Children's home run by Harmony Children’s Services

Inspection report for children’s home: SC424759 1 SC424759 Registered provider: Harmony Children’s Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home that provides care and accommodation for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered at the home since August 2013.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC424759 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/06/2019 Full Good 25/09/2018 Full Good 15/01/2018 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC424759 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make steady progress because of the support and guidance they receive from the adults who care for them. They develop strong relationships with staff and generally live in the home for a long period of time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported to maintain good physical health and attend routine health appointments. Staff and children have regular conversations about health and consider what choices they can make to live a healthier lifestyle. They also take part in a variety of hobbies and interests that help them to keep active and build their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensure that children can have meaningful family time, and keep their parents informed about the children’s experiences and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s morning routines support them to have high levels of school attendance. Education is a priority for staff, which has helped the children to maintain their commitment to learning during a period of unsettled behaviour in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work in collaboration with leaving care professionals to plan for the children’s future and their move on from the home. One child made progress with their ability to make safe decisions, recognising how to keep safe in the community, and to travel more independently. Other basic skills learned included budgeting, shopping and general household tasks, which will serve them well in adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are kept busy and have fun by taking part in activities of their choice, for example going to skate parks, playing football or tennis, or simply enjoying arts & crafts at home. These experiences help to ensure that children have fun experiences similar to their peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and provides the children with ample opportunity to live and relax. Arrangements are made quickly by the manager to repair damage in the home after incidents of disruptive behaviour occur. This helps to maintain the homely feeling that has been created. The children also personalise their bedrooms with their favourite things to create a more comfortable living space.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not always effective in supporting children to manage their behaviour. Incidents have escalated to the point where police assistance has been needed. This does not help children to cope with difficult emotions and increases the risk of them being criminalised. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424759 4 The manager has not fully explored referral information about a child, to sufficiently evaluate their suitability to live with the other children already in residence. This has caused disruption to all the children’s lives and an increase in some of their risk- taking behaviours.

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improvement to be good

The children’s risk assessments do not consistently provide staff with up-to-date information about how to keep them safe, for example what strategies they should use in relation to self-injurious behaviours. This limits the effectiveness of staff’s safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

The team’s effectiveness in managing challenging behaviour is inconsistent because not all staff have the required training on how to de-escalate conflict. Staff lack the guidance and strategies required on how to respond to individual incidents. This does not promote positive relationships, and prevents escalation of behaviours.

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improvement to be good

The provider has a new procedure that is designed to ensure the children’s safety when recruiting agency staff. However, the new process has not been followed by the manager, resulting in an agency worker starting without having the required checks in place. This could result in people who do not have the required knowledge or skills caring for the children.

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improvement to be good

The manager has not consistently notified the regulator when a serious incident has occurred. This prevents the regulator from having oversight and assurance that the children are protected from harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff work with other services, such as the police, to locate children when there have been incidents of missing from home. This coordinated response ensures that the children’s level of risk is known by the other key safeguarding agencies. The records that staff complete about the missing-from-home incidents enable the manager to evaluate the effectiveness of staff practice, and that risk management strategies are being followed.

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improvement to be good

The children’s structured routines increase their sense of security because they know what to expect each day. Staff use the routines to help the children to keep focused on their day ahead.

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improvement to be good

Some children are encouraged to reflect about their behaviour and have made changes to behave in a more socially acceptable way. One child made progress in recognising unsafe situations and harmful relationships. A second child learned to cope better with the boundaries and expectations because of the strong relationships they have with the staff.

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improvement to be good

When concerns are raised about a staff member’s practice, the manager follows the local safeguarding procedures and takes appropriate action to protect the children from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: SC424759 5 The home is managed by a permanent, suitably experienced and qualified manager. She recognises the strengths and development needs of the home and provides guidance and direction to the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are committed to helping the children to feel well cared for and want to provide them with positive experiences. Staff feel supported and there is a strong team spirit. One staff member said, ‘Staff are resilient, and we stick by each other.’ The manager knows that recently the staff have not been as settled as usual, and she is focused on helping staff to cope with the demands of the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and have daily conversations about the needs of the children. However, agency workers do not have this same level of support. They cannot reflect on their practice or contribute to important discussions about the children’s care. This has led to some inconsistencies in staff’s practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children’s in-house care plans are well written and provide staff with guidance about children’s day-to-day care needs. Other records about important conversations are completed accurately by staff, and this adds value to the documented evidence about the children’s journey and experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are consulted regularly through weekly resident meetings and other regular conversations with staff. Any requests, grumbles or complaints are dealt with as and when they arise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not taken sufficient action about the lack of feedback provided to the independent visitor from the children’s parents and social workers. This impacts on the external scrutiny of the children’s welfare and safety, as important information may not be shared.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose for the home informs parents and professionals about the service they provide to the children. However, it refers to guidance and legislation that are out of date. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424759 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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the children’s risk assessments are up to date and describe all the actions staff must take to reduce the risk of harm for the children. 1 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC424759 7 The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they explore at length the needs of the children that are referred to the home, to inform their evaluation when determining if the children are a suitable match to live together. 1 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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,

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Requirement Due date

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

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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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the recruitment process and the use of agency workers do not put at risk the safety and well-being of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that all staff members are interviewed, and checks are completed using safer recruitment practice. 1 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC424759 8 The registered person must provide evidence to demonstrate how they are satisfied that agency staff have the knowledge, skills and experience to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(e)) 1 May 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they review the legislation and guidance referenced in the statement of purpose for the home, so it is up to date with the guidance and legislation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that all agency workers undergo the provider’s training on behaviour management to help them meet the needs of the children living at this home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  The registered person should ensure that agency staff members have regular supervision to support them in their role. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that they escalate their concerns with the children’s social workers when they do not provide the independent visitor

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Recommendations

feedback when requested as part of the external monitoring process. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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, Inspection report for children’s home: SC424759 9 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: SC424759 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Harmony Children’s Services

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC424759 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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