Children's home run by Leeds City Council in Leeds

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033389 1 SC033389 Registered provider: Leeds City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority-run children’s home. The home is registered to provide care for up to five children between 11 and 18 years old. The aim is to provide care to children for up to eight months, or longer, if in line with their care plan, to support children to return to their family or foster carers.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in July 2003. The home has a registered manager.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 1 November 2021

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC033389 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2021 Full Good 18/02/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/01/2020 Full Inadequate 17/01/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC033389 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a welcoming and well-maintained home. The home has a large garden, is decorated and furnished well, and children’s bedrooms are decorated how they like them. This provides children with a comfortable home and a sense of belonging.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to do activities with each other, with staff and independently. Staff also support children to do outdoor activities including hiking, bike riding and camping. These activities are helping children to learn new skills, express themselves through arts and music, and give children opportunities to spend time with their friends.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children told the inspector that they have someone to talk to about their feelings and any worries or concerns. Staff support children to stay connected with those important to them, including family and friends. Staff work with children to build positive relationships by spending time with them and having regular conversations with children. This means that children have someone to listen to them and help them with their feelings and any problems.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One of the children visited the home for meals and overnight stays before they moved in. This helped the child to get to know the home and to build relationships with staff and other children prior to moving in. They told the inspector that they liked this, and it helped them to have a positive experience of moving into the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since living in the home, children’s educational outcomes have improved. All of the children are attending education more. When needed, the manager works closely with the virtual school to ensure that each child has access to a suitable school. This helps to ensure that children can achieve their academic potential and have the same opportunities as their peers.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are healthy. Staff support children to attend medical appointments. They prompt children when needed to look after their personal hygiene. Children have clear boundaries and expectations to help them to get enough sleep and rest. This helps to maintain their physical and mental well-being.

p.3

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

Children are better protected from risks to their safety through the care staff provide. Staff make sure children’s records have comprehensive risk assessments. These contain risk management plans that provide clear strategies for staff to follow to reduce risks to children. This helps to ensure that as much as possible is done to protect children from harm. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033389 4 Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings. Staff make sure they are present when children are interacting, to support positive relationships and reduce the risk of bullying. Staff try to defuse incidents where they can. Because of this, staff only use physical interventions when this is necessary and proportionate.

p.3

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

The staff manage children’s unwanted or challenging behaviour with a great deal of care and nurture. Although staff talk to children about behaviour after incidents, they do not routinely ask children how they feel about their experience of being restrained. This means that opportunities to provide children with appropriate support following restraint could be missed.

p.4

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

Staff are proactive and try to prevent children from going missing. For children who go missing, staff take action to find them, report children as missing appropriately and work with other agencies to find children. Children receive independent return home interviews. Staff update care plans and risk assessments to make sure their approach reflects changes in children’s needs and risks to children. This helps better protect children from the risks associated with going missing.

p.4

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

Children are being supported to take risks that are appropriate for their age and ability. Staff have clear care plans and risk assessments to follow to enable children to become more independent. For one child, there is a child-centred life skills workbook. The child and staff are using this to help them to learn how to complete household tasks and understand risks to the child’s safety better. This is helping children to develop independent living skills and increases their knowledge about potential risks to their safety.

p.4

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

Staff understand and carry out their roles and responsibilities in identifying and reporting safeguarding concerns. There is a clear policy and procedure for managing allegations. Staff also practise responding to safeguarding scenarios. Staff told the inspector that they feel confident in raising and reporting any concerns.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and visible manager who knows children and staff well. Staff told the inspector that they feel supported by the manager and their colleagues. The staff team is well established, there are no staff vacancies, and the manager makes sure that agency staff are rarely used. This means that children receive stable and consistent care from staff they know well.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s oversight systems are effective and help to identify where improvements can be made to improve the quality of care for children. The manager has improved the assessments they complete when making decisions about children moving into the home. As a result, children already living in the home experience limited impact when other children move in. The manager also has plans to Inspection report for children’s home: SC033389 5 implement a recognised model of care which is aimed at care being more trauma informed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are mostly up to date with their mandatory training and receive regular supervision. However, staff do not always complete the level three diploma or an equivalent qualification by the date they should. This means that staff may not have all the knowledge and skills they need to meet the needs of children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works with and seeks advice from local partners and agencies to help to support and protect children from known risks. This work is proactive and ensures that the manager understands the risks in the local area which could affect children. This supports positive working relationships and helps to better protect children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033389 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

For the purpose of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification, if by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

p.6

Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

p.6

Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

p.6

Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) 15 July 2023

p.6

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children have the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of physical interventions as soon as practicable. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)

p.6

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: SC033389 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Leeds City Council, Civic Hall, Calverley Street, Leeds LS1 1UR

p.7

Inspector

Honor Hamshaw, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033389 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8