Children's Home run by Laska Care and Education Ltd in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 1 Registered provider: Laska Care and Education Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned and run children’s home that provides care for up to two children aged between 11 and 17. The aim of the home is to help children to develop the skills and ability to move on to supported living, semi-independent living or fully independent living.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 30 June 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

An acting manager has been in post since 1 July 2022. They are not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

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

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2022 Full Good 14/09/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. Positive and respectful relationships exist between children and staff. Children have developed positive attachments with the staff, who are committed to providing them with positive experiences. This has helped children to make progress and achieve many of their personal goals. Children are doing well in education and have good attendance. On occasions when children experience barriers to education, staff take quick and decisive action. As a result, children receive the care and support they need to progress and be successful in life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children’s needs and use their plans as a guide on how to care for them. For one child, their emotional well-being has improved significantly since living in the home, and the number of serious self-harm incidents has significantly reduced. Children told the inspector that they feel cared for by staff who they know and trust. This demonstrates that children live in a supportive and caring environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel listened to by staff and the manager. They are confident to ask for things they need or want. Children’s views influence how the home is decorated and their rooms are personalised in a way that reflects their identity and interests. This helps to create a nurturing and child-friendly environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who move into the home are well supported by staff and managers. Their move is carefully planned and the wishes and feelings of all the children are considered. Children already living at the home are helped to manage the change of living with someone new. This helps to ensure that children settle quickly and disruption in the home is minimised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good experiences. They take part in a wide range of activities, learn new skills and take up new hobbies, such as going to a local athletics club. These activities provide learning opportunities and support the children to grow in confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly talk to children to help them to understand risk, learn and make better choices. However, the records of these discussions vary in quality. For example, some of the language used is not child-focused. This means that important events are not captured in a way that is most helpful to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to have friends, and the staff recognise the importance of peer relationships. Younger children are provided with play opportunities under staff supervision, which helps them to learn how to play and socialise. Older children are supported to have freedom appropriate to their age and understanding. This helps to ensure that children have the same childhood experiences as their peers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 4 The staff support the children to value diversity in a meaningful and frank way. Staff are not afraid to answer difficult questions from children and are happy to explore cultural norms and religion. Children’s individuality is celebrated and encouraged. Children begin to develop a positive self-image.

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

Children’s complex behaviours are clearly understood by staff. The acting manager and staff are skilled at identifying the triggers to negative behaviours and respond appropriately. Because of this, children are settled and feel secure in the knowledge that staff understand them.

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

Risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated. The acting manager ensures that changes are communicated with staff. This means children are cared for by staff who know how to keep them safe.

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

The home is well presented, clean and tidy. However, the inspector identified that on occasions the lounge door is locked. This practice has not been assessed by the manager and there is no clear rationale for the decision to lock the door. This detracts from the overall atmosphere and homeliness of the environment.

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

The acting manager ensures that staff understand the importance of safeguarding children and the need for vigilance. Staff know how to raise concerns and do so with confidence. When concerns have arisen, the manager has responded to these quickly and effectively. This helps to minimise the risk of harm to children.

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

Staff take a consistent approach when children go missing from the home. Staff follow procedures and children’s risk assessments. Children are found quickly and supported safely back to the home. Reflective work is completed with children to help them understand risk. This is helping children to recognise potential dangers and how to keep themselves safe.

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

Children are supported to understand racism and bullying. Bullying behaviour and racism are dealt with quickly and firmly by staff. Staff make good use of their knowledge and personal experiences to explore children’s perceptions. This has helped children to value diversity and difference in themselves and others.

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

Staff know the children well. They understand children’s triggers and patterns and can identify if a child is feeling anxious. This means that staff act early when there are signs that a situation could escalate. This helps to reduce the likelihood of disruption and ensures the children feel settled in their home.

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good

Systems to monitor and evaluate children’s experiences and the care they receive from staff are not in place. This hinders the acting manager’s ability to have full Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 5 oversight of children’s progress and their day-to-day experiences of living in the home. In addition, the manager’s quality of care report lacks evaluation. There is little evidence that the manager has identified shortfalls and/or emerging themes. This means that the acting manager is not routinely using learning or evaluation to improve outcomes for children.

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good

The statement of purpose says that all children will have an assessment of need on arrival at the home. However, this is not occurring. This means that social workers are not given accurate information about what the home can offer their child.

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good

Visits to the home by an independent person, as required under regulation 44, are not robust. This is because the independent person does not routinely visit the home. This does not provide the manager with a rigorous independent assessment of the home’s arrangements for helping children.

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good

Notifications of serious events are made when needed. However, notifications do not always contain enough context or relevant detail. This does not provide the regulator with assurance that the manager and staff are taking appropriate action to keep children safe.

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good

Supervision sessions for some staff are not regular, and the quality is variable. Where concerns arise about the practice of staff, there is no evidence that managers are addressing the issues during supervision sessions. This means that there is a potential for poor practice to go unchallenged.

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good

Managers recognise that staff need support to develop their understanding of attachment and trauma. Training has commenced and clinical supervision is to be provided by psychologists. This is supporting staff to better understand the needs of the children they care for.

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good

The sleeping arrangements of staff members are not managed adequately. One staff member uses the living room as their sleeping accommodation, without first informing their manager. This demonstrates a lack of management oversight.

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good

The staff team is stable. The home is staffed appropriately to meet the children’s assessed needs. The home uses a small number of trusted agency staff who are well known to the children. This means children experience consistency in their relationships with those who care for them.

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good

The manager has a good understanding of what is available locally for children. One child has been supported to join a local football team and has become a valued team member. Every opportunity is made by staff to help children get involved in their community. This has helped children to make local connections and friends.

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good

Feedback from professionals is positive. One social worker has described the remarkable change for one child since they have lived at the home. The social worker said: ‘The child was in a difficult place when they arrived, and the care and attention that staff afforded the child is what made the difference.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(a)(b)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure day to day oversight and evaluation of children's information occurs and that shortfalls are addressed, including incident records. To ensure regular review and evaluation of children's experiences is undertaken and that this information is used to develop a plan that will inform continuous improvements to the quality of care. 27 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 27 October2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 7 the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 27 October 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose accurately reflects current practice. In particular, that assessments should be conducted on children who move into the home within 72 hours. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff who sleep in the home overnight have accommodation and facilities to do so. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17 paragraph 3.26)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that information about the child is always recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that notifications contain sufficient context of the event and actions taken. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63 paragraph 14.14) Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 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 for children’s home: 2593046 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Laska Care and Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Euroway House, Roysdale Way, Bradford BD4 6SE

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Inspector

Rachel Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 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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