Children's home run by Calderdale Council in Calderdale

Inspection report for children's home: 1236540 1 Registered provider: Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority. The home is registered to provide care and support for up to three children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered by Ofsted in July 2020.

p.1

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.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

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.

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1236540 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/03/2020 Full Outstanding 08/01/2019 Full Outstanding 12/12/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/04/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1236540 3

p.2

outstanding

Children benefit from highly individualised care and support, which significantly enhances their progress from their initial starting point. Their care is planned in conjunction with children to enable them to contribute and feel fully included in all aspects of their care.

p.3

outstanding

Staff demonstrate an excellent awareness and understanding of child-centred practice. They provide warm, nurturing and supportive care, forming excellent relationships with the children who, in turn, feel staff care about them, their safety and well-being. This is a view shared by parents. One parent said, ‘The transformation in my child is amazing. The staff support him so well and keep in contact with me on a regular basis so that I know how he is doing. I cannot say anything else other than the home and staff are amazing.’ Another parent said, ‘There is nothing the staff could do any better; my child is happy and doing so well. It really is a wonderful home.’

p.3

outstanding

Staff have high aspirations for the children and have excellent working relationships with other professionals involved in the care and support of the children. Social workers spoken to reiterated the views of parents. One social worker said, ‘The progress [child’s name] has made since living at the home has surpassed all expectations. The staff work in partnership with me and other professionals, and the genuine warmth and care provided has supported [child’s name] to make the progress he has made.’

p.3

outstanding

All children attend full-time education either at school, college or alternative provision, with attendance, progress and attainment being excellent. For some children, this has been a significant change. Staff encouragement and belief in how well children can do have had a positive impact on each child, giving them additional confidence in their own abilities and a desire to succeed.

p.3

outstanding

Staff encourage and support family time to enable children to maintain positive relationships with people who are important to them. This is not only valued by the children but also the close family members.

p.3

outstanding

Children take part in a range of activities to enable them to pursue their individual interests. They also spend time together and enjoy group activities. For example, the children went on a camping holiday earlier in the year, which they all said they enjoyed very much. Other trips have included going to London, bowling and trips to local recreational facilities. This helps children to build confidence and self-esteem.

p.3

outstanding

All children are encouraged and supported to lead healthy lifestyles. They are all registered with local healthcare professionals and where additional healthcare support is required, staff advocate and support children to access this, for example Inspection report for children's home: 1236540 4 support from child and adolescent mental health services to promote emotional well- being.

p.3

outstanding

The home environment is homely, comfortable and maintained to a high standard. It is evident the children take pride in their home, and this is also reflected by the staff.

p.4

outstanding

Children’s safety and well-being are at the centre of staff practice. Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of each child’s individual vulnerabilities and needs.

p.4

outstanding

Comprehensive risk assessments set out clearly identified risks and the measures to be implemented to reduce these to keep children safe. All risk assessments are kept under review and updated as required. Children and staff have excellent relationships based on mutual respect and trust. This, along with staff working practice, promotes the safety and well-being of each child effectively.

p.4

outstanding

Children rarely go missing from home. Since the last inspection, there have only been two incidents of children going missing. These were for a short period of time and staff adhered to the robust missing-from-home risk assessments to ensure the safety of the children involved.

p.4

outstanding

Children benefit from clear, consistent and fair boundaries to support behaviours. This helps them to develop socially acceptable behaviours and for staff to provide appropriate support when children are upset, frustrated or worried. This support helps children to feel safe and secure.

p.4

outstanding

Restorative practice within the home helps children to reflect and learn from their behaviours. Individual key-work sessions with children help them to share their feelings and emotions. As a result, negative behaviours decrease, and children understand how to manage their emotions in a regulated manner.

p.4

outstanding

The home follows safer recruitment and selection procedures to make sure that people employed are suitable to work with children. Visitors to the home are also checked and these measures further safeguard children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager provides inspirational leadership and management within the home. He demonstrates clear vision for successful outcomes for children, and his enthusiasm is reflected through staff practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel exceptionally well supported within their role and all share the manager’s and deputy manager’s vision of child-centred practice and outcomes for children. All staff are encouraged and supported to develop their skills and abilities, and all are valued for their ongoing contribution to positive outcomes for children. Both the Inspection report for children's home: 1236540 5 manager and deputy manager make sure the staff have access to a range of training and development opportunities. This ensures that staff are equipped and prepared to provide bespoke care and support to all children whom they care for.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have regular supervision, which enables them to reflect on practice. This, along with team meetings and appraisals, ensures that the staff work in a cohesive and forward-thinking manner.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Other professionals involved in the care and support of the children say that the staff are effective in providing consistently high levels of care, which contributes to the overall progress the children make. One social worker said, ‘This home is an excellent home. The manager and staff are attuned to the needs of children. This contributes to the excellent progress [child’s name] has made.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures the home is meeting the aims and objectives as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. The manager encourages and supports research-led practice to care for children in a proactive and supportive manner. Additional training has been provided to underpin practice and understanding of complexities of children’s needs.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager continually reflects on practice and makes sure that children’s outcomes are positive. The manager maintains detailed internal monitoring of outcomes. This helps him to identify the support children need. However, the quality-of-care report does not fully demonstrate detailed analysis. The manager is aware of this and is in the process of developing a reporting system which will address this shortfall. Inspection report for children's home: 1236540 6

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided in the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. In particular, the review of the quality-of-care report should evaluate the impact of care on the children using the service. This should demonstrate changing patterns and trends, and show how the delivery of care and services has influenced these changes. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

p.6

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 for children's home: 1236540 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Calderdale School Effectiveness Service, 2nd Floor, Westgate House, Westgate, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX1 1PS

p.7

Inspector

Sarah Oldham, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1236540 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.

p.7

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8