Children's Home run by Waypoint Care Ltd in Doncaster

Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 1 Registered provider: Waypoint Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were both registered in January 2024. The home is owned and managed by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for three children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties. Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 2767938 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. Staff start to learn about children when their referrals are first received, and through well-planned transitions into the home. This ensures that children receive the support they need from an early stage and helps them settle into the home with ease.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build positive and trusting relationships with staff. Different ways to engage children are tried to help integrate them into the home. The relationships that develop mean that children who may find attending appointments and meetings daunting have someone familiar to support them in attending.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children’s health. Children are registered with a GP and a dentist when they arrive at the home. Children are encouraged to attend their appointments, and one child has made progress in attending dental appointments where they had previously not done so for some time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has continued to make good progress in their learning. When children need to change schools, staff work with the child and teachers to ensure this is a positive experience for the child. One child struggles to engage in their learning. Staff are not always proactive in supporting the child to be well prepared to attend school on time. This means that there has been an increase in late attendance at school since the child moved into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have regular conversations with children and listen to their views. Children’s views are captured across their records, and staff listen to children and engage them in conversations about changes to their home. This ensures that children feel valued and feel that their views are important.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Activities for children to enjoy are offered regularly. Photos of children’s experiences in the home and days out are collated for children, but for one child the record of these was poorly documented. This means that not all children will have a memory book that reflects the time they lived in the home for them to view now and in the future.

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

Staff know the children they care for, including their risks and vulnerabilities. Although children’s plans require updating to ensure they capture new information or strategies to support children, this does not impact the way staff respond to and help to manage risks.

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

Staff respond well when children need support to manage their feelings. Feedback from other professionals and family members showed that children make progress in how Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 4 they manage their emotions. For one child, these changes are contributing to more positive relationships and behaviours and an established routine.

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

When children go missing from the home, which is infrequent, staff are alert to risks and work with children and those connected to them to ensure that children return home safely.

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

Children are rarely restrained in the home. There have been two occasions of restraint since the last inspection; on both occasions staff were acting to keep the child or others safe. Records of restraint are generally thorough. However, when a child has suffered an injury following a restraint the records of this are not clear and the manager’s oversight has not been documented. It is therefore difficult to understand how the manager has been satisfied that the injuries were reasonable and in line with what had taken place.

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

Safer recruitment practice is embedded. The manager follows procedures to ensure that adults who come to work in the home are safe to do so. When concerns about an employee are highlighted, managers take steps to manage these and consider the lessons learnt to prevent this from reoccurring.

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

Not all allegations made against staff are notified to Ofsted and made in a timely manner. There have been three allegations made against staff since the last inspection. One was not notified to Ofsted and another was significantly delayed. Therefore, the requirement raised at the last inspection has been reinstated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the children in her care. However, managers’ oversight of children’s records is not always present, for example when accident or injury forms are completed. The manager is aware of this shortfall and is developing systems to track children’s progress and increase her monitoring of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision for staff has improved since the last inspection. Regular supervision is in place. This allows staff time to reflect on their practice, to discuss their well-being and to focus on children and on their own development. The recordings are detailed and show that there have been improvements. Senior staff have attended training to ensure they have the skills to supervise other staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are focused on learning and developing practice. This ensures that there are opportunities for staff to discuss what is working well for children and staff. Children’s plans are discussed in the team meetings to enable staff to improve their care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have systems in place to ensure that staff who work in the home have the necessary skills to do so. Staff are provided with both mandatory training and additional Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 5 training that is specific to the children in their care. Feedback from staff shows that they are well supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, children have continued to be the subject of consequences that are not recorded. This is because the approach to managing children’s behaviours is relationship-based and focused on positives as opposed to negatives. However, when a consequence is put in place the manager does not have oversight of the effectiveness of this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 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 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

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

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans, and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(x)(b)) 18 July 2025

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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; 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 7 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

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Requirement Due date

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

In particular, the registered person must ensure there is a detailed record of any injury incurred and sign the record to confirm it is accurate. In addition, the registered person must also ensure that consequences are recorded, that they are restorative in nature and that the manager evaluates the effectiveness of the consequence.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 18 July 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep, and encourage children to keep, appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them record Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 8 significant life events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should ensure that for each child there is permission for staff to administer first aid and non-prescription medication from a person with parental responsibility for them recorded in their relevant plan. For looked-after children, this permission should be sought and arranged by the child’s social worker. Where appropriate, the child’s family should be involved in supporting their child’s health

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Recommendations

needs as well as in providing permission for treatment. In particular, the registered person must ensure that the placement plans and delegated authority are signed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.14)

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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: 2767938 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 38 Freemans Way, Harrogate HG3 1DH

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Inspector

Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2767938 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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