Children's home run by Leicester City Council

Inspection report for children's home: SC038961 1 SC038961 Registered provider: Leicester City Council

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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 by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to 10 children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by an experienced manager who registered with Ofsted in June 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home, and their views were sought.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC038961 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2024 Full Outstanding 08/03/2023 Full Outstanding 03/08/2021 Full Outstanding 14/01/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC038961 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children enjoy positive and meaningful relationships with staff. Staff show genuine emotional warmth to children, and there is lots of fun and laughter. This helps children to build trusting relationships with staff, which supports children to feel settled in the home and make excellent progress. Staff go above and beyond to build relationships with children who have recently moved into the home or who do not speak English as their first language. Staff are creative in the use of resources to support their communication with each child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Some children who moved into the home have been out of education for a considerable period and have struggled to re-engage with education. The staff work closely with educational providers to source support to help children re-engage. Staff work with the children, at their level, to support their learning and build their confidence while a suitable provision is sought. One child is successfully moving into full-time education after a period of non-attendance. This is being managed by a strong, joined-up approach between the home and the child’s school to ensure that this is successful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are encouraged to develop hobbies and interests such as joining local football clubs and social groups. This helps children to become involved in their community and develop support and friendship networks. Staff also use their knowledge of the children’s interests to develop their participation in activities in the home together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are helped to explore their culture and identity. For example, children are supported to attend church and the mosque. They are also enabled to follow chosen practices such as eating halal foods. Children therefore grow in confidence and feel supported to be themselves. One professional said, ‘Staff show commitment and that they care and go over and above to help [name of child] settle into the UK, to understand the cultures and provide opportunities to link in with their own communities.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager has ensured that there are excellent multi-agency arrangements in place. This means that children have the right help in place to meet their needs. External professionals commended the manager and staff on the excellent communication and the excellent quality of care provided to children. One professional said, ‘They do an amazing job in very difficult circumstances, and I feel that they deserve a lot of credit for what they do.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The environment is large and spacious. Each child’s bedroom is personalised. Staff have gathered the children’s views and purchased items that children have requested, particularly those in relation to cultural and religious needs. This helps the children to feel listened to and supports them to settle into their environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is undergoing significant renovation. Completed areas have a homely feel and are finished to a high standard. However, some areas of the home are impacted by the Inspection report for children's home: SC038961 4 ongoing refurbishment, which has been underway for a significant period. The manager is aware of this and has taken steps to progress the completion of works in a timely manner.

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

Children are safer because staff understand the risks that children can be exposed to. Each child’s risk assessment and care plan provide clarity and direction for staff. When there is an incident of concern, the manager and staff reflect on the plans and risks and adjust if required. Assessments of risk are made in collaboration with the multi-agency network and are well balanced between keeping children safe and allowing them to take age-appropriate risks. This means that all agencies work in a coordinated manner.

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

Some children have complex needs and, at times, present behaviours that challenge the staff. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques and strategies if children are becoming overwhelmed by emotions. Alongside this, staff use their knowledge and strong relationships with children to understand their behaviour. For one child, the number of incidents has significantly decreased in frequency and duration. Staff recognise triggers and have developed a trusting relationship with the child. This has allowed the child to feel secure enough to talk about their feelings. One professional said about the staff, ‘They are not afraid of tackling challenging conversations, but this is always balanced with care.’

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

The use of physical intervention is only employed when necessary to protect the children or others around them. Such interventions are proportionate to the situation. All incidents are reviewed by the manager, and reflection informs staff practice through debrief discussions. The child is spoken to following an incident and in regular key-work sessions, promoting a restorative approach.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. Any complaints or allegations have been thoroughly investigated by the manager, and the outcome is shared with the child. The manager also appropriately shares the outcome with external safeguarding professionals.

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

The staff team is stable. Staff report being happy at work, and they are invested in the children’s care. They understand the traumatic experiences that children have been thorough and the impact of this. Leaders and managers use the multi-agency team to provide research-led information and support for staff, which enhances their care of children. Alongside this, staff undertake training in safeguarding and child protection. Risks are regularly explored in daily handover meetings alongside supervision discussions and reflective team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by an experienced registered manager. She is ambitious and committed to providing a home where the children can develop and flourish. She leads by example and encourages staff to be ambitious for the care provided to children. The manager is Inspection report for children's home: SC038961 5 reflective and recognises the strengths and areas for development. She acts swiftly to address any shortfalls. The manager is supported by a leadership team that is equally committed to the care and progress of the children. This is an integral part of the home and its success.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are always visible and regularly work with the children directly. This allows managers to not only build relationships with children but also to model their styles and strategies to support staff in their learning and development. Alongside this, the manager carefully matches the children’s needs to the staff’s skills and experience when allocating key workers, which allows positive relationships to develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has developed excellent systems to help her to monitor the quality of care and the daily functioning of the home. There is positive engagement with external agencies, which has resulted in a strong multi-agency approach to ensure that children’s needs are met to a consistently high standard. However, external scrutiny from the independent visitor does not always support the manager in the monthly review of the home, as feedback from children and stakeholders is not regularly sought.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Thorough recruitment procedures are in place that ensure staff working with children are suitable to do so. The manager has effective systems in place to monitor and review their continued suitability. Staff are from diverse backgrounds and bring different skills and experience to the home. Inspection report for children's home: SC038961 6

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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 registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)) 19 February 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children and that it is a homely, domestic environment. The children’s home must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, the home should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC038961 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Leicester City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City Hall, 115 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FZ

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Inspector

Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC038961 8 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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