Our Way Leeds GIPSIL

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL 1 Our Way Leeds GIPSIL Registered provider: GIPSIL Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

provider

This supported accommodation service is part of a consortium of three services, each registered with Ofsted separately.

p.1

provider

The service can accommodate individuals in self-contained units where the accommodation is for the sole use of one person. The service also offers shared or group living homes that are not limited to accommodating looked-after children or care leavers. The provider operates in the Yorkshire region of England.

p.1

provider

At the time of the inspection, there were 103 young people living in this service. There were nine children aged 16 and 17 years old who were looked-after children or care leavers.

p.1

provider

There are two service managers who share the role for equal parts of the week. When they are not in their registered service manager roles, they are locality managers for the service. They were both registered with Ofsted when the organisation was registered in May 2024.

p.1

provider

The nominated individual is the director of service. She oversees this service alongside the delivery of three service areas, with this service being one of those.

p.1

provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 3 February 2025 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 5 to 7 February 2025.

p.1

Outcome

Serious or widespread weaknesses lead to significant concerns about the experiences and progress of children. Leaders and managers must take urgent action to address failings. The next inspection will be within approximately six months. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL 2

p.1

Summary of findings

Leaders and managers’ oversight of this service is ineffective. As a result, children do not always experience quality support that promotes their safety and well-being.

p.2

Summary of findings

The standard of children’s accommodation does not always ensure that children live in a welcoming and comfortable environment.

p.2

Summary of findings

A lack of information around risks to children, and poor planning and placement information, means that some children do not receive the support that they need to stay safe or to make progress.

p.2

Summary of findings

The majority of children are in education, training or employment. There is a specialist service in place to help children with their educational journey.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children

Children do not always have positive experiences living in this service. Leaders and managers do not ensure that they gather sufficient information about children and their risks and needs before they move into the service. This lack of information means that not all children receive the support that they need.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children

Children do not always receive regular support sessions. When staff do carry out these support sessions, the quality of these is poor. These sessions do not help to equip children with the independent living skills that they need as they move into adulthood.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children

The standard of children’s accommodation varies. For example, some accommodation has damaged paintwork, dirty carpets, damp roof areas and sparse living spaces. The standard of some accommodation does not provide children with a welcoming or homely living environment. Some children do not have direct access to the internet in their home and some premises lack basic items, such as washing machines.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children

Managers and staff do not always listen to children’s views and opinions and their concerns are not consistently addressed. For example, one child continually raised the same concern with no evidence that staff had listened to their issues or taken any action to help improve the situation or to make the child feel better. This does not give children confidence that their concerns or views are taken seriously.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children

When children arrive at the service, staff support them to attend education. There is a specialist employment and education team that offers children extra support when needed. This helps them to overcome any barriers to learning or employment opportunities. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL 3 Children can access a range of activities and staff encourage them to do so. Activities include in-house cooking activities and visits to the seaside. These help children to enjoy new experiences and build their self-esteem and confidence.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children

The service supports children from diverse backgrounds. Staff encourage them to follow their own individual religions and embrace the beliefs of their peers. Children can access places of worship and join in religious celebrations if they wish to, helping them to reconnect with their faith.

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

Risks to children are not always managed well. Leaders and managers do not ensure that risk assessments are in place when children arrive. This leaves staff without the knowledge and information that they need to identify and safely manage children’s vulnerabilities and risks.

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

Children who are placed in the service’s emergency accommodation space arrive without leaders, managers or staff having any understanding or knowledge of their needs or risks. Confusing and inconsistent messages given to children by managers and staff, and by their placing authority, leaves children at significant risk of harm; this is detrimental to their emotional well-being.

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

The premises children may live in are not always secure. For example, staff do not always monitor who is accessing this accommodation or what their intentions are, if these individuals are known to children or if children are at risk of harm. As a result of this significant failure, unknown people have lived in some premises without staff knowledge.

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

While staff receive training on how to keep children safe, they do not consistently put this knowledge into practice. When situations arise that may indicate that children are at risk of harm, for example when children’s behaviours change, staff are not always able to identify and act on these signs. This leaves children at risk of harm.

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

When serious events occur that affect children’s safety and well-being, records and documents do not always demonstrate what actions staff take or when to keep children safe. This prevents leaders and managers quickly addressing any issues or implementing learning to improve staff practice and children’s safety. This shortfall does not help staff to understand their responsibility to provide safe and quality support for the children or their accountability when children are at risk of harm.

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers do not ensure that all required safer recruitment checks are completed before staff work with children. This means that the suitability of all staff cannot be confirmed. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL 4

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The service has two registered service managers who together equate to one full- time role. Both managers have suitable experience for the role. Currently, this shared role is not working seamlessly. Some information about children and staff is not accessible to both managers. This leads to inconsistent practice and prevents good oversight of the service by both managers.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers know the strengths of this service and have identified some areas for improvement. However, despite this information they are too slow to take action to address these matters, meaning that changes needed to improve the service for children are not timely or effective. Furthermore, managers’ monitoring systems are ineffectual. For example, audits regarding the quality of children’s accommodation do not reflect issues found at this inspection. Quality assurance systems are not working well to make sure that children receive consistently good standards of support to prepare them well for later life.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff receive regular supervision. However, the quality of these formal sessions varies. For some staff, these do not adequately address poor practice issues in a meaningful or timely manner. This failure means that there are occasions when unacceptable practice is not addressed. Furthermore, supervision sessions do not consistently focus on children’s needs, experiences, plans and feedback. This is a missed opportunity to monitor children’s progress and address any issues.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not provide effective challenge to the placing authority when they are unclear about placement expectations for children. This lack of clarity impacts on the safety and quality of the support that some children receive.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

This service is not operating in line with the statement of purpose. Children do not always experience safe and consistent support to help them to transition into independent living and adulthood. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL 5

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

p.5

Requirement Due date

*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the supported accommodation undertaking in a way that is consistent with the ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the undertaking’s statement of purpose;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work effectively as a team, where appropriate, to meet the needs of children;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills appropriate for the work that they are to perform;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place to manage referrals of children to the supported accommodation undertaking and admissions of children to premises used as supported accommodation, including, where relevant, emergency referrals and admissions;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place for the supervision, training and development of staff. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(g)) 21 March 2025

p.5

Requirement Due date

*The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 21 March 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL 6 ensure that staff—

p.5

Requirement Due date

are familiar and act in accordance with child protection policies;

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation or any other harm, and act to reduce such risk;

p.6

Requirement Due date

work collaboratively with children to help them understand how to keep safe, by offering guidance and support on how to minimise any potential risk of harm;

p.6

Requirement Due date

work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies, and share information where relevant to keep children safe;

p.6

Requirement Due date

support children to maintain appropriate and safe relationships with family, friends and other people who are important to them;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the relevant roles and responsibilities assigned to them by the registered person in relation to protecting children. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)(f)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi))

p.6

Requirement Due date

* The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used as supported accommodation—

p.6

Requirement Due date

are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child individually and all children collectively;

p.6

Requirement Due date

are suitable for the purposes of supported accommodation and are accessible, safe, secure and well-maintained;

p.6

Requirement Due date

are adequately maintained so as to provide a welcoming and homely environment within both individual and shared living spaces;

p.6

Requirement Due date

are designed, furnished and maintained to remove avoidable hazards which could pose a health and safety risk to children; 21 March 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL 7 comply with all relevant statutory provisions dealing with health and safety or fire safety matters;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that each child is provided with a private bedroom—

p.7

Requirement Due date

which is equipped to meet the child’s individual needs,

p.7

Requirement Due date

which has sufficient telephone or internet connectivity in order to enable the child to maintain relationships and feel connected. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(v)(vi)(vii)(ix)(x)(d)(ii)(iii))

p.7

Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that children are encouraged and enabled to take a lead role in determining the support they receive and to participate in and influence how the supported accommodation operates;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that plans for support are based on initial referral information, are meaningful and are created in full consultation with the child, taking account of relevant plans for the child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

keep the child’s support under review, taking into consideration the plans for support, and relevant plans, to ensure that the child’s needs continue to be met and that the child is kept safe;

p.7

Requirement Due date

engage and work with the accommodating authority if the registered person has concerns or if the child’s support needs to be changed, including where that change may mean that the child requires more intensive support;

p.7

Requirement Due date

in the event that the registered person or a member of staff considers that an accommodating authority or a relevant person is failing to provide the support set out in a child’s relevant plans, make representations, or, as the case may be, enable staff to make representations, to the accommodating authority or relevant person with a view to ensuring that the child’s needs are met; 21 March 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL 8 ensure a plan for support is in place to support the child to develop the resilience and skills required to transition out of supported accommodation when the child is ready to live more independently. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(h)(k))

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 1 (Regulation 17 (1) (3)(d)) 21 March 2025

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.8

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 18 (1) (4)(b))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff practice concerns are promptly addressed and that supervision sessions focus on children’s needs, experiences, plans and feedback. 21 March 2025

p.8

Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

p.8

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL 9

p.8

Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL

p.9

Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: The Old Fire Station, Gipton Approach, Leeds LS9 6NL

p.9

Supported accommodation provider details

Nominated individual: Lee-Simone Greenfield

p.9

Registered service managers:

Email address: tina.grant@gipsil.org.uk dawn.craven@gipsil.org.uk

p.9

Inspectors

Jamie Richardson, Social Care Inspector (lead) Tara Lovatt, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Our Way Leeds GIPSIL 10 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.

p.9

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

p.10

Inspectors

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.

p.10

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10