Children's Home run by Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) in Leeds

Inspection report for children’s home: SC001531 1 SC001531 Registered provider: Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a charitable organisation that provides care for up to seven children who may have social and emotional difficulties. This home is for males only.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2020.

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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: 31 October 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC001531 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/10/2022 Full Good 25/10/2021 Full Outstanding 19/11/2019 Full Good 10/12/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC001531 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from living in a home that is well maintained and decorated. The home is large and spacious, and it maintains a homely feel. The children’s bedrooms are newly decorated in the colours of their choice. The children are helped to feel a sense of belonging to the home. They are encouraged to get involved in the redecoration of the home as much as they would like to, with one child repainting their own room.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to form trusted relationships with the staff. Children feel cared for. This is because the staff care for the children in a nurturing and natural way. One child who has lived in the home for several years and those who have recently moved in were observed to be equally relaxed and confident in the presence of the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents speak positively about the care that their children receive. They also speak positively about the support that the staff offer to them as parents. One parent said, ‘They [staff] have really helped me. They have put my mind at rest because I know [name of child] is happy and safe.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make progress. They are supported to increase their social and independence skills, for example by travelling independently, cooking, shopping and joining clubs such as boxing. These are important skills that children can continue to build on as they become adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements are recognised and celebrated. Children are regularly praised by the staff. They are praised verbally and in the children’s individual praise books that they can take with them when they move on from the home. This encourages the children to repeat positive behaviours and increases their self- esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While the staff have made some improvements in using child-friendly language in documents, there is still evidence of stigmatising language being recorded in some of the children’s documents. This is not helpful to the children and may reinforce bias and prejudice.

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

Children’s relationships with one another are continually assessed. This is evidenced in the dynamic house risk assessment. This allows the staff to see when the children are getting along well with one another and when they may prefer to spend some time apart. When there is conflict between the children, the staff act on it. Restorative conversations are encouraged to help the children repair their relationships. Inspection report for children’s home: SC001531 4 Staff have a clear understanding of the missing-from-home procedures. When children do go missing from the home, the staff are proactive in searching for them. When children return to the home, they are welcomed back and offered an independent return interview. The staff work with the children to gain an understanding of their experiences while they were missing from the home and how best to reduce the risk of future episodes.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted in this home. Clear and consistent boundaries are in place for the children. Individual behaviour management plans for the children have been developed. These plans recognise the children’s triggers and identify the strategies that the staff can use to best help the children.

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

When serious incidents that involve the children occur, the manager speaks with the staff in their supervision sessions. This helps them to reflect on the incidents. However, the debriefs that the manager completes with the staff and children following the incident are not consistently recorded. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to evidence the learning that has taken place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is open, honest and transparent. She has the children’s best interests at the centre of her practice. She knows the strengths within her team and the areas for development. The manager is passionate about her role, and she feels well supported by her deputy manager and the senior leaders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff speak very positively about the manager. They say that the manager and the deputy manager always have an ‘open door’. The staff say that they can go to their managers about anything. Staff feel safe to report their concerns to the manager at any time of the day or night, and they are confident that the manager will respond appropriately to their concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes all pre-employment checks for the staff. She feels that it is important that she can trust the staff to act with integrity. If the manager has any concerns relating to the staff’s practice, she acts swiftly to address them. This approach promotes an open culture within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was open and honest with the inspector in terms of training. While most of the staff have completed the in-house trauma-informed training, the manager accepts that there is still some way to go in terms of trauma-informed practice. Embedding this practice is part of the manager’s continued development plan for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff do not receive a formal induction plan. While the agency staff receive a verbal induction, the manager is not able to evidence that this occurs. This means that the manager cannot be confident that all of the staff working in the home have a clear understanding of the children or the day-to-day running of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC001531 5 The manager has failed to ensure that the children’s placing local authorities have given their consent in writing for the children to have door alarms on their bedroom doors. Despite this being a requirement at the last inspection, the manager has not ensured that there is a system in place to review this practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC001531 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, The 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 registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; and

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)) 1 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)) 1 November 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. In particular, the registered person should ensure that the staff implement trauma- informed practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all of the staff, including the manager, receive a debrief after any significant incident to allow them time and space 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 should ensure that the staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way. Information about the child must

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Recommendations

always be 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) Inspection report for children’s home: SC001531 7

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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: SC001531 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds)

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 North Grange Road, Leeds LS6 2BR

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Inspector

Jo Birtwhistle, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC001531 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 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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