Children's Home run by Laska Care and Education Ltd in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 1 Registered provider: Laska Care and Education Limited 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 run by a private organisation and provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since 30 June 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 inadequate

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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: 2593046 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/07/2022 Full Good 22/03/2022 Full Good 14/09/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences are mixed. The registered manager left the home in June 2022 and the subsequent manager in December 2022. This has been particularly difficult for one child, as they had built a trusting relationship with both. One child said that they feel listened to, but the other child said that they do not. This child is reluctant to engage with some of the staff.

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improvement to be good

The quality of relationships that children have with staff varies. There have been strained relationships between one child and a staff member after a difficult incident. Work has not yet been done to help repair this relationship. It is important that relationships in children’s homes are restored in order to maintain an environment that promotes emotional well-being for children.

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improvement to be good

Case recording for some children has improved. However, blaming language is used in a number of records, and other records do not capture children’s views. Children’s daily logs are of mixed quality and often demonstrate little staff interaction with the children. Some records are incomplete and are not signed by staff to authenticate them. This means staff miss opportunities to consult with children, gather their views and plan meaningful activities with them.

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improvement to be good

The staff rota shows that there are not always sufficient staff working at the weekend to support both children if they are to visiting important people in their lives. These visits are commissioned by the individual child’s placing authority. |The staff rota did not identify a member of staff to support if the child wanted to return to the home. This lack of planning does not ensure the needs of children’s family arrangements are met.

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improvement to be good

The interior decoration of the home looks tired. Work is planned to refresh the paintwork and flooring. One child said that the home does not feel homely and is working alongside staff to improve the way the home looks. The lounge area is basic and lacks personalisation. Not all children do not have a desk and chair in their bedroom, although it is stated in the home’s statement of purpose that they are provided with such items.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to be in education, and one young person is making good progress and gaining qualifications. The staff support and encourage children to attend school and help to identify suitable educational or training placements for them. Children gain skills and qualifications, and they learn life skills as a result. Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 4

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improvement to be good

When incidents occur, staff complete logs and are debriefed by the responsible individual. The quality of these records and debriefs varies. When physical interventions take place, staff complete two reports. On two separate occasions, different staff recorded physical intervention techniques being used that were incongruent, although the records described the same physical intervention. On one occasion, there was no debrief with the child following an incident requiring the use of physical intervention. Inaccurate recording and failing to speak with children following a hold do not provide the registered person with information so they can reduce the likelihood of a reoccurrence. Nor does it provide the information they need to assess whether the hold was necessary and proportionate.

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improvement to be good

Some staff could not explain who they would speak to if they had any safeguarding concerns regarding senior leaders and managers in the organisation. This means staff have not been provided with clear guidance and access to external bodies if they need to raise concerns or seek advice around safeguarding matters.

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improvement to be good

The home is described as a therapeutic setting, but there is no clear evidence of an embedded therapeutic culture. Language in records that blames children was noted on multiple occasions. There were no records of meetings with the therapeutic link worker or guidance for staff to follow with children. Children are not receiving individual support from the organisation’s therapist, and sometimes staff perceive children’s behaviours as oppositional. This means that children are not being provided the care and support as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.

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improvement to be good

Children do not regularly go missing from the home, and they stay in touch with staff during free time and when they stay away overnight.

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improvement to be good

Health and safety in the home is well managed. Regular checks are completed, and the responsible individual ensures that maintenance is completed within timescales. The building and locality risk assessments are regularly reviewed. Risk assessments for children are completed and updated regularly after incidents, and staff read and sign them. This keeps staff informed about current risks that may affect the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been no registered manager in post since June 2022, and the inspection was led by the responsible individual. Not having a manager overseeing the day-to- day running of the home has had a detrimental effect on the children and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual has been visible and spent time in the home. He was not aware of an incident that had taken place, as information had not been passed on. This does not provide the necessary level of management oversight of the practice of staff and, therefore, does not provide adequate safeguards for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 5 Supervision sessions are conducted by an external person to the organisation who has not gone through safer recruitment processes. They do not work directly with the children but have access to information that is shared for supervision purposes and at team meetings. Supervision records contained information at times that conflicted with other records. Clear and concise records for the home are not maintained. This has the potential to have a negative impact on children should they require access to their records now or in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have completed mandatory training, and new staff are supported through an induction period by shadowing more experienced staff. One staff member is out of time for completing the necessary level 3 diploma. One staff is reported to hold the qualification be enrolled and working towards this. Newer staff are not yet enrolled. This leaves them without the required skills and knowledge to support the children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The independent visitor has missed opportunities to consult with children when there has been an increase in incidents, and there has been little consultation with professionals. This does not provide the visitor with the information to be able to assess whether children are being effectively safeguarded and their well-being promoted. Six-monthly reports that review the quality of care do not reflect the effective use of consultation with children and other stakeholders. Surveys were also not sent out to stakeholders by the registered person. These are missed opportunities for children and others to share their views in order to develop the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual knows the children and shows warmth and care towards them. Staff say that they feel supported by the responsible individual. The staff support each other, and professionals said that communication from them is good. Staff say that they were worried when the previous manager left but have been supported well by the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The requirements of the last inspection have not been met in full. Monitoring tools have been developed to review records, and these are being used. Some progress is noted in planning key-working sessions and discussions with children. Planned sessions take place as well as responsive discussions after incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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 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 the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received 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)(d)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to the registered person ensuring that sufficient staffing is in place to meet the needs of all children. It also refers to using feedback from children and others gathered through the independent visitor report and other sources to develop and improve the service provided in the home. 31 May 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 7 The registered person must ensure that—

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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)(iii)(iv)) 31 May 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 31 May 2023

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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

The requirements are that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

The relevant date is— 31 May 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 8 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. (Regulation 32 (1) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 31 May 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that information about the child is always recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children and is a homely, domestic environment. The children’s home must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, the home should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2593046 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Laska Care and Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Euroway House, Roysdale Way, Bradford BD4 6SE

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Inspectors

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector (shadow) Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 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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