Children's home run by Care Hubz

Inspection report for children’s home: 2738686 1 Registered provider: Care Hubz LTD

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider operates this home, which offers care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection one child was living in the home, and they were spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

There are temporary management arrangements in place, but the home currently has no registered manager.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 2738686 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/05/2024 Full Good 13/03/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2738686 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented, warm and welcoming. The child’s bedroom is furnished to a high standard and personalised to reflect their age and interests. The garden is well maintained, and the child uses it daily. Staff take pride in making sure the child is provided with a nurturing environment in which to live.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have been persistent with the child through significant periods of challenge. As a result, trusting and meaningful bonds have developed between the child and staff. This has given staff the opportunity to make positive inroads around supporting the child to process their circumstances and learn healthier life skills, such as the importance of sleep, routine and personal hygiene.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff write with love and care when recording important conversations they have had with the child or within their general record-keeping. In doing so, the child will be able to read about the love and care that staff invested in them, either in the present or if they choose to read the records in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and encourage friendships for the child with children in the local community. Staff actively work with the child to grow their positive social awareness, supporting them through situations and interactions that can be a challenge for the child. This has resulted in the child developing and maintaining positive bonds with their peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly organise activities for the child. Staff provide the child with many new experiences and are creating long-lasting memories for them. Staff are motivated to play at the child’s level, are not afraid to have fun and engage in role play so that the child is happy and having fun.

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

Staff have created a home where the child feels safe and nurtured. This has been achieved through consistent approaches by staff, and by implementing clear routines and boundaries. This has created predictability and security for the child.

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

Staff know the child’s risks well. When presented with a risk, staff follow clear guidelines and have helpful scripts to promote consistent practice across the team. Staff understand the risks to the child and take effective steps to reduce them. This has resulted in a notable decrease in incidents at the home.

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

There have been no incidents of the child going missing from home since the last inspection. If the child did go missing, there are clear plans in place for staff to follow. The staff understand the child’s vulnerabilities and are clear that their primary concern would be to locate the child, and return them safely home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2738686 4 The organisation has the necessary steps in place to ensure, to the best of their ability, that prospective staff are safe to work with children. The organisation makes good efforts to seek references from all employers where the staff member has worked with children, in some instances going back several years.

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

An important aspect of the child’s behaviour is not being addressed in a structured manner, with no clear strategies and direction from leaders and managers. Although the child is challenged ‘in the moment’ by staff when the behaviour occurs, it is not clear in the child’s plans how staff should follow up this behaviour with the child.

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

Staff induction during this inspection period has not been implemented effectively. There has been no structured induction for new managers. This resulted in a manager who was struggling not being provided with the support they needed. Supervision sessions and development plans did not give the manager opportunities to share their views or promote opportunities to learn, which directly and negatively affected their oversight of the home.

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

There are also flaws in the induction period for staff who are new to the organisation. New staff were not provided with essential information about the child before working directly with them. Staff were ill-equipped to adapt to their role in what was a chaotic and unsettled period. The implications for staff and the child have been significant in that there have been unnecessary and avoidable disruptions to the child’s care.

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

Planning for children moving into the home is good. However, one child’s experience of moving on from the home was abrupt and did not reflect the positive care that they had become accustomed to while living in the home. The organisation in this instance failed in their obligations to the child, their family and the commissioning local authority.

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

There are fundamental flaws in the approach to undertaking the review of the quality of care report. Significant known shortfalls in practice were not reflected on and feedback from children and stakeholders was also missing from the review. This limits how the manager can evaluate and strengthen areas of future practice.

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

The team has gone through a period of instability with the changes of managers, but plans have now been put in place to address these issues. Staff are feeling positive and there is a sense of recovery. Staff also feel supported by the leaders and managers that are now in place. They feel listened to, as their views and opinions in the child’s care are sought and included in the child’s plans and strategies. This has supported staff to feel invested in their roles and is creating a more positive working environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2738686 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that home’s care plans contain all relevant information and strategies for staff to support children with specific areas of each child’s care. 13 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction (Regulation 33 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive an appropriate induction that suitably prepares them for their role. 8 September 2025

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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. 8 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2738686 6 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; and

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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.

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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) (5))

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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: 2738686 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Thorpe House, 61 Richardshaw Lane, Stanningley, Pudsey, Leeds LS28 7EL

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Inspectors

Deirdre Silkstone, Social Care Inspector (lead) Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2738686 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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Inspectors

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