Children's home run by Wakefield Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2544274 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

A local authority owns and manages this home. It provides care for up to two children who may have social or emotional difficulties. The manager of this home registered with Ofsted on 31 January 2022.

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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

Date of last inspection: 1 November 2022

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2544274 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2022 Full Good 16/02/2022 Full Good 04/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2544274 3

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outstanding

Children have wonderful experiences living at this home. They receive exceptional care and nurture from staff who are compassionate and enthusiastic. Children are making and sustaining fantastic progress in all areas of their development. One child said, ‘If you were a child, you would never want to leave.’

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outstanding

Children’s education is prioritised. A targeted approach helps children who are struggling to attend school to learn through other means. The manager uses her well-established relationships with education professionals, including the virtual school, to ensure that everyone works together to identify and remove any barriers to learning. One child who was fearful of taking tests was enabled to sit mock GCSE exams. Their teacher said, ‘I am blown away. I never thought she could be so successful. This is down to the staff and their hard work.’

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outstanding

Staff help children to understand the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. One child has made excellent progress in maintaining a healthier diet and they have grown taller. Children learn the importance of being healthy and attending medical appointments. When one child declined to follow the advice given by a medical professional, the staff supported them to understand why this is important by providing information and research into alternative options. This helped the child to make an informed choice.

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outstanding

Family relationships are highly valued. Staff encourage children’s family and friends to be a part of the home where appropriate. One child’s parents and siblings visit the home regularly and, on one occasion, one of the parents cooked a traditional meal for everyone to enjoy. One of the parents said, ‘My other children are always welcome. We are all involved as a family.’

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outstanding

Staff respect children’s right to privacy and promote this. Children who are new to the home are made aware of the door alarms. These are only used when necessary to help children to be safe and feel safe. The placing local authority is made aware of these door alarms and the plans are reviewed regularly. When these are no longer needed, the monitoring system alarms are de-activated.

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outstanding

Careful consideration is given to every new child moving into the home. Children only move into the home if the manager is confident that their needs can be met, and that all children living in the home can be supported to live together in harmony. Children are well prepared for the move. The manager meets the child and supports them to visit the home, and the child starts to personalise their room before they move in. A written children’s guide to the home provides children with all the information they need. Inspection report for children’s home: 2544274 4

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outstanding

Children living in this home develop a strong sense of safety and security. Routines and boundaries are well established and the quality of relationships between staff and children is excellent. Staff hold children in mind even when they are not working in the home. One staff brought the children gifts when she returned from holiday to let the children know they were never far from her thoughts.

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outstanding

The therapeutic approach that staff adopt is woven into all aspects of the children’s care. Children’s therapeutic plans are informed by theory and are adapted as children’s needs change. Observations during the inspection showed that the staff understand what children need, and children are developing resilience. For example, when a change in routine is unavoidable, children are learning to adapt.

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outstanding

Staff support and encourage children to take measured risks. Staff take a balanced approach and are not risk averse. For example, staff understand how restricting children’s access to the internet may keep them safe, but recognise this does not prepare them well for adulthood. Children are supported to learn how to keep themselves safe and manage when things go wrong. The children are safer when using social media and the internet as a result.

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outstanding

There has only been one missing-from-home incident and the child was quickly located and returned home safely. Staff knew what to do because the child’s risk assessment and missing protocol set out the actions staff should take. Staff talked to the child to gain an understanding of what had upset them and understand how to prevent further occurrences. In addition, the manager arranged for someone independent of the home to talk to the child.

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outstanding

Staff have an exceptional understanding of the risks to individual children and can describe in detail how they keep children safe in line with their plans. Children’s individual risk assessments identify the strategies to reduce risk clearly. Risks to children are reviewed often and updated, and risks to children are reducing.

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outstanding

There has been no occasion where staff have needed to physically hold children to manage their behaviours. Staff are trained in the home’s chosen method of behaviour support should the need arise. Staff are attuned to nuances in children’s behaviour and quickly act to defuse situations before they escalate. Incidents are well managed and have significantly decreased in number and duration.

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outstanding

Staff and managers listen to children at every opportunity. Children know they are listened to because they see how their voices are influencing and leading to changes. Children are pivotal in influencing their own care. One child expressed a clear wish in relation to her education. This was considered and acted on because the manager strongly advocated for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2544274 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is a creative and purposeful leader who is consistent and determined in her approach. Her drive to deliver the absolute best of outcomes for children has been successful and the results of this are evident across all aspects of the running of the home. She, alongside her deputy manager, have led a culture of positivity in the home that has inspired staff to be ambitious for the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff are a well-established, resilient team who work together effectively. The manager has created a well-being space where staff can practise mindfulness, read and relax once the children are asleep. One member of staff said, ‘I am so happy,’ and described working with colleagues at the home as ‘like a family’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular, high-quality supervision that encompasses staff well-being and professional practice and development. Several staff spoke of how the manager consistently holds them accountable for their work. Staff also benefit from spending time with a qualified therapist reflecting on the impact their work has on children. Staff describe feeling upskilled and more confident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is strong management oversight of the home. Monitoring systems are in place and are highly effective. For example, the manager has developed an auditing tool to better understand the quality of the work undertaken with children and its effectiveness. There is a marked improvement in how staff are talking to children about things that are important and helping them to learn.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager collaborates well with the team of professionals around each child and values the team’s opinions and experiences of working with the home. She actively seeks consultation from a range of sources and acts on all feedback. One professional raised that they found staff to be overwhelmed. The manager took the issue to a staff meeting and, using visual tools, helped staff to self-reflect and develop a greater self-awareness. She provided the staff with clear guidance and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff training is comprehensive and tailored to meet individual needs of the children. All staff receive training in the model of care, in addition to training in trauma and therapeutic parenting. The deputy manager is qualified to train staff in the behaviour support model and therapeutic approaches. This provides staff with an additional level of support and helps to ensure that staff have the relevant skills to provide the care children need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children’s records are excellent and tell you everything you need to know. Children’s experiences are brought to life because staff genuinely care about capturing their experiences accurately and without judgement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An independent person visits the home every month and provides the manager with a detailed overview of children’s progress each month. However, on two occasions, the reports have not evaluated whether children are safe or if their well-being is promoted. This does not impact on the quality of care or staff practice at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2544274 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person’s report clearly states their evaluation of whether children are safeguarded and that the conduct of the home promotes their well-being . (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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: 2544274 7

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Cheryl Whitehouse

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Inspector

Rachel Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2544274 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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