Children's Home run by Leeds City Council in Leeds

Inspection report for children’s home: 2794799 1 Registered provider: Leeds 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 is a local authority home that offers care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home. Both children were spoken with.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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good

Date of last inspection: 25 February 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate at a full inspection on 25 and 26 February 2025. A monitoring visit was carried out on 16 April 2025 to review the compliance notices issued under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard), regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) and regulation 14 (the care planning standard). All three compliance notices were found to be met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794799 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2025 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2794799 3

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improvement to be good

The manager does not consistently ensure that constructive meetings are arranged with education professionals to discuss children’s plans and any barriers to their learning. This means that one child is not on role at a school, and the other child’s attendance continues to be a concern.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not educate children enough around healthy relationships. Children have therefore not been provided with opportunities to discuss topics such as safe sex and what consent means in a relationship.

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improvement to be good

Children’s sleep patterns are unhealthy, and often children are up late in the night and sleep in the day. One child does not always eat during the day and will eat in the early hours of the morning. Staff do not help the child to understand why this is unhealthy. This is a missed opportunity for the child to reflect on their lifestyle and recognise how this may lead to poor health, both now and in the future. Staff have not encouraged good hygiene with the children and do not always know when children have showered.

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improvement to be good

However, staff do support children to understand other risks and dangers to their health, such as how substance misuse can add to poor social and emotional development. This is important to children to encourage them to make informed decisions.

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improvement to be good

The home has been recently decorated, which provides children with a nice environment to live in. Children’s bedrooms are personalised with their belongings and are clean and tidy.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to go on activities with staff and, on occasion, with each other. Both children said that they like living at the home and can speak to staff when they want or if they need anything.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are rarely used. This is progress as the number of times that children have been held has reduced. Staff use verbal de-escalation techniques to distract the children during incidents to reduce the likelihood of incidents escalating.

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improvement to be good

Children have not been reported missing from home since the monitoring visit in April 2025. Staff spoken with during the inspection know and understand the children’s missing-from-home plans and what to do in the event a child goes missing. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794799 4 There have been no further incidents of bullying in the home. Through support from staff, children are now living more harmoniously together. Both children said that they feel safe living in the home and staff help them when they need it.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have put in place new support and incentive plans for the children. Staff said that these are working better for children and have contributed to staff working more consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager requires additional support. He currently does not have effective oversight of the home, which means shortfalls continue to be missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not have effective monitoring systems in place to track staff practice against children’s care plans, resulting in children having some unmet needs. Furthermore, the manager does not have oversight of how children spend their money. One child has risks around substance misuse. This ineffective oversight means it is unclear whether the child is using the money that staff have given them to buy things harmful to their well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not submitted a review of the care provided in the home as they are required to. This does not provide Ofsted with the ability to assess how the manager plans to move the home forward and the actions needed to develop the home to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not ensured that the independent visitor’s reports are a true reflection of the home. The visitor has not identified the serious and widespread concerns in the home or the shortfalls that have been raised during the recent inspections.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are supported to reflect on their practice through regular supervision sessions and team meetings. This ensures that staff are learning about new approaches to children’s behaviour and increases their opportunity to share practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Professionals spoken to all said that there are no concerns with communication between staff at the home and themselves, and that the children are kept as safe as can be. A social worker said, ‘Staff are trying their best with a very complex child.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2794799 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)) 7 June 2025

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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 7 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2794799 6 and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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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)(a)(e)(f)(g)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)) 7 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 7 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2794799 7 that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 7 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person— 7 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2794799 8 to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (2)(b))

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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: 2794799 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Merrion House, Merrion Centre, Leeds LS2 8LX

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Inspector

Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2794799 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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