Children's home run by Partners in Care Limited in Leeds

Inspection report children's home: SC053145 1 SC053145 Registered provider: Partners in 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 one of several owned and managed by a private provider. The home provides care and support for up to three children.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has been in post since January 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, Ofsted 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

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2020

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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: SC053145 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2020 Full Good 19/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/05/2018 Full Good 05/12/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC053145 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a caring and nurturing environment in which they receive care and support that bring stability to their lives. They receive the help that they need to recover from harmful experiences and to move forward in their lives. A social worker said, ‘[name of child] has stated she feels safer and happy at [name of home]. She is looking forward towards her future. She is developing her life skills to prepare her for her future.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children told the inspector that they are happy here and have people around them that they trust. Staff build warm, consistent and positive relationships with children. They show children that they care about them and know what is important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have developed strong bonds with one another and look after each other. One child came to speak to the registered manager about the inspector being in the home. They were concerned, as another child had a visitor who did not know that they lived in a care home. The child decided ‘to take one for the team’ and say that the inspector was visiting them. This provided reassurance for the other child, who could then enjoy spending time with their visitor.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaged in a variety of self-chosen activities. One child is keen on sports and she has recently had trials for Preston North End football club. Other children spend time with their friends or on activities with staff, such as going to watch banger racing and visiting local beaches and amusement parks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional health and well-being is improving. Children are much more able to talk about how they are feeling, which has led to a significant decrease in self-harming behaviours. However, staff have not considered the children’s progress with regard to them keeping hold of items such as razors in their bedrooms as part of their independence plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of recording in children’s records and documentation is improving. However, there are some issues with the healthcare plans, due to a lack of information. This is an oversight and staff do have a secure understanding of each child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are strong supporters of children’s education. They work hard with the children and other professionals to ensure that children receive the right support and can overcome any barriers to their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been able to keep in touch with family and friends during the COVID- 19 pandemic. They are pleased that restrictions are lifting, meaning that they can safely see more people. Inspection report children's home: SC053145 4

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

The manager and staff have created a safe home environment that protects children from harm. Children feel safe and have a strong sense of belonging. They know that they can talk to staff about their worries and that the staff will help them to be safe. Children are now safer from the risks of sexual exploitation and going missing from home.

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

Following an incident involving a child’s pet, the staff took decisive and swift action to support all the children involved. Comprehensive direct work took place to discuss the events with the children, which allowed them to safely express their feelings and emotions. This effective work helped to prevent any escalation of the incident and allowed children to reflect upon their actions and to move forward.

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

All staff receive safeguarding training at the start of their employment. Robust recruitment procedures ensure that all employees undergo thorough background checks prior to being offered employment. These measures help to protect children from harm.

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

The staff team knows the children well and understands their individual vulnerabilities. Staff respond quickly to emerging risks and take swift and appropriate action to ensure children are safeguarded. However, given the emerging concerns for one child, the home has not considered the potential risks in the back garden. Furthermore, the staff have not sufficiently assessed the risks involved with children having their friends in the home.

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

Children live in a warm and welcoming family home. Most children’s bedrooms reflect their personality, style and interests. One child’s bedroom is in a poor state of repair. They have caused a significant amount of damage in recent weeks as they have struggled with their emotions. However, the home has been slow to repair this and to consider the action to take to help the child maintain their bedroom. Action was taken to address this, and the child was happy with the new plans for their room.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is lead and managed by a qualified and passionate manager. He works in partnership with the deputy manager to ensure that the children and staff are fully supported and their individual needs are met. Together, they are creating an environment that is changing children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective staffing arrangements ensure that there are enough suitable, experienced and qualified staff available to meet the children’s needs. Staff work together cohesively and receive good levels of support and supervision in their day-to-day care of children. Inspection report children's home: SC053145 5 The manager has a comprehensive knowledge of the children’s needs. He works in a positive and proactive way with external agencies and involves professionals when required to ensure that children’s needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are fully involved in the decisions being made about their futures. Older children are enthusiastic about the plans in place for them and are excited about embracing the next stage in their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Admissions to the home are managed well. The manager carefully assesses all the children’s needs to ensure that any new admission does not have a detrimental impact on all the children involved. For one such occasion, the records in relation to this process do not include all the necessary information. This was an omission in the recording and did not have a negative impact on the placement of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoke confidently about their roles and demonstrated a high level of commitment to the children they work with. Staff told the inspector that the managers were approachable and available to support them when necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals spoke highly of the quality of care provided for children. They reported good levels of communication and have had good experiences of collaborative working. Inspection report children's home: SC053145 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, 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)) 27 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished, and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(d)) 27 August 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC053145 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the impact risk assessment for any admission into the home details the needs of all the children already living in the home, so that they can respond effectively to all children’s needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 56, paragraph 11.5)

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partners in Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Matthew McFadzean

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Inspector

Chris Scully, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC053145 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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