Children's home run by Dove Adolescent Services Limited in Wakefield

Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 1 SC057703

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Registered provider: Dove Adolescent Services Limited

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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 home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home, and they were both spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2019.

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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: SC057703 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2024 Full Good 30/08/2023 Full Good 27/07/2022 Full Good 08/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from consistent, nurturing care that helps them to feel secure and valued. They are supported by staff who understand their needs well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress and having positive experiences. Memories of activities and special events are captured in individual albums. This provides a valuable record of children’s time in the home for them to keep. Children have good relationships with staff, who understand their experiences and know them well. Children are regularly consulted about the care they receive. They say that the staff listen to them and respond to their requests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is supported. Staff maintain regular contact with schools and encourage attendance for children. When children face challenges or setbacks in education, the staff and manager proactively advocate for them. This means children access education with support tailored to their needs. In addition, staff provide opportunities for children to take part in hobbies and community activities, which develop their self-esteem and social skills, such as baking to raise money for charities and visiting animals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can remain in contact with people who are important to them. Staff work in partnership with professionals to ensure that family time is a positive experience for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to experience a range of activities in line with their interests, such as a visit to see highland cows, going away to the home’s caravans, pamper nights, reading and writing poetry. Children are encouraged to spend time together and have developed positive relationships. There is a ‘culture board’ located in the dining room where the children and staff enjoy creating a collage for the theme of the month, such as Pride and Halloween.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s and staff’s photos are displayed in the home, which helps children to develop a sense of permanence and belonging. The children are encouraged through incentives to carry out tasks to improve their independence skills, such as cleaning their rooms. At times, staff have cleaned children’s rooms without them being present. The managers acknowledge that in the future, room cleans will be carried out collaboratively with children.

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

Staff have access to clear plans that identify the risks for the individual children. The plans set out clear guidance for staff and ways of working with children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 4 There have been some incidents where children have gone missing from the home. The staff have responded appropriately. Staff try to locate the children, working with their families and other professionals. When children return, they are warmly welcomed home. If there are concerns about risks, staff respond well. This includes effective communication with other professionals to consider how to support children to reduce the risks they face.

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

Staff take effective action in response to concerns that children may be at risk of child sexual exploitation. They share information with relevant professionals, including social workers and the police, and regularly check children’s devices to ensure they are not at risk or communicating with individuals who may pose a risk to them. This supports children to stay safe online.

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

Children are supported to manage their feelings safely. They can speak to staff about any worries they may have. Staff understand children’s preferred methods of communication and give children opportunities to write down how they feel if they are not able to speak about it. There is also support available to children and staff from the internal therapist.

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

Careful recruitment processes ensure that staff are suitable and safe to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a permanent and qualified manager. He is well supported by the senior managers. The staff team is ambitious for children. Staff say that they can contact the managers at any time. The manager has established strong and effective working relationships with professionals. Information is shared promptly, and decisions are made collaboratively to support children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some changes to the staff team since the last inspection. Staff who are new to the home are provided with an induction and have opportunities to shadow experienced members of staff to support this process. Staff have regular, effective and reflective supervision sessions. Training is provided to ensure that staff have the necessary skills to support children’s needs and risks in response to safeguarding and child sexual exploitation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are cared for by a consistent and stable staff team. Staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities and are provided with opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monthly audit process enables him to have sufficient oversight of children’s progress. Staff are aspirational for children and provide a consistent approach that supports children to make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 5 Professionals speak positively about the manager and staff’s effective communication. The manager understands that collaborating with professionals and parents is vital to the children’s sense of security. Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms are generally not entered without them being present, though it may be necessary to establish routines to allow for rooms to be cleaned, this should be carried out collaboratively with children when possible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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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: SC057703 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Dove Adolescent Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4AD

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Inspector

Rachael Lewis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC057703 8 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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