Children's Home run by Pebbles Care Limited in Leeds

Inspection report for children’s home: SC417795 1 SC417795 Registered provider: Pebbles Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is a privately owned children’s home. It provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties. The home aims to offer children a family environment where they can settle, relax and find stability in their lives. There are currently three children living at this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 6 July 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC417795 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/04/2021 Full Good 02/04/2019 Full Good 24/07/2018 Full Good 19/07/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC417795 3

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improvement to be good

The progress and experiences of children living in the home is mixed.

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improvement to be good

Not all children are attending school. Staff work with education professionals to secure education provision for children. However, attempts to encourage children to attend school have not been successful. Care plans lack detail of what is required of staff to provide children with structure to their day. This means that children are not provided with clear and consistent boundaries, which then leads to some children spending large amounts of time in their bedrooms. This impacts significantly on their progress and educational outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not preparing children for independence when they move on from the home. Children are reluctant to engage with staff to learn the skills they will need as adults. The staff are not provided with clear direction on how to address this as children’s plans lack structure and detail. This means that staff practice is inconsistent and does not provide children with clear expectations.

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improvement to be good

The home promotes therapeutic care with the offer of in-house psychological support for children. Despite this offer, children remain on waiting lists with mental health services, delaying much-needed assessment and support. This does not prioritise or support the emotional welfare of children.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. The home is clean and the furnishings and decor reflect a family home. Children have their own rooms decorated to their individual taste. One child told me they liked their bedroom as they can watch the sun set from their window.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from children has been positive. They report good relationships with staff and can see that staff have their best interests at heart. Most children have built trusting relationships with staff, and children rely on staff to care for them and meet their needs. Some children struggle to build relationships because of their past experiences and trauma. Staff are patient and make continuous attempts to build that trust and get to know children better. Children feel valued, respected and able to share their views about the home.

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improvement to be good

The staff have created memory books for children in the home. These capture the children’s experiences and activities that they have taken part in. A memory book is an important record of achievements and events during the child’s time at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC417795 4

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments and plans are not routinely updated and shared with the staff team. As a result, staff cannot be consistent in the care they provide or the actions they take to safeguard children. For example, not all staff are aware when risks increase or decrease. As a result, actions taken to safeguard children may not be effective in reducing risk or be necessary to protect children.

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improvement to be good

Staff rarely use restraints to manage the behaviour of children. When restraint is used, the rationale is clear and appropriate. The electronic system used to record restraints does not evidence that records have been completed within the appropriate timescales. Furthermore, the manager does not routinely record that staff and children have been spoken to following each incident. Opportunities to reflect on and learn from incidents of restraint are not evident and this restricts the development of effective care plans. Consequently, the manager does not have sufficient oversight of restraint practice in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children receive their medication. However, records to support the administration of medication are disorganised. The files do not clearly instruct staff on when medication should be administered, and there is not an accurate and up-to- date record of what each child is currently taking. Whilst there have not been any reported medication errors, the manager’s ability to maintain oversight of staff practice is inhibited.

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improvement to be good

Room searches are carried out to ensure that children are not in possession of items which may cause them harm. However, staff do not consult with children prior to intruding on their private space. This issue was the subject of a recommendation at the last inspection, but the manager has not taken action to address this shortfall. Therefore, this has now been raised as a requirement.

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improvement to be good

The home utilises safer recruitment practices. However, not all the principles are consistently applied. One applicant did not give a full and accurate account of their employment gaps. The recruitment process failed to identify this discrepancy and the gaps were not explored at the applicant’s interview. This does not ensure the suitability of those employed to work with children.

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improvement to be good

Children feel safe in the home and can confide in staff if they have concerns or need help. Children living in the home do not go missing. There have been no issues with substance or alcohol misuse and children do not smoke.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete one-to-one chats with children about their vulnerabilities to support them to learn about their individual risks and how they can keep themselves safer. Children are helped to develop an awareness of what it means to be safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC417795 5

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good

Leaders and managers do not ensure that the home is delivering care as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. There has been a significant turnover in staff and the home has a fairly new and inexperienced staff team. Staff have not received training specific to the home’s stated model of care. There is no evidence that this model of care is resulting in improved outcomes for children.

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good

Only one member of staff has obtained their level 3 qualification related to the residential care of children. Most staff have been employed by the home for less than a year. This means that children are being cared for by staff who may not possess the skills, qualifications or experience as required by the regulations.

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good

The manager does not ensure that staff receive regular supervision in line with the organisation’s policy. Staff who are in their probationary period do not receive additional supervision to ensure they are supported and meeting the requirements of their role. Staff meetings take place, but are not always well attended. Records of those meetings do not routinely demonstrate discussion in relation to the care of children or evidence group learning. As a result, the team lacks opportunities for reflection, which would support staff learning and development. This also means that the manager lacks sufficient oversight of the needs of her staff or their impact on the care and experiences of children.

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good

The feedback from staff has been mixed. Some staff have raised that there is a lack of clarity related to children’s plans and how risks are to be managed. This suggests that managers and staff are not communicating effectively in the delivery of care to children.

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good

The manager completes a review of the quality of care, but this is not shared with Ofsted in a timely way. The report that has been received lacks an evaluation which considers feedback from children, their families or professions. This lack of evaluation means that the manager cannot consider actions or plans to improve the standards of care provided to children.

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good

The manager notifies Ofsted when there are serious events in relation to the safeguarding of children. However, the quality of those notifications is inconsistent. The manager does not always refer to the regulations when making notifications. This has resulted in the manager not notifying Ofsted of a serious incident involving a child.

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good

The manager is forging good relationships with professionals involved in the care of children. Feedback from a social worker evidenced the manager’s knowledge and understanding of the needs of children in her care. Communication between the home and the local authority is good. Children will benefit when professionals work collaboratively in their best interests. Inspection report for children’s home: SC417795 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)) 30 September

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC417795 7 In particular that the manager ensures that risk assessments and plans are regularly reviewed, updated and made available to the staff team.

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)) 30 September

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Requirement Due date

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)(iv)) 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC417795 8 In particular, the registered manager must, where possible and appropriate, ensure that children are consulted prior to any search of their bedrooms taking place. This was a recommendation at the last inspection.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that the records are accurate, well organised and kept up to date. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that the manager uses systems which can accurately evidence that records are completed within the timescales detailed in the regulations. Also, that there is a detailed record of the discussions held with both children and staff related to any restraint. 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC417795 9 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.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed.

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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 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (4)(a) (5)) 30 September

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that recruitment checks are completed and gaps in employment history explored for all new members of staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should, in the first instance, take particular note of the specifics of Regulation 40 when deciding when to notify Ofsted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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: SC417795 10 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: SC417795 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pebbles Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspector

Deb Duffy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC417795 12 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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