Children's Home run by Wakefield Council in Wakefield

Inspection report for children’s home: 2701362 1 Registered provider: Wakefield Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A local authority operates and runs this home. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home and manager have been registered with Ofsted since December 2022. This is the home’s first inspection. The manager is also registered at a second children’s home that is owned and operated by the local authority.

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: not previously inspected

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2701362 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children were involved with the planning and decorating of the home before their move in December 2022. This enabled them to personalise their rooms and the communal areas in a way that they liked. The home feels cosy, and one child was observed laying on the sofa wrapped in a blanket. There are photos of the children on the walls, which add to the homely feel.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Independence plans have been developed, in line with children’s ages. They have included a wide range of support and encouragement around tasks that children will need to be able to do when they move on from the children’s home. The children have responded well to these and have developed a good range of skills, which they are proud of.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to achieve their aspirations. One child’s education plan matches their aspiration to be a mechanic. A bespoke plan has been implemented from the start of the school term in September that aims to teach the child the skills to achieve their aspirations and make academic progress. Another child’s plan has supported him to overcome barriers in accessing education. They have enrolled in an education setting, which is empowering them to make key decisions about their life.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Conversations with children take place in a planned way as well as in the moment. For both children, this has positively supported their independence plans. Support around their identified needs takes place on a regular basis and children appear to engage well with these conversations. For one child, opportunities have been missed to develop an interim plan of support around their emotional well-being while waiting for specialist support.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are attuned to children’s needs. Most of the time, they know when children are not feeling their best and can intervene to stop this escalating. Staff have a good knowledge of children’s life experiences and how their experiences can impact on their behaviour.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have up-to-date statutory health assessments. Positive routines, alongside the independence plans, have promoted an improved level of personal hygiene for both children. Children are encouraged and supported to attend health appointments, and one child was able to arrange and attend an appointment independently. Specialist support is sought for children when this is required. During one incident, when a child hurt their hand and refused to seek medical attention, staff did not seek medical advice through calling 111. It was several hours later that the child agreed to attend the hospital.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported and encouraged to maintain meaningful relationships with people who are important to them. This includes family members and carers. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2701362 3 work closely with social workers to make sure that relationships are positive for children. Staff work hard to build relationships with families, and this supports children to feel cared for.

p.2

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

Children feel that staff care about them and keep them safe. Professionals who work with the children agree with this.

p.3

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

Risk assessments are individual to the children. They give direction to staff through clear strategies to manage identified risks. These documents are reviewed regularly by the management team, including after an incident or when additional information is shared. This ensures that risk assessments reflect the most-current concerns for the children. However, the risk assessment in relation to bedroom door alarms stated that they were not in use when they were. This was rectified by day two of the inspection, after consultation with the social worker.

p.3

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

Children are encouraged and supported to take age-appropriate risks in line with their abilities. This has provided opportunities for children to learn, particularly in relation to independence skills, while still being supported by staff. This has also enabled professionals to be able to understand what support may be needed when that child moves on to increased independence.

p.3

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

When children leave the home, they generally keep in touch with staff. If there are concerns that children may be at risk, staff act swiftly and appropriately to keep children safe. Staffing constraints due to there only being one sleeping member of staff during the night-time means that staff are not able to follow children when they leave the home. Staff follow the children’s missing-from-care plans and seek support from staff in another home or the police in line with the lone-working policy.

p.3

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

When children have posed a risk to each other, this has been managed sensitively. Appropriate consultation has taken place with children and their social workers to implement a plan to keep both children safe. The needs and rights of both children have been advocated for by management and staff.

p.3

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

The manager has not informed Ofsted of notifiable events. This involved four incidents, the start and conclusion of a child protection enquiry, concerns regarding staff practice, and when an incident involved the emergency services. This prevents Ofsted from having oversight of safeguarding concerns and the actions of the home and partner agencies. The manager took appropriate action to safeguard children, despite not notifying Ofsted.

p.3

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in recognising and responding to safeguarding concerns. Staff feel confident in raising concerns and understand whistle-blowing procedures.

p.3

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

Staff work hard to build effective and safe relationships with children. When children are in crisis, staff use these relationships to help children to manage their feelings. Inspection report for children’s home: 2701362 4 There has only been one incident of physical intervention and this was necessary to keep a child safe. There have been occasions where staff have felt unable to safely manage children’s behaviour and have required support from the police. The police support is utilised to help children, not criminalise them.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is dual registered at another children’s home. This means that many of the day-to-day management responsibilities are delegated to the assistant manager.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team is fully staffed and staff feel supported by the management team. The manager has a good knowledge of staff’s strengths and development needs. This enables development plans for staff to be effective in increasing their skills and utilising their strengths. Staff are committed and child focused. They know the children well and this supports children in feeling secure within their relationships.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision takes place on a regular basis. Issues with practice are addressed appropriately in supervision and clear expectations are given to staff. However, supervision is not consistently reflective. This prevents the further development of staff practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Probation reviews are effectively used for new members of staff. Swift action is taken if issues arise.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has good oversight of children’s records. Incidents are evaluated and plans developed to reduce risks. This helps to ensure that consistent parenting is taking place and that interventions are effective.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A learning culture is promoted within the team. Staff feel that they have access to a wide range of training that supports them to meet the needs of the children. Staff feel supported with their professional development. All required staff have completed their level 3 qualification. Inspection report for children’s home: 2701362 5

p.4

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.5

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.5

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

p.5

Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular that the registered person ensures that children receive support from staff to be able to develop skills to manage their emotional wellbeing needs. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iv)(vi)) 1 December 2023

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.5

Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

p.5

Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or 1 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2701362 6 there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(d)(e))

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that information about children’s risks is clear and relevant. Different plans must not provide conflicting information, so that staff are clear on the expectations. Risks must be appropriately reviewed by relevant professionals on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person must ensure that children are in full-time education while they are of compulsory school age. Their personal education plan should be used to address barriers to education and develop a multi-agency plan to ensure that children’s attainment and progress are not negatively impacted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)  The registered person must ensure that children have appropriate access to urgent medical care or advice when it is required. This can include medical advice

p.6

Recommendations

over the phone if a child refuses to seek this themselves. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11)  The registered person must 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)

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: 2701362 7

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Cheryl Whitehouse

p.7

Inspector

Joanna Beal, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2701362 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