Children's home run by Wakefield Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2706449 1 Registered provider: Wakefield Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by the local authority. It provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in March 2023. This is the first inspection of the home.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2706449 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2706449 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress while they live at the home. They experience stability and commitment from staff. This offers a secure base for the children, who have experienced several moves. The children share their worries and concerns with staff and seek out support when they feel they need this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are clear and consistent boundaries at the home. This helps the children to know what is expected from them. At times, the children push these boundaries. However, the staff ensure that they remain consistent. This ensures predictability in the children’s environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children attend education. One child has been supported to complete his exams, which has allowed him to be ambitious in choosing his course at college. Another child has moved to a setting where she feels happier. Staff ensured that the education, health and care plan she needed was expedited. This will support her needs being met in education and allow her to make further progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s health needs are met. Staff ensure that appropriate specialist support is available when this is required. Staff advocate for children to ensure that specialist support is received in a timely way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well when they move into this home. Their plans are bespoke and consider their age and ability. Where appropriate, the children are encouraged and supported to increase their independence in line with their age, even if they sometimes find this difficult.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home reflects a domestic property in a residential part of the community. The premises are homely with nice furnishings that have been chosen by the children. A homely feel is maintained even when there has been damage. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, bedroom door alarms alert staff when the children open their bedroom door at night. This is not proportionate to the level of risk present.

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

Staff are skilled at building and maintaining positive relationships with the children. They use their good relationships, de-escalation techniques and co-regulation skills to support the children when they experience strong emotions. When the children experience crisis, staff use physical intervention effectively and for the shortest amount of time necessary. After an incident, staff appropriately repair their relationships with the children so as not to cause additional worry for the children. This helps the children to feel valued and safe and to learn from the experience of repairing relationships, even in difficult situations. Inspection report for children’s home: 2706449 4 Adults who work with the children are confident that children are safe and well cared for at this home. Staff know the children well and consider their views when developing plans for the children.

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

Staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding and whistle-blowing policies. They are confident in sharing concerns should they need to. Staff have a good understanding of child sexual exploitation and how to respond to this.

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

Risk assessments are detailed, easy to follow and clearly show what actions staff should take. They are updated regularly. When risks are no longer relevant, they are removed from the risk assessments to show the progress that the children make.

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

When children go missing from home, staff follow the children’s plans. Staff go and look for the children and make every effort to ensure they are safe. When children return, independent return home interviews are offered, and action plans are put in place to reduce the risk of the children going missing from home again.

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

All staff are employed following a safer recruitment process. New staff work alongside experienced staff to reduce any impact on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a full team of staff who are experienced and feel proud to work at the home. Staff value training and use the knowledge they have gained to make positive changes to their practice. Staff are confident to seek out additional training when they feel this will benefit the children, and this is supported by management. The manager encourages the progression of staff through clear development plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She knows the children well and is ambitious on their behalf. Staff are encouraged to have high aspirations for the children, particularly regarding their education.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. However this is not always reflective. This limits opportunities for staff to learn and make progress, particularly after incidents. The manager has a plan to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held monthly and include external support to help staff consider the children’s therapeutic needs. The meetings are well attended, and staff feel that this has a positive impact on their understanding of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff understand how children’s life experiences can shape their behaviour. This understanding supports staff to identify the children’s needs and develop clear plans to support the children in making progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proactive at seeking out support and services, and she advocates strongly on behalf of the children. She takes appropriate action to address concerns when the children’s needs are not being met by other agencies. Inspection report for children’s home: 2706449 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure they have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person must ensure that any limits on privacy and access are only put in place to safeguard each child in the home. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home, and any modifications to the environment of the home, including alerts when children’s bedroom doors are opened, must only be made where these are intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s

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Recommendations

Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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 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: 2706449 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Bond Street, Wakefield WF1 2QW

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Cheryl Whitehouse

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Inspector

Joanna Beal, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2706449 7 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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