Children's home run by Harmony Children’s Services

Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 1 SC461450 Registered provider: Harmony Childrens Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned and managed children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties and/or learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living at this home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered at this home since October 2021.

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

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/11/2018 Full Good 21/11/2017 Full Good 09/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff develop trusted and secure relationships with the children which have contributed to helping them to feel safe. The children experience care from a nurturing staff team which provides them with comfort and reassurance.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to have good levels of school attendance. The staff have in place routines for the children which help them to be well prepared for their day ahead. Staff also communicate with teachers to share information, so those who provide direct care for the children are kept informed about their day-to-day needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help the children to attend their health appointments and regular conversations take place about the importance of choosing a healthy lifestyle. The children are in good health and have been helped to make improvements with their daily self-care routines. Additional support is also made available when children need a more specialised intervention, for example helping them to understand the health implications and associated dangers of substance misuse.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children take part in activities of their choice, which provides them with a structured day and ample opportunities to have fun experiences. There are also plentiful resources and games to ensure that the children can have fun should they choose to stay at home. This has helped to improve children’s self-esteem and confidence.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help the children to see their families and relatives. They have also developed relationships with staff from a different home where one child’s sibling lives. This has enabled information to be shared so staff can manage potentially unsafe situations, as well as helping them to plan fun experiences when the children spend their time together.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped by staff by having regular key-work sessions and conversations which are focused on the children’s individual needs. Staff talk with children about the physical and emotional changes associated with adolescence, staying safe in the community, and living happily together in the home. This is helping children to have a better understanding about the matters that affect their day-to-day experiences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides ample space for children to live and relax. Children’s bedrooms are well decorated and have personal touches to help them feel cosy. However, both internally and externally, the home needs work completing to improve the quality of the environment. There are various areas that need decorating, and there is repair work that remains incomplete. The manager does not have a plan in place to address these shortfalls, which does not enhance the children’s experience of living at this home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 4

p.3

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

Both children said they feel safe living at this home. This is because the relationships that staff develop provide children with a sense of comfort and safety.

p.4

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

The children’s risk assessments provide the staff with direction about how to keep them safe. The risk assessments provide guidance about the children’s behavioural needs and what strategies staff should use when children struggle with difficult emotions. As a result, the use of restraint has not been needed because the staff have been effective in de-escalating incidents of challenging behaviour.

p.4

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

Episodes of children missing from home have been well managed. The protocols that staff use provide them with the direction they need to effectively manage an incident should it occur. With the support from other safeguarding agencies, the staff have significantly reduced one child’s missing-from-home episodes and associated risks of exploitation.

p.4

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

Staff celebrate the children’s achievements and provide them with a structured daily routine. This has resulted in children experiencing consistent care from the staff, which has helped them to feel safe, as they know what to expect each day from the adults who care for them.

p.4

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

The checks the manager completes on agency workers do not consistently follow recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. For example, a satisfactory number of references are not provided prior to an agency worker starting work at the home. The manager is not exploring whether the workers have the required knowledge or skills to work with children and to keep them safe. This does not provide reassurance that children are consistently supported by staff who have the ability to manage children’s complex needs.

p.4

good

The manager is becoming established within her role. She is actively involved in the running of the home and knows the progress that the children make. The manager is ambitious for the children and wants them to be happy and to thrive while living at this home. She is working hard to embed her expectations of the staff team.

p.4

good

Staff are positive about the improvements that have been made over recent months and value the impact the manager has had since arriving at the home. They have in place regular supervision and training opportunities, which are further enhanced by a positive team culture. There are a number of staff that are working through a structured induction programme as they continue to develop their knowledge and skills relevant to their roles.

p.4

good

During the monthly team meetings, staff come together to discuss and plan the day- to-day operational aspects of running the home, relevant administrative tasks, and the team’s training needs. However, there is no evidence to show how the staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 5 reflect on the needs of the children. It is unclear how the children’s care plans are discussed, or that staff have collectively evaluated the effectiveness of their care for the children. This may limit the progress that children make.

p.4

good

Clinical consultation sessions provided to the team by a therapeutic practitioner are coming to an end. Despite this, the manager does not have a plan in place for continued specialist support to help the team understand the children’s complex emotional health needs.

p.5

good

The independent visitor’s reports submitted to the regulator inform that the children are being well cared for and safeguarded while living at this home. However, it is unclear how the visitor arrives at this conclusion as the reports lack professional curiosity and evaluation about the children’s experience.

p.5

good

The manager does not have in place the children’s local authority care plans. Not having up-to-date information from these documents does not ensure that the home’s care plan is in line with the local authority plan. This could limit the progress the children make.

p.5

good

The manager does not have an effective process in place for gaining feedback from the children’s families, social workers, or other relevant professionals. Staff do ask the children’s views about their care each month. However, this feedback does not feature as part of the manager’s quality-of-care review. This limits the development of the team and may impact on the children’s experience. Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(viii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all areas of the home are decorated in a way that enhances the children’s experience of living at the home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they have a plan in place that identifies the areas in need of development for the interior and exterior of the property, with timescales for completion in place. 13 March 2022

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 13 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

p.7

Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(g)(i)(ii))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they plan for specialist support to be made available, so staff have the help they need to care for the children’s complex needs.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

p.7

Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

p.7

Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

p.7

Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

p.7

Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they have in place recruitment systems for agency staff members which are underpinned by safer recruitment practice. 13 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 8 The registered person must ensure that they have in place information that enables them to be satisfied that the agency staff members have the relevant knowledge, skills and experience prior to working at the home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

p.8

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

p.8

Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that there are up-to-date care plans available for each child. 13 March 2022

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

p.8

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.8

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.8

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

p.8

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 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 13 March 2022

p.8

Recommendation

 Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. In particular, they should evaluate the findings of the visit throughout the report. Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 9 (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.5)

p.8

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: SC461450 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Harmony Childrens Services

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Park Place, Leeds, Yorkshire LS1 2RX

p.10

Inspector

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 11 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.10

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.11

Inspector

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

p.11

Inspector

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

p.11