Children's Home run by YMCA Leicestershire in Leicester

Inspection report children’s home: 2507350 1 Registered provider: Leicester Young Men’s Christian Association (Incorporated) (The) Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a local charitable organisation. It provides care for up to three children who are experiencing emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably experienced registered manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 15 February 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2507350 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2507350 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans are, at times, repetitive and lack development focused on helping children make progress. Although managers and staff track children’s progress, this monitoring lacks analysis. This means that the impact and effectiveness of care on children’s progress are not entirely understood. This fails to support effective care planning and can hamper children’s progress.

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improvement to be good

Children’s wishes and views are not informing their individual plans or the broader home’s development plan. Although staff speak to children, their participation in the wider decision-making is limited. Children’s views are not captured or recorded. This limits opportunities for children to fully participate and have their voices heard and responded to in a manner that makes them feel valued.

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improvement to be good

Relationships between staff and children are generally good. Children are supported by staff when they move to the home. For example, one child who has recently moved in, feels supported and likes living there. However, not all children have positive experiences. There have been several incidents which have had an impact on the trust children have with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage and support children to access enjoyable activities. One child had an overnight stay to attend a festival, and recently the children have been away for a long weekend. This supports children to build their confidence and experience different activities.

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improvement to be good

Most children engage in education. They make educational progress and benefit from individual education plans. However, one child has had minimal education. The manager has escalated his concerns to the responsible local authority. As a result, the child will be starting school in the new term.

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improvement to be good

Children’s welfare has not always been fully safeguarded during some incidents. Although staff have responded to incidents, they have not always been able to ensure the safety of children. Failures in safeguarding practice mean that safeguarding is not yet good.

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improvement to be good

Staff have expressed concern that actions to manage and reduce risk and prevent harm have not always been taken quickly enough. This has led to children being at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Partnership working with external professional agencies has not been good. External agencies have commented on the lack of communication. They report that there is a Inspection report children’s home: 2507350 4 lack of the information-sharing that is required to have an oversight of safeguarding practice. This limits external review of safeguarding practice and working with the wider professional network.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete the required safeguarding training. The training topics are centred around the children’s needs. Safeguarding is discussed in each staff member’s one- to-one meeting with their manager. Also, safeguarding matters are discussed in team meetings. This provides opportunities for staff to discuss, develop and ensure that the team has a shared understanding of their roles and responsibilities. However, this is not yet fully embedded into the practice of the team.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff understand the risks to and from children. Risk assessments are up to date. Staff have guidance to follow on managing any potential risks to children, but this has not always been implemented. As a result, this has not been effective in keeping children safe.

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improvement to be good

The recruitment of staff is managed well by the manager. The principles of safe recruitment are followed. There is a robust vetting system that reduces the risk of unsuitable adults working with vulnerable children.

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good

The manager has made progress and taken appropriate action to address each of the statutory requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. The manager understands his responsibilities and acts when things require improvement.

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good

The staff have faced difficult situations. They have had to manage some behaviours that challenge. This has led to some staff having low morale. Communication within the team is not always effective, and staff have spoken of a lack of support. This limits the ability of staff to fulfil their roles and responsibilities effectively.

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good

Information provided by external professional agencies is not positive. There have been incidents, particularly for one child, where appropriate action has not taken place. Information-sharing with external agencies has not been good. This has had an impact on the effectiveness and stability of the child’s placement. This fails to support effective planning for the child.

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good

Staff have regular supervision meetings with managers. These meetings support staff to reflect on the needs of the children. Additionally, they provide an opportunity for staff to reflect on their own practice and raise any concerns they may have. However, managers do not always follow through on issues that staff raise in their supervisions. This limits the impact of reflection or learning outcomes for staff.

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good

There are monitoring systems in place. However, some areas of care practice do not receive enough scrutiny from managers, including recording practice. Additionally, children’s welfare needs are not being actively addressed. The monitoring does not Inspection report children’s home: 2507350 5 provide an oversight or demonstrate an understanding of the impact and effectiveness of care. As a result, continuous improvement is not made. Inspection report children’s home: 2507350 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review; and

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Requirement Due date

make each child aware of and, if necessary, remind them of each of the matters in sub-paragraph (d)(i) to (iii); 19 September 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2507350 7 ensure that each child—

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This is specially in relation to children being involved and contributing to their plans and records.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to ensuring that safeguarding incidents are communicated to external professionals in a timely manner. 19 September 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2507350 8 Additionally, that the day-to-day protection needs of children are managed by staff.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This is specially in relation to communicating with other external professional agencies in a timely manner. 19 September 2022

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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; 26 September 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2507350 9 demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to ensuring teamwork, providing monitoring and oversight which demonstrate an understanding of the impact and effectiveness of care for children, to improve the quality of care.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should set out the expectations on staff in building a positive relationship with each child and helping the child develop skills to have a positive relationship with others. ‘Others’ includes individuals both inside and outside the home such as other children in the home, staff, family members, siblings, previous carers and friends (in accordance with their relevant plans). The care planning standard provides further detail in respect of contact with parents, relatives and friends. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.6)

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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: 2507350 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Leicester Young Men’s Christian Association (Incorporated) (The)

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7 East Street, Leicester, Leicestershire LE1 6EY

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Gregoire Nombo Wombouowo

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Inspector

Thirza Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2507350 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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