Children's home run by Leicester City Council

Inspection report for children’s home: SC038961 1 SC038961 Registered provider: Leicester City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to 10 children with social and emotional difficulties. The home has been working with children with highly complex needs and who may have a deprivation of liberty order. Due to the layout of the home, there is provision for bespoke solo placements.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified and experienced. They were present during this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Children were seen and consulted with and gave their views on the home. These have been considered as part of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC038961 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/08/2021 Full Outstanding 14/01/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/07/2019 Full Good 09/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC038961 3

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outstanding

Children have all made progress from their starting points and are settled in the home. Although progress for some children appears limited, the reduction in incidents and risk means, for some children, progress has been exceptional. They are safer because of this progress. Children are starting to engage with the support being offered in the home and by external agencies. The care and experiences provided by staff increase children’s life chances and positive outcomes.

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outstanding

Children are provided with highly individualised care that reflects their complex needs. They have warm and trusting relationships with staff and are provided with safe and consistent care. Staff are resilient and creatively work with the children and external professionals when considering risk management and developing independence. Key workers are carefully matched to children, taking into consideration staff skills and the relationships between staff and children. This has allowed for targeted work to be completed by staff who have positive and consistent relationships with the children.

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outstanding

The preferred model of care and therapeutic approach are well embedded in the home. There is regular input from external agencies, who support in developing children’s plans and reviewing incidents.

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outstanding

Education is promoted, and staff look at alternative ways of providing formal and informal learning for children. One child has recently started an apprenticeship, and this was a huge achievement for them. The manager and staff work closely with education providers in looking at individual and tailored education to try and support children to reconnect and engage with education. Children are encouraged to develop hobbies and interests, such as joining local football clubs. This helps children to become connected to their community and develop social skills and friendship groups.

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outstanding

Children are given a clear voice in the home and are regularly consulted with about every aspect of their care and the home’s development. This means children feel heard and more able to talk about things that may be concerning them. Any barriers to communication are considered, and staff use external resources, such as the use of translators, to ensure that children can have their say.

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outstanding

Children are supported to stay in touch with those who are important to them. Staff have good relationships with children’s families and have worked hard to develop and maintain these relationships. This has helped to provide children with consistency as everyone is aware of the expectations. Children are supported to develop independence and life skills, and a bespoke independence programme is being developed by the home. This will provide children with essential skills as they move into adulthood. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038961 4 Children’s health needs are well met, and they have access to a range of professionals to meet their physical and emotional health needs. Children are encouraged to take responsibility for their health, such as making appointments and self-administering medication. Additional support has been accessed through specialist agencies when needed.

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outstanding

There have been some significant incidents in the home; however, these have been well managed by staff and managers. External agencies are consulted with to help to identify areas of learning or additional strategies to consider. The management team has clear oversight of all incidents. It provides good reflection and evaluation to support further planning and risk management.

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outstanding

Staff work with children who have a range of complex needs and high-risk factors. They have adapted practice and implemented new strategies to manage and reduce risk and incidents. Staff understand risk, and plans are individual to the children. They contain a range of support strategies that are designed to help staff to minimise risk and support children.

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outstanding

One of the strengths of the home is how children are allowed to take measured risks in line with their age, needs and understanding. Children are treated with respect and given trust, which allows them to develop their own resilience and understanding of risk and how to keep themselves safe. This approach has supported a reduction of missing-from-home episodes and incidents.

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outstanding

Allegations have been thoroughly investigated and shared with external safeguarding professionals. The management team’s professional curiosity in relation to an incident led to further investigation and action. This means children were kept as safe as they could be.

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outstanding

Children have trusting relationships with staff. They feel able to talk about their lives and things that may concern them. Children are provided with clear and consistent boundaries, and staff are skilled at using de-escalation techniques to minimise or prevent incidents from occurring. This has helped children to be more settled and responsive to the support being offered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is strong leadership and management in the home, and the management team promotes a positive, creative and ambitious culture. The manager is dynamic, knowledgeable and effective in their role. They have high expectations of the team in maintaining an excellent standard of care to children. They have developed a culture of resilience and child-centred practice, and because of this, they have improved children’s safety and stability. Building positive relationships between staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC038961 5 and children underpins the ethos of the home and allows children to build secure and trusting bonds.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is excellent management oversight of the home. The management team uses reflective practice and professional curiosity to good effect in evaluating everything in the home. As a result, children have individualised care that is kept under regular review. Quality assurance systems and processes are used to good effect and provide the management team with a comprehensive overview.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager works well with external professionals and is an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team. Professionals are positive about the care and progress of the children. They say, ‘The home is like a family,’ and that staff ‘are committed’ to the children and go ‘above and beyond’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager knows and understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has a development plan in place. Staff are given tasks to complete to further improve the home, such as developing independence packages for children. This allows them to contribute and invest in the home’s development. Staff trust and respect the management team and feel well supported. This means that morale is high, and staff feel well prepared to undertake their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have access to a wide range of training, and most staff hold a relevant childcare qualification. Additional training has been sourced from external agencies to further develop staff knowledge and skills. This supports staff to be better prepared in managing some children’s complex needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038961 6

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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: SC038961 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Leicester City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City Hall, 115 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FZ

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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC038961 8 regulates and inspects 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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