Children's Home run by Leeds City Council in Leeds

Inspection report children’s home: SC066120 1 SC066120 Registered provider: Leeds City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority. The home is registered to provide care for up to five children who have learning disabilities, which may also include physical disabilities and/or sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

Children who live at the home have a long-term residential care plan.

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Information about this children’s home

The experienced manager was registered with Ofsted in November 2018.

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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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC066120 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/10/2018 Full Outstanding 08/01/2018 Full Outstanding 13/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/01/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC066120 3

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outstanding

The children make excellent progress in all areas of their development. They are very well supported by staff, who have high aspirations and treat them with unconditional positive regard. The ethos of the home is to provide a warm and welcoming environment that supports and promotes positive outcomes, and this is something that the whole team embraces.

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outstanding

Children have trusted and well-established relationships with the staff, who know the children well. Staff work in partnership with professionals and families to provide the children with outstanding care. Evidence gathered at this inspection highlights that the children are thriving in all aspects of their lives.

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outstanding

All the children have great school attendance and are doing exceptionally well. Staff work closely with schools and special educational needs teams to ensure that children can reach their full potential.

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outstanding

The children’s complex health and developmental needs are supported effectively by staff. When needed, children have access to general practitioners, consultants, dieticians, child and adolescent mental health services, occupational therapists and school nurses. This collaborative approach ensures that the children’s health and developmental needs are consistently reviewed and met.

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outstanding

Staff are dedicated and resourceful. They use research and reflective practice sessions to support them in providing the children with a high level of consistent care. The use of research-informed practice better enables staff to understand and respond to the complex needs of the children.

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outstanding

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the children were supported to engage in a range of fun activities in the home. These include themed nights, birthday parties, award nights, makeovers and photo shoots. These have been captured for children in personalised journals and on video. This helps to create and store positive memories in an accessible format for the children.

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outstanding

The children have regular opportunities to share their thoughts and feelings. Staff use a range of communication tools to help children to fully express their views about activities, what they would like to eat, their likes and dislikes. As a result, the children feel valued and their self-confidence is much improved.

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outstanding

Staff support the children to be as independent as they can be. Children are encouraged to develop their social skills and experience the world. One child was recently supported to attend the hairdresser for the first time in her life. Staff prepared her for the visit and ensured that the experience was a positive one. Inspection report children’s home: SC066120 4

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outstanding

There are robust risk assessments and individual crisis management plans in place to meet the needs of each individual child. These assessments and plans are reviewed routinely by the manager and senior staff. This ensures that the children’s needs are well understood and that staff are able to better protect the children.

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outstanding

Staff have a thorough understanding of the children’s needs and vulnerabilities. This means that they are better able to manage challenging situations. They understand the children’s triggers and know what is effective in managing their anxieties.

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outstanding

Staff provide the children with consistent structure, routines and boundaries, and use their in-depth knowledge and skill to help the children emotionally regulate when they are in crisis. As a result, there are low levels of physical restraint and the children have become less anxious.

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outstanding

Robust impact assessments are in place and the compatibility of the children is carefully assessed from the outset. This helps to ensure that the children who come into the home have a positive transition, quickly settle, and develop positive peer relationships with the other children.

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outstanding

Staff are supported to develop their practice by attending specialist training. This includes training on how to safely use recovery medication and autism spectrum disorder awareness. This helps to support staff in their roles and helps them to better protect the children.

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outstanding

Professionals told the inspector that the manager and staff respond effectively to safeguard children. Professionals said that the manager and staff stringently follow procedures to ensure that children are safeguarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager of the home is committed and is aspirational for the children. She is extremely experienced and enthusiastic and has children at the very centre of everything she does. This enthusiasm cascades throughout the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Learning and development constitute a key strength of the home. The manager takes every opportunity to develop staff skills. This creates confidence and forward- thinking practice throughout the staff team. Regular team meetings, daily handovers and reflective supervision also help to support staff in providing the children with a high level of individualised care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are extremely positive about working at the home. They told the inspector that they are well supported by the manager and the seniors and that team morale is fantastic. This helps to create a culture in which everyone is motivated in their roles and want the very best for children. Inspection report children’s home: SC066120 5 The manager works in partnership with professionals and will challenge and advocate on behalf of the children to ensure that their plans progress. For example, she has supported staff in advocating for a child who wishes for changes to her care plan. The manager has raised this in reviews and also ensured that the child has an independent advocate. This means that the child has been able to fully share and express her views.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent management oversight of the home. She uses monthly audits and quality assurance visits to help raise standards. The manager understands the home’s strengths and weaknesses exceptionally well. She is consistently ambitious and energetic about sustaining the home’s continuing improvement. This results in an outstanding, high-quality service for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals say that the manager and the staff are amazing and provide lots of positive experiences for the children, who benefit from the consistency of the positive, nurturing care that they receive. Inspection report children’s home: SC066120 6

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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: SC066120 7

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Noel Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC066120 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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