Children's home run by Wakefield Council

Inspection report for children's home: 2702150 1 Registered provider: The Council of the City of Wakefield

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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 local authority. It offers care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Both the home and manager were registered with Ofsted in December 2022. The manager is suitably qualified for the role.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2702150 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/07/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2702150 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from good quality care which is competently delivered by the staff team. Children have lived in the home for a long time, and they know that staff are committed to caring for them. This supports children to develop trusting relationships with staff. One child was spoken to during the inspection. The child said that they are happy and feel that the home has provided them with stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with the inhouse therapists to ensure that plans are in place for children. These regular discussions provide staff with opportunities to talk about what matters most to children. The staff respond to feedback from the therapists and adapt their approaches to meet the needs of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work collaboratively with other professionals to ensure that children’s educational needs are met. Where barriers to learning occur, staff work closely with other professionals to try to overcome these. This ensures children receive an education appropriate to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to maintain links with important people in their lives. They bring their friends into the home and spend quality time together. In addition, children participate in a range of enjoyable and interesting activities that provide lasting memories. These activities include going to the cinema, shopping and holidays. These opportunities help children to thrive in this positive environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are generally healthy. They are registered with local health services. However, staff are not always successful in encouraging children to attend arranged health appointments. This is a missed opportunity for staff to be creative about how children can be supported in this area.

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

Staff provide the children with a clear message that their safety and well-being is important. When children leave the home without permission, staff follow the missing- from-home procedures. This includes actively searching for children to try and secure their safe return. Children understand that staff take these steps to keep them safe because they care about them.

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

Staff know the children well and support them to learn appropriate ways to manage their own emotions. Staff provide targeted support to address previous trauma. This allows children to gain improved control over their own emotions and express themselves better. As a result, there have been no incidents of physical intervention since the last inspection. Inspection report for children's home: 2702150 4 Staff are confident and have a clear understanding of what safeguarding means and the processes that need to be followed to protect children. There are clear risk assessments in place that are well written and are understood by staff and reviewed by management. This helps to ensure that children are better protected from harm.

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

Staff have a thorough insight into the vulnerabilities of the children that they look after. Staff take advantage of receiving frequent supervision sessions and team meetings to review children’s care plans. This helps to keep the safety of the children central to the day-to-day planning of the home.

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

Safe recruitment processes are in place. Leaders and managers ensure that all relevant checks and verifications are complete before employees begin working with children. This helps to ensure that children are safeguarded effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is dedicated to achieving successful outcomes for the children. He is supported by a deputy manager and a committed staff team. The staff team works effectively with other professionals to ensure that children are safeguarded. This collaborative approach helps children to make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are used as a platform to promote the sharing of ideas. Staff say that they are well supported and are confident to share their views, knowing that they will be listened to. Children are supported by a staff team who are motivated to achieve positive outcomes for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a stable, confident, and competent staff team who are appropriately qualified to undertake their roles. Training records are kept up to date and reflect the progress and achievements of the staff. Staff receive training that is geared towards the needs of the children living in the home. This means that the staff increase their skills and knowledge about the children they look after.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has a range of monitoring tools to review the quality of care provided by the home. The manager and the deputy manager welcome external scrutiny which demonstrates a culture of openness and willingness to listen and change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers collaborate with other professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met. Feedback from professionals indicate that children’s needs are at the front and centre of decision making in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2702150 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. Specifically, ensure that staff find creative ways to encourage children to attend health appointments. (Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards, page 34, paragraph 7.10)

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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: 2702150 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Council of the City of Wakefield

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Wakefield Council, County Hall, Bond Street, Wakefield WF1 2QW

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Cheryl Whitehouse

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Inspector

Evelyn Chafota, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2702150 7 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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