Children's Home run by Kirklees Council in Kirklees

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033367 1 SC033367 Registered provider: Kirklees 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 runs the children’s home. The home provides short- to medium-term care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024. At the time of the inspection, there were two 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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the last full inspection, Ofsted issued a restriction of accommodation notice and two compliance notices under Regulations 12 and 13.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

During a monitoring visit on 7 September 2022, the provider demonstrated that they had taken sufficient action to meet the two compliance notices. During this visit, the provider confirmed that they did not intend to accept children into the home, so Inspection report for children’s home: SC033367 2 Ofsted issued a three-month condition. This required the local authority to notify Ofsted of their intention to admit children three months before doing so.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

In July 2023, the provider notified Ofsted of their intention to reopen the home. Ofsted carried out a monitoring visit on 3 August 2023 and removed the three- month condition. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033367 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2022 Full Inadequate 28/09/2021 Full Good 07/11/2019 Full Good 07/11/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC033367 4

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improvement to be good

The lack of structure and boundaries hinders the children from making satisfactory progress in their lives. This has contributed to the children establishing poor sleep routines. Therefore, the children’s ability to focus on their day ahead is significantly reduced.

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improvement to be good

The children are negatively stimulated by social media activity throughout the evening, as they have constant access to their devices and social media. This has resulted in the children being unsettled and unable to enjoy a restful night’s sleep, which hinders their ability to learn.

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improvement to be good

The staff support the children to attend medical appointments and learn about relevant teenage health issues. However, these efforts are undermined by inconsistent boundaries around the children smoking and vaping. This practice gives the children mixed messages about leading a healthier lifestyle.

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improvement to be good

There is good collaboration between the manager and the virtual school team. The manager ensures that she contributes to the children’s education, health and care plan reviews. This ensures that education professionals can target the children’s support needs.

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improvement to be good

The children’s written records in the home give the staff a clear overview of each child’s care and circumstances. The children’s records are organised and are often reviewed by the manager and the children’s key workers. However, the manager has missed an opportunity to encourage children to read and contribute to their plans. Furthermore, the language used in these plans is not easy for the children to understand.

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improvement to be good

The children and staff are proud of their home. The local authority has made a significant investment to create a homely environment for the children. However, the sense of home is undermined as some staff wear their identification badges.

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improvement to be good

The manager has raised the need to address a potential safety breach identified in the fire risk assessment with senior leaders. Despite this, senior leaders have not responded within the specified time frame to address this.

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improvement to be good

The manager works collaboratively with other safeguarding agencies. There is a thorough response from the manager when she learns of concerns about the children’s welfare. However, in some instances, the care has been reactive to known risks associated with the children. Additionally, the manager has not asserted Inspection report for children’s home: SC033367 5 enough autonomy to address the risks associated with children leaving the home during the evening.

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improvement to be good

The manager has worked closely with the police to learn how to consistently apply the local protocol for children who go missing from the home. Although the staff have the necessary documents for the children that the police require should a child be reported as missing from home, one child’s document lacked important information. This may hinder the police’s efforts to find the child.

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improvement to be good

The manager and deputy manager share the responsibility to attend multi-agency daily risk exploitation and missing-from-home meetings. Relevant information is filtered into the home’s safer area risk assessment. This enables the manager to evaluate and counterbalance any known risks to the children in the immediate community.

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improvement to be good

The manager has applied a familiar model to encourage the staff to reflect on their practice. The children’s positive behaviour plans are meaningful, and these are easy for the staff to follow when children become anxious and upset. This approach means that staff have not been required to use any physical interventions with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to address credible risks associated with the children leaving the home during the evening and in the early hours of the day. Consequently, the staff have been unclear and unable to respond accordingly to the children’s needs at this point in the day. This has resulted in the children being exposed to worrying situations in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to implement clear guidance for the staff to follow. Therefore, the staff are left to apply their own judgement when the children challenge perceived norms concerning boundaries. This has created a disjointed approach to the children’s care and significantly undermined the staff’s ability to undertake their role effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings and staff supervision sessions do not influence change in the children’s care. This is despite the staff being vocal with their ideas and worries. This has resulted in some staff feeling despondent and ineffective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Most staff have completed the local authority’s mandatory training programme. The manager is developing an improved system that will highlight specific gaps in areas of knowledge in the team. This shows that the manager is forward thinking and keen to develop the skills in the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager and the deputy manager are committed to getting things right for the children. There is an appetite to learn and develop. The manager has implemented systems that encourage staff to reflect on their practice. The staff have embraced Inspection report for children’s home: SC033367 6 this, and they are also committed to developing their practice. These characteristics provide a foundation to develop good practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033367 7

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is registered as a patient with a general medical practitioner and a registered dental practitioner; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)) 15 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 15 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC033367 8 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c)(e)(i)) 15 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must —

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25 (1) (a)) 15 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC033367 9

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Recommendations

 The registered person should understand that children in residential care may be worried about being stigmatised or bullied by their peers for being ‘different’ because of where they live. The home’s environment and care should be designed to take account of this. In particular, staff wearing their identification badges undermines the efforts to create a homely environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.13)  The registered person should actively encourage the children to read their records and to add further information to them. The information that children read should be meaningful and relatable to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.6)

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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: SC033367 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kirklees Metropolitan Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre 3, Huddersfield, Yorkshire HD1 2EY

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Inspector

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033367 11 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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