Children's home run by Kirklees Council in Kirklees

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033387 1 SC033387 Registered provider: Kirklees Metropolitan Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides residential short breaks and emergency support for children aged up to 18 years old, who may have physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairments.

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Information about this children’s home

The local authority applied to vary the condition of registration to provide care and support for up to two children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties. The variation was approved on 17 August 2021. The variation was approved in order to assist the local authority during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living at this home who required care and support due to emotional and behavioural difficulties. There were no children accessing the short-break service.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since the 7 September 2022. An interim manager is currently running the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 18 October 2021

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC033387 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/10/2021 Full Good 11/02/2020 Full Good 16/05/2018 Full Good 24/10/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC033387 3

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inadequate

The two children living in the home are there on a short-term basis. The inspectors identified significant weaknesses in safeguarding practices at the home. There has been a significant increase in the number of safeguarding incidents. On occasion, staff have failed to de-escalate confrontations with or between children and they have been unable to safely manage children’s behaviour. This is detrimental to children’s safety and to their physical and emotional well-being.

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inadequate

One child came to live at the home at very short notice. This meant that the interim manager and staff had very little time to prepare the child or understand their specific needs and risks. As a result of poor planning, both children’s safety and well-being are compromised.

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inadequate

Some changes have been made to the environment since Ofsted agreed to vary the home’s conditions of registration during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the children currently living at the home have access to equipment such as hoists and disability aids in bedrooms and bathrooms. The children do not have access to the main kitchen, which impedes their ability to develop independence skills. This does not help children to thrive or progress in certain areas of their lives.

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inadequate

The staff team works hard to build positive relationships with the children. That said, the ability of children to trust and invest time in the adults that look after them is mixed. This impacts negatively on children’s lived experiences and their overall progress.

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inadequate

Staff encourage the children to have a voice in their day-to-day care and give them opportunities to enjoy activities of their choosing. Staff make concerted attempts to redirect the children into more structured and fun daily activities, and children have enjoyed holidays, trampolining, go-karting and going to the gym. In the home, children enjoy gaming and watching movies. However, children can very quickly disengage, and this results in them spending time away from the home engaging in unsafe behaviour, such as criminality and substance misuse.

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inadequate

The interim manager and staff make efforts to engage the children in education. Neither child is attending school, and their engagement in home learning is sporadic. Attempts are being made to identify the right learning environment that could meet the needs of the children.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that serious incidents are notified to Ofsted. However, serious incidents involving both children are increasing. One child has concealed weapons in the home and on the grounds, with one weapon being used to stab Inspection report for children’s home: SC033387 4 another child in the hand. Staff undertake daily room searches, and items have been removed. While this measure is necessary, it does not fully mitigate the risk, as children continue to be harmed.

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

Children’s increased aggression has placed another child and staff at risk of harm. Two staff have been assaulted, and threats have been made to assault others. Decisions that staff have made have not always been safe decisions, and this has compromised the children’s safety and well-being. On one occasion, the actions of staff resulted in the child being punched by another child. No action was taken following this incident to report this assault to the police. This does not demonstrate effective safeguarding practice.

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

Risk assessments do not provide staff with clear strategies on how to keep children safe. There is an onus on staff to use their own initiative, and this does not demonstrate robust safeguarding practice. Risk assessments do not always reflect known information about children’s vulnerabilities. This results in missed opportunities to implement strategies to safeguard children.

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

Where children have shared information with staff about incidents they have been involved in, it is not always clear what action has been taken, as this is not always recorded. It is unclear if all information has been shared with the relevant authorities, including with the police. This does not give confidence that all information is being shared to safeguard children and others.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff follow the procedures in place to locate the children and to report them as missing to the police. The decision to go out looking for children is based on whether there are sufficient staff at the home. This does not give a consistent message to children about what action staff will take if they are missing from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

At the time of this inspection, the deputy manager is acting as the interim manager. The interim manager is keen to improve the home for the children and understands the strengths and areas of development. However, the interim manager is not always able to focus on certain management tasks due to the increased disruption and incident in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home. The interim manager’s monitoring and oversight are not evidenced. There are no effective systems in place to ensure staff are updated on children’s risks or work as a cohesive team. This does not give confidence that lessons are being learned and care practice is well-informed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have remained committed and want the best for the children. However, they recognise that, despite their best efforts, their skill base is more aligned to caring for children with disabilities. Staff spoken to say they are tired and at times feel anxious and stressed in their attempts to meet the complex needs of the children in their Inspection report for children’s home: SC033387 5 care. This has clearly impacted on the ability of staff to provide safe and sustained care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff say they feel supported by the interim manager. They do receive regular supervision. Some additional training has been facilitated in behaviour management and physical intervention. However, training on understanding criminal exploitation, gang-related violence, county lines and sexually harmful behaviour has not taken place. These are some of the children’s identified risks. The lack of training in these areas impedes the staff’s ability to identify and manage these risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The interim manager has not taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in schedule 2 of the regulations. This is because the references for newly appointed staff have not been verified by the manager. In addition, not all checks are being completed on agency staff that come to work at the home. For example, the interim manager does not take robust steps to check the identity of agency workers prior to commencing their role. This does not provide reassurance that staff are appropriately vetted and safe to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

During the period since the last inspection, children have intermittently used the short-break service. This has been sensitively and carefully risk assessed, and children have enjoyed their stay. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033387 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; and

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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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)(b)(d)) 12 Dec 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 12 Dec 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC033387 7 promotes their welfare.

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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 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; and

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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)(d)(h))

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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)) 12 Dec 2022

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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; and 12 Dec 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC033387 8 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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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)(b) (2)(a)) 12 Dec 2022

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC033387 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kirklees Metropolitan Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kirklees Metropolitan Council, Civic Centre 3, Huddersfield, Yorkshire HD1 2EY

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Inspectors

Cath Sikakana, Social Care Inspector Rachel Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033387 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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