Children's home run by Harmony Children’s Services

Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 1 SC461450

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Registered provider: Harmony Children’s Services

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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 children’s home is privately owned. The home provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and may have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living at this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2021.

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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: SC461450 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2024 Full Good 17/01/2023 Full Good 01/02/2022 Full Good 19/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home as part of a planned move and one child has moved into the home. The manager completed a comprehensive assessment of the child’s needs. However, written records do not include an assessment of the compatibility with the needs of the children already living in the home. This has not had an impact on the children but is identified as an area for improvement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and safe living in the home and experience stability. One child said, ‘This is the best place I have lived.’ Children share positive relationships with staff who provide individual routines and structures in line with children’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained; however, some areas require refurbishment and repainting. The manager confirmed there are plans in place to replace the kitchen, which does require modernisation. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their taste and provide a nurturing environment for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are enrolled in an education provision. However, not all children currently have full attendance in education. Managers and staff work closely with education professionals to improve children’s attendance and punctuality. They also ensure that barriers to learning are addressed to prevent the impact on children’s educational progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional needs are met. Staff and managers work closely with mental health professionals to support children’s needs. They gain support and advice from professionals to ensure that they provide the most appropriate, specialised care to children. The manager has purchased a number of books recommended by professionals to improve the staff’s knowledge on childhood trauma and children’s development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time gaining children’s wishes and views. Children are regularly consulted about the care and support they receive. Children are open with staff and are able to raise any concerns. They know that staff will listen and take effective action.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a range of activities and holidays. One child said how much she enjoyed going to Alton Towers.

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

Each child has detailed risk management plans in place. These outline individual risks and the measures in place to reduce and manage them. However, one child’s written plans did not provide clear strategies for staff to follow if they were under the influence of substances and when staff should seek medical assistance. The manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 4 took action to rectify this issue immediately. Staff understand each of the children’s risks and understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe.

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

There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. There are written plans in place for each child. Therefore, staff have clear protocols to follow if there is an incident.

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

Staff complete key-work sessions with children on a range of topics, including how to stay safe online and promoting their independence.

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

Allegations have been managed effectively by the manager. Information has been shared appropriately with relevant professionals.

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

Staff provide each child with clear structure and boundaries. The staff know the children well and understand how best to support their behaviour. Staff are trained in therapeutic parenting. This helps staff to understand the reason for children’s behaviour and how best to de-escalate incidents. The use of consequences is low; however, not all incidents of consequences have been recorded. This prevents the manager from having clear oversight of each incident to consider whether the measure was appropriate and effective.

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

There have been some incidents where it has been necessary to hold a child in order to keep the child and staff safe. The records are detailed and the child is spoken to following the measure. However, staff are not consistently spoken to following incidents. This does not allow the staff an opportunity to reflect on their practice and raise any concerns.

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

There have been some incidents of self-injurious behaviour. All staff know how to support each child, and they have received additional training.

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

Children have access to online games and consoles. Parental restrictions are in place and children are supervised in line with their needs. Routines are in place around internet use to ensure that children have appropriate access.

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

The provider follows safer recruitment processes to ensure that only suitable people work in the home. One discrepancy was identified when the dates of previous employment detailed in a staff members application form did not correspond to the dates of employment provided by the referee. The manager took action to rectify this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is qualified and experienced and is a visible presence in the home. The staff appreciate the support, advice and guidance provided by the manager. She is committed to improving the quality of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 5 The home has a consistent staff team in place. Staff work well together, and morale is high. One member of staff said, ‘The staff team are absolutely fantastic.’ Agency staff have been used to cover staff absence, but the manager has ensured that only regular and familiar staff work in the home who understand the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision time that provides an opportunity to discuss children’s needs and staff well-being. Supervision is also completed with agency staff. The manager has addressed any issues raised in relation to staff practice effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have completed relevant training, including additional training to support their understanding of how to support each child’s individual needs. Staff are either qualified or enrolled on an appropriate qualification following completion of their probationary period. The manager continually shares research and findings from her own training to develop the staff’s skills and knowledge. For example, she recently attended training in relation to the impact of domestic abuse on children’s development and will share the key findings with the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has several monitoring and review systems to ensure that she has effective oversight of the home. The manager uses different tools to identify patterns and trends in children’s behaviour and to help identify areas of progress or changes to risks. However, the monitoring and review systems in place have failed to identify some of the shortfalls found during the inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 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

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—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

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 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 4 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 7 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 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff involved in an incident of holding a child are provided with an opportunity for a debrief to ensure that they can raise any concerns and reflect on their practice.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, leaders and managers should ensure that consequences used to manage the behaviour of a child are recorded and evaluated to consider whether the measure was appropriate and effective.

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers should have effective monitoring and review systems in place to ensure that shortfalls in the quality of care of children are identified and addressed. 4 April 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should clearly record the compatibility of a child’s assessed needs with the existing group of children living in the home. Furthermore, the assessment should consider the experience and skills of the staff team and the location of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 8

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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: SC461450 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Harmony Children’s Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Park Square, Leeds LS1 2NE

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Inspector

Suzanne Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC461450 10 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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