move on to live independently.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is welcoming, comfortable and homely. The children have made some personalisations to their home and their bedrooms. It is a very pleasant home environment and the children like their home. Inspection report children's home: SC033370 4

p.3

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

Children’s risk assessments are up to date. They outline all the known risk factors and set out strategies for staff to follow to reduce known risks. These risk assessments are regularly reviewed with clear management oversight. This helps to promote good practice and ensures a consistent approach from staff.

p.4

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

Overall, children’s individual risk-taking behaviour has reduced. However, some concerns remain about behaviour such as missing-from-home episodes. Staff are vigilant and have a clear understanding of these risks. They are working closely with children and professionals to address these concerns.

p.4

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

Missing-from-home protocols are not up to date. For example, children do not have an up-to-date photograph on their records. Despite this, staff do make extensive efforts to look for children when they go missing from the home. Furthermore, close working relationships with other professionals ensure a co-ordinated and well- managed approach to missing-from-home incidents.

p.4

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

Safe recruitment practice is not consistently adhered to by the organisation. Up-to- date references were not sought for a new member of staff and appropriate supervision arrangements were not in place when they took up their post. The manager has taken action to address this. A verbal reference has been sought, and supervision is now in place and up to date. Processes are now in place to ensure safe recruitment is adhered to. However, a recommendation is made to ensure good practice remains in place.

p.4

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

Behaviour is managed well by the manager and staff team. The staff are well trained and have very good relationships with the children. The manager and staff are able to identify any subtle changes in the children’s behaviour and respond by putting appropriate support in place. This has resulted in a reduction in challenging incidents and there have been very few incidents of physical restraint.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff have a clear understanding of the progress made by the children. Overall, the children have made good progress from their starting points. Clear, measurable outcomes are evident in records. This helps to highlight the impact of the work staff undertake with children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager will challenge appropriately if they perceive that other professionals are not working in the child’s best interests. This helps to ensure that matters of concern are acted on.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that children’s views are listened to and acted on. Children reported that they feel heard and supported. There is evidence of staff communicating and engaging with children to gather their views, wishes and feelings and children benefit from knowing that these are valued and acted on. Inspection report children's home: SC033370 5 Staff are well trained and have access to a range of training and development opportunities. Mandatory training is up to date, and the manager is aware of when training needs to be refreshed. Staff have the skills and knowledge to meet the individual needs of the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are very well supported in their roles by the manager and have regular supervision and team meetings. They also receive support from therapeutic practitioners. This ensures that they are well equipped to meet the individual needs of the children living at the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s social workers and other professionals said that communication with the staff is good. They receive regular updates and any incidents of concern are shared. One professional described the working relationship as ‘excellent’. This collaborative approach provides better support and guidance for the children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has vision and clear expectations for what the children can achieve, and she ensures that a good standard of care is provided. One professional said, ‘They [staff] work with the most complex children. I am confident that the children are getting the best care and are in the best placement for them.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The person appointed by the provider to undertake independent visits has not been rigorous in their reporting. There has been very limited consultation with children, parents and staff at the home. This hinders the independent person’s ability to comment on whether children are safeguarded and their well-being is promoted. Inspection report children's home: SC033370 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

p.6

Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

p.6

Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

p.6

Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

p.6

Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of 6 September 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC033370 7 exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

p.7

Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)  The registered person should ensure that good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the

p.7

Recommendations

children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

p.7

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: SC033370 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Leeds City Council, Civic Hall, Calverley Street, LEEDS LS1 1UR

p.8

Inspector

Brian Wood, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC033370 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9