Children's home run by Leeds City Council in Leeds

Inspection report children’s home: SC488679 1 SC488679 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

A local authority operates and runs this home. The home provides care for up to four children. It caters for children, irrespective of gender, between the ages of 10 and 18 years. The children and young people come here to complete a 12-week dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) treatment programme. The staff are called coaches. The coaches work with the children, young people and their families or carers to enable the children and young people to return to family-based environments. The coaches use the multi-systemic therapy and family integrated transitions model (MST-fit).

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager and deputy manager are on maternity leave. The home has a newly appointed acting manager and an experienced deputy manager in post, both from different residential homes within Leeds city council.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 19 January 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted 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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good. Inspection report children’s home: SC488679 2 Date of last inspection: 14 January 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC488679 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2020 Full Outstanding 08/01/2019 Full Outstanding 07/11/2017 Full Outstanding 21/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC488679 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress as a result of living in the home. Coaches are fully invested in the children to complete the DBT programme. The 12-week programme is designed for children to return back to their family, foster care or residential care. There is an individualised transition plan in place for each child once the DBT programme is completed. This includes overnight stays, tea visits and engaging in activities with their new caregivers. This is helping children to invest in the programme and make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Coaches build meaningful relationships with the children in a short period of time. This is important to the child during the therapy process as they are able to develop trust in the adults around them. Consequently, children feel comfortable and can talk about their emotions openly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional resilience is developing through the skills that they are learning through the DBT programme. This enables them to cope better when they are feeling anxious. One child said, ‘The word “stop” helps me a lot when I’m angry. I just think “stop” and I don’t get angry.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education and employment remain a focus in the home. Children in school are supported by coaches to achieve their full potential. Children who have left school are supported with employment opportunities, such as applying for a construction site card. This helps to build children’s life skills for when they leave the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Coaches work closely in repairing the child’s relationships with their families and/or foster carers. Coaches support the children through one-to-one discussions about their life story and family history. This helps children to build and maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

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

Coaches understand children’s presenting risk. This means that they are able to identify any triggers or changes in behaviours. Direct work is carried out with the children to support them, giving them the opportunity to reflect on their risky behaviours and to help them to understand the impact.

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

Not all risk assessments are updated following incidents. This means that coaches are not consistently provided with guidance and strategies to follow to manage children’s risk-taking behaviours. This potentially exposes children to risk of harm.

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

Physical intervention is used appropriately. Documents reviewed give a good level of information about the incident leading up to the physical intervention. However, debriefs with the children following physical interventions are not routinely recorded. Inspection report children’s home: SC488679 5 This is a missed opportunity for the registered person to reflect with the child about what has occurred and to help identify other ways of managing distress.

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

There is a multi-agency response to children who go missing from home. Protocols are in place for coaches to follow to help locate the child quickly and as safely as possible. Children do receive a return home interview by an independent person. This reinforces a safety message to the child and that people do care.

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

Health and safety checks are kept up to date. This helps to ensure that the children live in a safe environment.

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good

There is an acting manager in day-to-day charge of the home. She is new to the role. However, she has quickly identified strengths and areas for development. She has an action plan in place and is using this to drive forward improvements.

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good

The acting manager does not robustly challenge professionals when statutory documentation is required. For example, one placing authority has not been forthcoming in providing an updated education plan for a child. This lack of professional challenge means that key information about a child has not been received and shared in a timely manner.

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good

Monitoring systems are not yet effective. Paperwork is not organised and lacks clarity. This includes poorly organised recruitment and safeguarding records. In addition, regulatory breaches such as the lack of debriefs after physical interventions have not been identified by the acting manager through internal audits. This does not demonstrate good management oversight.

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good

Supervisions are regular and reflective. They support coaches and give them the chance to explore how they are feeling on a social, emotional and physical level. Alongside this, coaches attend regular team meetings, which again are reflective and help coaches to share good practice ideas with the team. Inspection report children’s home: SC488679 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and (Regulation 5 (c)) 18 December

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 18 December

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(h)) 18 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 18 December Inspection report children’s home: SC488679 7 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(c))

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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: SC488679 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC488679 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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