Children's Home run by Young Foundations Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: 2735938 1 Registered provider: Young Foundations Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to seven children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of this inspection who was spoken with during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager has been appointed, but they are not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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: 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: 2735938 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2735938 3

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improvement to be good

The child is making progress with their attendance in education. Incentives to encourage attendance have been effective. However, the staff do not have access to some documents that would support the child’s continued progress at school. This does not support the child to reach their full potential in school.

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improvement to be good

The home is welcoming and mostly well presented, but there has been a delay in progressing essential repairs to the child’s bedroom. This does not provide the child with a comfortable environment in which to relax.

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improvement to be good

Staff are building trusted relationships with the child, which is helping the child to make progress. The child is supported to share their views and wishes. Staff mirror the child’s communication techniques to ensure that their needs are actively sought and captured. However, the child said they did not know how to make a complaint if they needed to.

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improvement to be good

The child has access to a range of therapeutic services. Medication is reviewed in line with the child’s needs and wishes. Staff offer the child support to help them understand what will happen at their health appointments. However, staff did not have access to the monthly multi-disciplinary review meeting minutes, which are held to support the child. Therefore, they could not use this information to inform the child’s care plan.

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improvement to be good

The child regularly sees their family, and staff are gaining a better understanding of the child’s cultural needs and identity.

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improvement to be good

The manager is aware of the needs and vulnerabilities of the child. The manager completes assessments to review the needs of any children who are referred to the home for placements. However, this remains untested as no new children have moved into the home.

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improvement to be good

Care and support for the child are individualised. Risk assessments and care plans provide staff with an understanding of how to support the child, both during and after emotionally difficult times. However, they do not accurately reflect how staff would support the child to safely use their mobile phone or internet or promote the child’s independent access around the home. Staff were inconsistent in their management of these issues. They fail to promote learning and safety for the child during individual discussions with staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2735938 4 There are plans in place to reduce harm, including if the child goes missing from home. Missing-from-home plans direct staff appropriately, and they know what action to take. On one occasion, staff did not follow the child’s care plan and the child left the home unsupervised. These actions left the child at risk. Following the incident,

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improvement to be good

the manager challenged staff practice and took steps to prevent reoccurrence.

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improvement to be good

Staff physically intervene and hold the child as a last resort to prevent them from harming themselves and others. The manager has oversight of any incidents and talks with staff after any holds happen. Overall, the child is talked with after an incident. However, on one occasion, the measure was not discussed with the child, and the manager did not respond to negative comments which the child said a staff member had made. On another occasion, it was unclear if the child had sustained an injury as the recording of the incident was incomplete. This does not keep the child safe.

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improvement to be good

With the exception of repairs to the child’s bedroom, the physical environment is safe for the child and protects them from the risk of harm. The annual review of the premises is reflective of the risks and opportunities to the child, and there is consultation with relevant people. The recruitment of new members of staff is clear and organised; questions are asked as needed, which helps to keep the child safe. A new induction process helps new starters to get to know the child and the home quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The current manager of the home has recently applied to become registered with Ofsted. He has been in post for three months.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management arrangements at the home have been unstable, and this has negatively affected the overall operation of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and review systems are in place, but these are not consistently completed. Audits to review the quality of care are not embedded or effective. The systems which are in place do not allow the manager to review the quality of care provided to the child. When there is a delay in obtaining meeting minutes and documents or completing necessary repairs, these issues have not been highlighted. This does not help the manager to review or reduce risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not have sufficient oversight of all important documents in the home. Documents are not fully reflective of the home and do not contain all the up- to-date, accurate and necessary information. This includes the statement of purpose, the health and safety risk assessment and the workforce development plan. The six- monthly review of the quality of care does not include the views and opinions of children, parents, or professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive supervision sessions as they should, and they are not offered the opportunity to have their performance and fitness to perform their role appraised Inspection report for children’s home: 2735938 5 annually. Staff do not have the skills and experience required to meet the needs of the child. The manager does not have oversight of training and had not tracked staff competencies to ensure that staff have the skills to work effectively. This does not support staff to improve their practice, progress or develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff meetings are held regularly. The child is the focus of these meetings. Actions are completed from previous meetings, and tasks are assigned to staff. The meetings include management updates and expectations. The manager also uses this opportunity to challenge staff and address practice issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff speak positively about the manager and the deputy manager. Feedback from parents and professionals regarding the home and the support offered to the child is positive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2735938 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—

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the children’s care plans are followed by staff.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that support is available to the child to help them gain an age-appropriate understanding of the risks posed to them, for example in relation to online safety. 31 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline, or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— 31 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2735938 7 a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (2) (3)(a)(viii)(c))

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children can access all suitable areas of the home, and this should be accurately reflected in children’s care plans. 30 September

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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; 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2735938 8 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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must maintain effective monitoring and oversight of the home, ensuring that all necessary documentation is completed and updated as required, to work closely with outside agencies and clinicians and to provide appropriate challenge when the necessary documentation is not in place.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that they have sufficient oversight of all important documents in the home, and that these are reflective of the home and contain up-to-date information. For example, the statement of purpose, the health and safety risk assessment and the workforce development plan.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the review of the quality of care includes the views and opinions of stakeholders.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that records of staff supervision sessions and appraisals are recorded, and that such meetings are carried out in line with the provider’s policies. They must carry out any maintenance and repairs in a timely manner and ensure the child living in the home is aware of how to make a complaint.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home.

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2735938 9 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification, and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(b))

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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: 2735938 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Young Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Alexander House, Highfield Park, Llandrynog, Denbighshire, Wales LL16 4LU

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Inspectors

Jo Cansfield, Social Care Inspector Gina Lightfoot, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2735938 11 regulates 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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