Children's Home run by Trust Care Services Ltd in Bradford

Inspection report for children’s home: 2753761 1 Registered provider: Trust Care Services 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

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It was registered in April 2024 to provide care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties. One child is currently living in the home. This is the only child to have lived in the home since it registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2753761 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has lived at the home for a short time. Before they moved in, the leader and manager worked with the child’s previous carers and social worker to ensure that they had sufficient information to determine whether they could meet the child’s needs. The child was fully involved in planning their move, which included a tea visit and an overnight stay. This helped the child to settle quickly. The child said, ‘I feel wanted,’ and ‘It’s a nice home, with nice staff.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is leading a healthier lifestyle. The staff encourage the child to plan and prepare nutritious meals and have an active lifestyle. The child is supported to attend routine health appointments. In addition, a therapist visits the home weekly to support the child with their emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is encouraged to take part in a wide variety of activities and develop new interests. This includes Muay Thai, visiting the seaside, riding on a speed boat, and walking in a national park. The child has also taken part in a charity event, raising money for a local cause. The child is having fun and gaining new skills. Their day-to- day experiences are enhanced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is not yet in full-time education. The staff support daily virtual learning alongside tutors. Staff and the manager communicate effectively with the tutors and have a good understanding of the child’s education plan. The manager has communicated with the child’s social worker to ensure that plans are in place to identify a school. Staff support the child to learn through discussion and activities in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to collect photos and mementos of their time at the home. This includes providing the child with an instant camera. This helps the child to capture their own memories, helping them to remember their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are enthusiastic and genuinely care about the child. Staff talk to the child to understand their wishes and feelings and how they want to be cared for. The staff then use this to inform the child’s day-to-day and longer-term plans. This ensures that the child experiences personalised care. However, a request from the child to have their personal belongings returned from a previous home has not been prioritised.

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

The child has a positive relationship based on mutual respect with the staff and the manager. The staff are attentive and care about the child. The child feels safe and has several trusted adults in the home that they can go to if they are worried. Inspection report for children’s home: 2753761 3 There have been no allegations made against staff. Staff are aware of the safeguarding procedures and the whistle-blowing policy and know what to do should they have concerns about the conduct of a member of staff. This promotes the safety and welfare of children living in the home.

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

There have been no occasions when the child has been missing from home. This is a marked reduction for the child. The child’s plans tell staff what to do should they go missing from home.

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

Staff promote positive behaviour by ensuring that structures and boundaries are in place and that the child understands what is expected of them. Staff know the child well and can predict when a situation might escalate. They know how to help the child to remain calm. There has been one occasion when staff have had to physically intervene to keep the child safe. This was appropriately recorded, and the manager spoke to the child to understand their experiences.

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

There has been one serious incident that involved the child while travelling in the home’s vehicle. Staff responded well in circumstances that presented significant risk to the child and others. The manager has not provided oversight or evaluation of the incident. The risk has not been assessed, and the staff continued to travel with the child on long journeys. A behaviour support plan had not been completed at the time the child moved in and has still not been completed following the inspection.

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

Appropriate checks and references are in place for new staff before they are allowed to work with the child. However, gaps in the employment history of some new staff are not explored. In addition, some staff’s records do not include all of the required information.

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good

The manager has been in post since the home was registered. The manager is child- focused and is a consistent presence in the home. The manager works directly with the child when needed to ensure they do not have to employ agency staff. This provides stability for the child.

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good

Staff enjoy working in the home. They feel listened to by managers and feel that their personal well-being is promoted. Team meetings occur regularly and support staff to spend time as a team.

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good

The manager is not making effective use of the systems that are in place to actively monitor the quality of care provided or the child’s progress. Learning from practice and feedback to improve the experiences and care of children are being missed. For example, when the child shared concerns with staff for their future, staff did not show professional curiosity and explore this further with the child. The manager had not reviewed the records as expected. The opportunity to support and help the child was lost. Inspection report for children’s home: 2753761 4 The quality of supervision is inconsistent. The registered manager receives effective supervision that supports them to reflect on their practice and identify the changes needed to improve their practice and the child’s experiences. However, staff are not offered the same quality of supervision. They are not supported to consider the child’s experiences or the impact of their practice. This does not help to improve

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good

Case records reflect the day-to-day life of the child, including their achievements. However, during the inspection, some electronic records made by staff had not been saved. The manager is aware that on other occasions staff were overwriting records in error. This does not ensure that the child has an accurate record of their care.

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good

The home’s statement of purpose reflects the care that children can expect to receive. However, this has not been updated since the home registered and still indicates that the home is not yet operational.

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good

The staff team has access to a range of training courses through an online training provider. Some staff have not made the expected progress in completing the required training. There is a system in place for the manager to track and monitor that staff are completing training as expected. However, the manager is not using this information and taking effective action to ensure that staff have the skills to meet all the child’s identified needs, for example in relation to self-harm and the use of ligature cutters.

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good

Managers and staff have been proactive in ensuring that the home is warm and welcoming. The decor and furnishings are to a nice standard and replicate those in a family home. There are photos of the child on display. The child has been encouraged to personalise their room. The child said that they like their room and are pleased with the LED lights they have chosen. Inspection report for children’s home: 2753761 5

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is effective management oversight when serious incidents have occurred, and that learning takes place which informs how the child is cared for.

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Requirement Due date

They should ensure that when a child is new to the home, their plans inform staff on how to support their behaviour effectively.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, they should ensure that when new risk to the child emerges, appropriate assessments are made, and effective safeguards are put in place to reduce risk.

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Requirement Due date

When recruiting new staff, any gaps in employment should be fully explored. 17 October

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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 17 October Inspection report for children’s home: 2753761 6 promotes their welfare.

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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

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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff are trained to meet the specific needs of any child living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they make use of the systems in place so that they understand the strengths and areas needing improvement and that they take effective action to address identified shortfalls and improve the quality of care.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the child’s personal belongings are returned to them without delay.

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Requirement Due date

The home’s statement of purpose must be updated to reflect that the home is now operational.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 17 October

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the systems used to electronically record children’s information provide for the safe storage of records. They should ensure that staff are adequately trained in the use of these systems to prevent loss of records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 14.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 2753761 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: 2753761 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Trust Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Chapeltown Road, Leeds LS7 3AP

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Inspector

Rachel Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2753761 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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