Children's Home run by Laska Care and Education Ltd in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 1 Registered provider: Laska Care and Education Ltd

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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 private organisation and provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023 and was present during the inspection, but is currently not working in the home on a full-time basis. An acting manager is currently in post.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/04/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/07/2022 Full Good 22/03/2022 Full Good 14/09/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the provider has made some positive progress. However, the registered manager has not been present in the home on a full-time basis since February 2024. A member of staff has stepped up into the role of acting manager. They receive support from the responsible individual, and the registered manager provides support to them for two days per month. Nevertheless, several significant shortfalls have gone undetected by leaders and managers. These shortfalls have affected the overall experiences and progress of the children who live in the home.

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improvement to be good

Some areas of the home are not homely or appropriately maintained. Children’s bedrooms have not been cleaned after repairs have been carried out. Staff have delayed ensuring that some children have personal items, such as photos, in their bedrooms. Children’s storage is limited, and staff transfer children’s clothing in carrier bags. This does not provide children a homely and nurturing environment to live in.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children to access health services. However, staff fail to ensure that children consistently take prescribed medication. This has not resulted in any known health implications, but staff have not sought appropriate medical advice to discuss any possible impact on the children’s well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the importance of education, and the children have improved their education attendance since living in the home. Staff work well with professionals to review children’s education. However, education professionals said that staff do not always prepare and support children to attend school in line with the school’s expectations, such as wearing an appropriate school uniform. These avoidable hurdles hinder the children’s progress at school and draw unnecessary attention to the children.

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improvement to be good

The children living in the home have made some positive progress, which was a view shared by their social workers. Staff listen to the children. Staff ensure that children’s social workers are aware when children request advocacy support and follow this through appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Staff help the children to access individual activities, such as boxing and cadets. Staff support children around their cultural needs and help children to participate in their chosen cultural traditions. Staff support children to spend time with their family. This means that children see their significant others, which helps to promote their identity.

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improvement to be good

Children are sensitively welcomed into the home. Staff provide children with information about the home and spend time with the children to help them to feel welcome. Staff were not involved in planning a child’s move from the home, but leaders and managers highlighted this to the child’s local authority. Staff worked with Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 4 the child to have positive celebrations before leaving. Staff also welcome ongoing contact with children who have moved on from the home. This enables children to maintain important links in their lives as they grow into adults.

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improvement to be good

The staff have a good understanding of the children’s individual needs and any known risks. However, there are gaps in some children’s risk assessments around recent significant events and associated risks. This means that staff do not have access to all required information. This is further complicated by there being different records of guidance that staff should take to reduce risks to children. This is confusing for staff and impacts on the support they offer the children.

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improvement to be good

Sometimes, staff have not consistently had oversight of children during the night and have not been aware when children have been awake and not in their own bedrooms. On these occasions, no safeguarding concerns have been raised. Leaders and managers have not been assured that staff are appropriately supporting children’s peer relationships effectively.

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improvement to be good

Room searches are carried out when actions are needed to safeguard children. However, sometimes, the acting manager has failed to provide appropriate oversight of these searches. The acting manager has also not ensured that staff have acted to reduce any potential harm to the children.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have systems in place to manage any allegations and work with the designated officer from the children’s local authorities. However, these procedures are not consistently followed. The manager has shared information with the children’s social worker but on one occasion, delayed sharing information with the designated officer. Delays in sharing information could affect appropriate action being taken to safeguard the children.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, staff have not needed to hold children to keep them safe. However, not all staff can demonstrate a clear understanding of the importance of physical boundaries with children. This can be confusing for children who have experienced trauma. The acting manager addressed this immediately.

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improvement to be good

Staff use de-escalation techniques with children to prevent incidents escalating. This has resulted in a reduction of significant incidents. Staff spend time with children to help them to understand risk, such as internet safety and how to keep themselves safe in relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from the home. When children leave the home without permission, staff maintain sight of them. Staff also ensure that children have missing- from-home procedures in place. This means that staff have a clear understanding of actions to take should children go missing. Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 5

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good

The home does not currently have the oversight of the registered manager. Staff are mainly supported by the acting manager and responsible individual. However, the absence of a full-time, experienced registered manager has affected the operational effectiveness of the home.

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good

Leaders and managers have systems in place to review and monitor children’s progress and the development of the home. However, these systems are ineffective. Leaders and managers have failed to identify shortfalls in some significant incidents, and there has been a delay in sharing reports with social workers. The registered manager and acting manager have delayed notifying local authority designated officers of concerns, which has delayed safeguarding responses by staff.

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good

Since the last inspection, staff have been supported to progress their required qualifications. However, one staff member has not completed this in the set time frame. Staff have consistent supervision sessions in line with the home’s procedures. However, the responsible individual has not provided the acting manager with supervision sessions as they should have. The responsible individual has taken steps to support some staff in having a review of their professional development, but this has not been completed for all staff in line with the home’s development plan.

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good

Leaders and managers have completed a review of the quality of care offered to children. However, this was accidentally emailed to an agency that is not connected with the well-being of the children. The responsible individual realised the mistake and forwarded the report to the regulator. However, this was a potential breach of data and meant that Ofsted had not been provided with the report in a timely way.

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good

Staff said that they are well supported by the registered manager and acting manager and have developed a strong bond as a team. Team meetings take place on a regular basis and offer staff an opportunity to reflect on the children’s needs and their practice as a team. This helps to support staff in offering the children consistent care. Staff have accessed all required training and have reflective support from a psychologist who visits the home monthly. Leaders and managers are proactive in addressing staff practice.

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good

Staff have positive relationships with professionals. Children’s social workers talked about positive communication with staff and managers. The social workers said that the children had made some positive progress because of the care provided by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 6

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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 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— that staff—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(b)(iv)(v)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s risk assessments include all associated risk; offer staff clear guidance on actions to take; ensure that staff are consistently supporting children to reduce any potential risks; and that staff have a clear understanding regarding their roles, responsibilities and boundaries.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 28 June 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

promotes their welfare. 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 7 In particular 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have clear oversight of incidents; that significant incidents and safeguarding consultations are shared in a timely manner with relevant parties; that all staff are supported to have supervision sessions; and that leaders and managers take action to support all staff to have the required qualifications and receive annual appraisals of their work in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 8 If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 9

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff offer children consistent, necessary and practical care and support, as a good parent would, that helps children’s attendance at school and supports them in having the best possible start to their day. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 28, paragraph 5.13)  The registered person should make every effort to ensure that they support children to take their prescribed medication in line with medically approved protocol, and where children decline medication and the home has questions or concerns, they should approach an expert for advice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should ensure that all consequences used to address behaviour are clearly recorded and are restorative in nature. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 2593046 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Laska Care and Education Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Euroway House, Roydsdale Way, Bradford BD4 6SE

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Inspectors

Gina Lightfoot, Social Care Inspector Johanna Wilson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2593046 11 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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