Children's home run by Wakefield Council in Wakefield

Inspection report for children’s home: SC034162 1 SC034162 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 operated by the local authority. It provides care for up to seven children who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities and social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified. At the time of the inspection, there were five children living at 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: 9 November 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: SC034162 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/11/2022 Full Good 21/03/2022 Full Good 17/12/2019 Full Outstanding 11/02/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC034162 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are thriving. They receive good-quality care from staff who know them well. Children are at the centre of the running of the home and decisions made about them. Staff speak about children positively and in a way that focuses on their strengths.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop loving and meaningful relationships with staff who provide high levels of nurture. Staff remain calm under pressure and ensure that children experience consistent and predictable care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly and are doing well. Staff and managers have established relationships with schools and education providers, and communication is effective. Children’s personal education plans help staff to understand children’s progress and where additional support is needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are making progress. One child has made significant progress in their communication and is now able to toilet independently. Another child has developed skills that will support them to be more independent as an adult, meaning their dignity will be maintained. In addition, this child has developed their musical ability and confidence as they are planning to play in front of a large audience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live at the home have a variety of health needs. Their needs are fully understood and well met by staff. When children have needed a lengthy hospital stay, staff have remained with them and provided support to the child and their parent. The manager advocates for children and is tenacious in ensuring that the child’s needs are attended to effectively. The parent said, ‘They [the staff and manager] have been my rock,’ and ‘[The manager] got my child the care they needed. I cannot thank them enough.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have lots of fun and take part in regular activities in the local and wider community. The children have all enjoyed a holiday to the seaside. Children get along well with each other, and friendships outside of the home are supported. Staff are creative in how distant friendships are maintained. This has ensured that the time the children spend together remains enjoyable and helps to create positive memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home remains safe and accessible to all children. Some of the communal areas appear worn and tired. The manager continues to advocate for a refurbishment. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their tastes and needs. Children strongly influence how their bedroom looks and feels, and their rooms are personalised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who move into and out of the home have well-planned moves that take account of their needs and wishes. The manager works with other professionals, for Inspection report for children’s home: SC034162 4 example the local authority transitions team, to ensure that children have what they need to have a successful transition to adulthood.

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

Staff support children to have consistency through routines and boundaries. The children benefit from structure in their day and are helped to understand what is expected from them through social stories, verbal communication and a wide range of visual aids.

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

Staff help children to learn about risks and keeping themselves safe. One child needed support to understand the risks relating to road safety. Staff have regular conversations about this and allow the child to put this in practice safely.

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

Children’s individual risk assessments are detailed and help staff to understand what children need to be safe. They are updated when new information comes to light. When children need specialist help, the manager ensures that this is in place quickly.

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

One child was able to leave the home unnoticed. Once aware, staff acted quickly and followed the missing-from-home procedures, leading to the child returning home safely. The manager completed an investigation and put measures in place to minimise the risk of further incidents. However, they failed to ensure that missing- from-home protocols were available should the situation reoccur for any of the children living at the home.

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

An allegation against a staff member was taken seriously and quickly acted on by the manager. Effective working with the local authority designated officer ensured that information was shared appropriately. The investigation was comprehensive and considered all potential risks.

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

Physical interventions are only used when needed. Detailed records are kept to ensure that there is transparency and oversight. Staff understand the home’s method of intervention and have received appropriate training. One child needed to be held on many occasions so that health professionals could complete tests and understand how to make them better. The manager carefully considered the use of physical intervention to ensure that it was the least restrictive option available to them.

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

There have been four medication administration errors. The manager has undertaken a full review and discussed the outcome with staff so they can understand what has gone wrong and know how to avoid further errors. In addition, the manager has commissioned a trained pharmacist to audit all areas of medication administration. This has helped her to better understand staff practice and how it can be improved. Staff say they are clearer about how to safely store and administer medication as a result. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034162 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is confident in her leadership of the home. She demonstrates ambition and is driven to ensure positive outcomes for the children in her care. She knows the children well and understands what good care for them looks like. She is a positive role model for staff, who say they feel secure at work because of her strong leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is generally kept up to date, and staff have access to a wide variety of training opportunities. The manager advocates for bespoke training to ensure that staff are better able to meet the needs of the children, such as training on epilepsy. In addition, the manager has led on the development of in-house training that includes a deeper look at autism and how this can impact on children’s mental health and well-being. Staff have the knowledge to care for the children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supervised regularly and say this helps them to improve their practice. In addition, staff say they feel well supported with personal matters. However, the quality of supervision records is inconsistent. Some records do not give enough detail of the discussions that have taken place, and others do not identify where action is needed. This could hinder the manager’s understanding of the quality of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are influencing how they are cared for. Staff are attuned to their individual forms of communication and ensure that children are listened to and their wishes and feelings are acted on. Children have a say in how the home is decorated, how they are cared for, including which activities they take part in, and what they eat.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post for several years and is a stable influence within the home. She has an in-depth working knowledge of the home and how it runs. She is clear about the home’s strengths and the areas that need improvement. However, she does not always evidence her oversight and rationale for decision-making in records relating to incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034162 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that each child, at the point they move into the home, has a missing- from-home protocol that identifies the key risks to that child. Also, they must ensure that the protocol is kept under review. 9 May 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that their oversight, monitoring and review of the home are well documented. Specifically, they should ensure that staff supervision records reflect the quality of the discussions held, and that when incidents occur, an evaluation of staff practice and rationale for decision-making are evident within records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23) Inspection report for children’s home: SC034162 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: SC034162 8

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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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Inspectors

Rachel Walker, Social Care Inspector Ed McCallum, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034162 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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