Children's Home run by Wakefield Council in Wakefield

Inspection report children's home: SC033808 1 SC033808 Registered provider: Wakefield Metropolitan District Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority service provides short-break care for up to seven children who have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities, including sensory impairment. The service currently supports 39 children. A variation is in place to provide extended accommodation until suitable and permanent accommodation is found.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since November 2019.

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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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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: 27 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: SC033808 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/01/2020 Full Good 26/02/2019 Full Outstanding 20/02/2018 Full Outstanding 22/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC033808 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from high-quality care from staff who understand their unique personalities, complex needs and communication styles. Children who are new to the service receive a warm welcome from a consistent team of caring and compassionate staff who treat them with kindness and empathy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs are met effectively through child-centred, individualised planning and review. This helps them to feel safe, settled and able to adapt to their surroundings. The benefits of these arrangements are immense for parents and have helped to keep families together. As a result, children have fun and learn while meeting their targets, which are reviewed regularly and serve as indicators of their good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children speak highly about their stays. This can be attributed to the strong relationships with the staff and the love and attention that the staff show the children. One child, who has been living at the home for an extended period, rated their care and support from the management and staff team very highly. When talking about the manager, staff and their own progress they said: ‘I would not change anything about this place; I love it to bits,’ and, ‘It’s got better and better.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff facilitate the children’s attendance at school and college to ensure that they continue to learn and achieve their goals. The staff attend relevant education meetings and share information effectively. Managers raise concerns with education providers appropriately when practice in education provisions has fallen below the expected standards.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff’s well-established relationships with specialist health professionals provide a strong basis for meeting the children’s health needs and enhancing their quality of life. There have been no medication errors for some time. This indicates that the medication management system is effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from learning about healthy eating. This is supported by the display that features on the wall, which the children interact with. The cook prepares nutritious home-cooked meals of superior quality and variety, which enables the children to taste food and desserts from different cultures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a wide range of activities. Examples include: playing on the secure grounds, making arts and crafts, watching DVDs, listening to music and being members of different groups. Toys that depict wheelchair users, race and gender identity actively promote self-expression and social inclusion. Children enjoy visiting the cinema and other places of interest, such as visits to restaurants and the zoo, and a canal boat trip. Photos of children and staff provide valuable memories of the good times. Because of the blossoming and existing friendships, the children Inspection report children’s home: SC033808 4 become more confident over time. Children’s achievements are rewarded, and their special milestones and cultural festivals are celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The strength of the advocacy in the staff team has made a positive and constructive impact on the lives of children and their families. The manager and staff team go above and beyond to ensure that the children remain at the centre of decision- making. The staff empower the children to express their wishes and feelings through children’s meetings, one-to-one talks and discussing values.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Preparations for the transition to adult services are handled effectively by the service, in partnership with the young adults, parents and professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is well resourced. The improvements that have been made to the flooring, children’s bedrooms and communal areas make for a comfortable and safe base.

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

Children are protected from harm by staff who understand their vulnerabilities and exercise vigilance. One child rated their safety as ‘10 out of 10’, citing the staff as the reason why. Parents and professionals consider the children to be safe and secure during their stays. A parent said: ‘I am confident that my child is safe; I know that I don’t need to worry.’

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

Good staffing ratios ensure that children are supervised while at the same time they are provided with safe spaces. This ensures that the most vulnerable children feel safe.

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

The children’s written risk assessments identify the risks for each child and the strategies to deal with them. However, the registered manager does not provide sufficient oversight of all risk assessments to ensure that the documents are accurate and accounted for,

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

The staff are knowledgeable about their safeguarding responsibilities and ensure that safeguarding procedures are followed appropriately.

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

The service works effectively with other professionals to ensure that any safeguarding concerns are communicated to them promptly. This practice shows that the staff take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously. A professional said: ‘I also find that the staff and management have a professional curiosity with children, and often the children share information with staff regarding home life and worries. This is always acted on appropriately. Staff act on concerns and changes in children’s physical presentations quickly.’

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

There are no instances of children going missing from the home. When a child has gone missing from school or college, managers and staff have been proactive in finding the child. Inspection report children’s home: SC033808 5 Children’s short-break stays are in a physically safe and secure environment. Cleaning routines and lateral flow testing for staff, visitors and some young people help to reduce the risk of COVID-19.

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

Children’s positive behaviour is promoted during their stays. Behaviour support plans have been developed to help some children during their stays and provide strategies for parents in crisis. Physical intervention is rare. Although measures have been taken to safeguard the children, the approved method of physical intervention was not applied during one incident. Additionally, the record of another incident was not clear.

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

Allegations against staff are handled appropriately. Safer recruitment practices protect children from unsuitable adults. New staff experience a thorough induction and probation period and they are made welcome. One young person’s involvement in staff recruitment for the service, a charity organisation, and for their personal career demonstrates the value that is placed on their opinions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager leads the service effectively and has the relevant knowledge, skills and experience to carry out the role. Children and families are at the centre of the management team’s practice. They lead by example to ensure that children have memorable experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

During the coronavirus pandemic, the team has worked extremely hard under very challenging circumstances, including staff sickness, to reach out to and continue to support families. Plans to restructure the service are underway. This is taking place in consultation with the staff team, Ofsted and another regulatory body.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The very experienced, knowledgeable and motivated staff enjoy their role. Their dedication to doing their best is evident, and they are positive no matter what personal circumstances they are facing. The service remains vibrant and fresh as staff have left and new staff have been recruited since the last inspection. However, the statement of purpose has not been sent to Ofsted to reflect the changes in the staff team. A staff member said: ‘I am amazed by the people who are there. What a great team they are, how well they are working together and it is a pleasure to be a part of that team.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff appreciate the support and recognition that they receive from management for going the extra mile in their work, despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Training, supervision and appraisal, team meetings and daily handovers support the staff’s learning, development and practice. The views of the staff are listened to and acted on. For example, a staff member’s enquiry about enabling a child to consume food of their choice when out in the community led to the immediate purchase of a portable blender.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Complaints made by parents are handled sensitively, and managers seek to find a resolution where possible. Inspection report children’s home: SC033808 6 The registered manager monitors the quality of care and consults with children and professionals. There are some gaps in the registered manager’s oversight of documents, specifically in relation to the children’s risk assessments and daily living plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Parents’ and staff’s views are not consistently evaluated in the quality-of-care review report. This makes it difficult to understand how the registered manager considers their views when making decisions about developing the service. One requirement relating to the breach of the statement of purpose has been addressed. The recommendation that relates to the security of the external doors has been resolved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Parents and professionals consistently speak in very complimentary terms about the quality of service delivery and the positive communication from the managers and staff. Parents are confident about entrusting their children to the staff team. They feel the benefits of the service to their families. One professional said, ‘The communication with parents is excellent. They are available for meetings; I can’t fault them.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC033808 7

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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 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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the risk assessments, daily living plans and physical intervention records are monitored to ensure that they are accurate, complete, and up to date. 28 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b)) 28 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the views of parents and staff are included consistently in the quality of care review reports. 28 February 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC033808 8

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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: SC033808 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wakefield Council, County Hall, Bond Street, Wakefield, Yorkshire WF1 2QW

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Cheryl Whitehouse

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Inspector

Jacqueline Malcolm, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC033808 10 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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