Children's Home run by Kirklees Council in Kirklees

Inspection report for children’s home: 2788278 1 Registered provider: Kirklees 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

The home offers care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home, and all three children were spoken with during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be 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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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 10 February 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2788278 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/02/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2788278 3

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improvement to be good

Children say they are happy living at the home and are making progress from their starting points. They have started to engage in activities they enjoy and are supported by a staff team that knows them well. However, there continues to be a lack of structure for children, including around their bedtime routines.

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improvement to be good

The home is maintained to high standard. However, children’s bedrooms continue to be untidy and show signs of damage. Staff have started to encourage children to clean their bedrooms, but some repairs and maintenance are still required.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to maintain healthy relationships with those important to them. They support children to attend family gatherings, and children have begun creating age-appropriate friendships. Staff work with the children’s parents and the families of their peers to ensure these dynamics are safe.

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improvement to be good

Children are all enrolled in an education provision. The manager recognises children’s needs in relation to education and advocates on their behalf to secure appropriate placements. One child was completing their GCSE exams.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health is promoted. Staff encourage children to attend health appointments to maintain their physical and mental well-being. Children’s sexual health is supported, and some staff receive specific training in relation to this. These staff are better placed to have conversations and offer education about children’s sexual health.

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improvement to be good

The current risk assessments lack sufficient detail in specifying the preventative safety measures required for staff to safeguard children effectively in relation to their identified vulnerabilities. When incidents occur, risk assessments are not always reviewed to ensure staff’s response to risk is as up to date as it could be. Leaders and managers do not currently have effective oversight of risk assessments to ensure these risk measures are shared with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not have regular conversations with the children about the risks affecting them, particularly when there are measures identified in children’s risk assessments that children could take responsibility for. This does not support children to learn how to manage risks and keep themselves safer.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s use of consequences is ineffective. Leaders and managers are aware of this and are developing their approach to behaviour management. The effectiveness of Inspection report for children’s home: 2788278 4 consequences is not consistently evaluated, and they do not always provide a meaningful learning opportunity related to the children’s behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have improved processes for when children go missing from the home. Staff understand the steps they must take when children go missing. They are confident they can keep children safe. Children are offered, but do not currently engage with, return home interviews.

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improvement to be good

Staff are clear about their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children. They are aware of what actions to take if they have any safeguarding concerns, and who to report any concerns to. When children have made allegations, staff have responded and escalated these appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The recently restructured leadership team is in the process of reviewing the strengths and weakness of the wider residential service and has begun making improvements. Staff are aware of some changes that have come into effect since the last inspection and feel that these have enabled them to make some progress with the children. However, learning and new practice have not yet been fully implemented or embedded in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Management oversight processes are not robust enough to ensure the timely and effective review of incidents and key documents, including risk assessments. Therefore, the manager is unable to ensure that incidents have been categorised correctly or whether they are notifiable to the regulator. During the inspection, leaders and managers provided immediate assurances of how children’s risk assessments would be reviewed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not given casual staff supervision sessions as required. However, managers and permanent staff do receive supervision sessions, which are reflective. Bank staff spoken with told us that they have opportunities to speak with managers and were knowledgeable about children and the service. Staff now receive a full induction, which they say is useful.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager works well with other agencies. Professionals say these relationships are constructive. The manager is confident in challenging the wider network in the best interests of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers carefully consider any new children who come to live at the home. The needs, wishes and emotional needs of the children already living at the home are taken into consideration before any decisions are made. When the manager decides children should not move into the home in the best interests of all children, this decision is respected by senior leaders. Inspection report for children’s home: 2788278 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, 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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all relevant information and arrangements known to reduce risk of harm to children are included in children’s plans so that staff can identify and act on these risks.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff have the skills and confidence to help children understand how to keep themselves safer. 12 June 2026

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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— 29 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2788278 6 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

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have effective oversight of all important documentation in the home, such as incidents and any documents relating directly to the children.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that children’s bedrooms are welcoming and any damage is repaired promptly.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)) 29 August 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure any consequences used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature. This is to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff receive regular review of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. This should allow them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2788278 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic 3, Market Street, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD1 2EY

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Inspectors

Vikki Thwaites, Social Care Inspector (lead) Rachael Lewis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2788278 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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