Children's home run by Calderdale Council in Calderdale

Inspection report children’s home: 1236540 1 Registered provider: Calderdale Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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 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

Date of last inspection: 7 December 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1236540 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/12/2021 Full Outstanding 10/03/2020 Full Outstanding 08/01/2019 Full Outstanding 12/12/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: 1236540 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children who live at this home are happy and settled. This is because they receive a high standard of care from staff who know them well and understand their vulnerabilities and needs. Staff provide the children with consistent and nurturing care. This gives the children a clear sense of stability and security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in all areas of their lives. This is because they are helped by staff who they have strong and positive relationships with. Staff have high aspirations for the children, and they are committed to helping the children to achieve their personal goals. This leads to improved outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a warm and homely place for children to live. Children’s personalities and interests are reflected throughout the home. Their bedrooms are personalised and their photos are displayed throughout the home. Children take pride in their home and have a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in their health. This is because the manager and staff are proactive in making sure that children who have additional health needs have access to the right support. Staff work creatively to ensure that children are helped to access local health services. As a result, children’s physical and mental well-being have improved significantly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in their education. This is because the manager and staff advocate for children to ensure that they receive the right support in school. Staff have high expectations for children’s learning, which means that children are committed and want to do well at school. The inspector found that the children are aspirational about their future learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see the people in their lives who are important to them. Children enjoy spending time with their friends when they invite them to the home or do an activity with them. This provides children with the same experiences as their peers and makes them feel valued and cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities, including arts and crafts, swimming, the gym, bike riding and skateboarding. The children enjoyed going on holiday abroad in the summertime. Every effort is made by staff to ensure that children are helped to enjoy their hobbies and interests and have new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to develop practical skills and emotional resilience to prepare them to live independently in the future. There is strong planning around children’s transitions from the home on to independent living and this is individual to each child’s needs. Staff create memory books and quotes about their memories with each child. This means that children are supported to have a positive transition when they leave the home. Inspection report children’s home: 1236540 4 The children benefit from the structure and routines in place at this home. However, the consequences given to children do not always meet regulatory requirements when a financial penalty has been imposed other than financial reparation. This measure is disproportionate and not effective behaviour management.

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

Children are settled and feel safe and secure. They respond to the trusting relationships they have developed with staff. Serious incidents are rare, but, when they do happen, staff are proactive in putting measures in place to ensure that children are better protected.

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

Staff understand the vulnerabilities and risks for individual children, and they are clear on the steps to follow to reduce some of those risks. However, some of the information about the risk to children when they are in the community is inconsistent across documents. This has the potential to hinder how staff deal with such incidents.

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

Children who live at this home do not go missing. That said, there are strong protocols in place that provide staff with clear steps to follow should children go missing.

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

Serious incidents are rare. When they do occur, staff respond appropriately and take effective action. The manager and staff consult with the relevant agencies for help to support the children. Staff help children to access information and services. This provides children with an understanding of risk and equips them to become increasingly safe.

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

Staff talk to children about risks and their vulnerabilities. They have supported children to understand risks and equipped them to make better choices. One child talked about the progress he has made in becoming increasingly safe because of the help he has received from staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This home is managed by a suitably qualified registered manager, who has been in post since July 2022. She is ambitious and has a clear vision for the development of the home and the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager sets clear expectations for staff about how they will provide individualised and consistent care for the children. She has a child-centred approach, and she models positive practice to the staff team. Staff understand their responsibilities and follow the agreed approach with guidance from the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager values her staff, and she provides them with effective leadership and support. Staff say that they feel listened to and supported. This positive and Inspection report children’s home: 1236540 5 supportive environment means that morale is good, and staff are committed to providing children with a high standard of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision that is reflective and provides them with the opportunity to discuss the children. Records show that staff meetings take place regularly and that information-sharing about the changes to the child’s plan or the risk to children is strong. This means that children receive consistent care from staff who are equipped to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children well and understands the importance of the relationships between the staff and children. She has ensured that staffing is sufficient to provide children with continuous care. This has provided children with stability and security and has helped them to make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has monitoring and audit tools to track the progress of children and the development of staff. The systems have not identified gaps in staff training, which means that the manager has not addressed this shortfall. This means that some staff have not completed relevant training that will equip them to meet the needs of the children who are currently living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a multi-agency approach to the risk management and care planning for the children. Professionals say that communication and information-sharing are a strength of this home. This strong partnership working means that children are receiving the right support and that care is consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed mandatory training but there are some gaps in those who have completed self-harm training, which is the key risk for two children. This impacts on all staff meeting the needs of all children living at the home. Inspection report children’s home: 1236540 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

In particular, ensure that the risks to children are clearly recorded and provide consistent information across all written documents and ensure that identified risks to children are reviewed regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)) 10 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

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Requirement Due date

The following measures may not be used to discipline any child—

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Requirement Due date

imposing a financial penalty, other than a requirement for the payment of a reasonable sum (which may be by instalments) by way of reparation. (Regulation 19 (1) (2)(f)) 10 January 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of the staff in the home. They should ensure that all staff who work at the home receive the relevant training that helps them to meet the needs of the children currently living at the home. (‘Guide to Inspection report children’s home: 1236540 7 the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 1236540 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Princess Buildings, Princess Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX1 1TS

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Inspector

Rachel Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1236540 9 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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