Children's home run by Harmony Children’s Services

Inspection report for children’s home: 1274672 1 Registered provider: Harmony Children’s Services

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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 operated by a private company. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties, and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. The inspector spoke to both children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 10 September 2025.

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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

Date of last inspection: 6 November 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1274672 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2023 Full Outstanding 18/10/2022 Full Good 29/09/2021 Full Good 04/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1274672 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from well-planned moves into the home. The friendly and approachable staff help the children to settle in quickly and treat the home as their own. The children’s sense of belonging and value grows by them living in a newly refurbished and well- maintained home. Children can choose and personalise their bedrooms to suit their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care and support that is bespoke to their individual needs. The children’s day-to-day experiences mirror a secure family home life, with its highs and lows. The mutually positive relationships between the children and staff give children the experience of having trusted parental role models who offer the children reliable care and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value the importance of education. The staff diligently ensure that children attend school so they can achieve their goals. The positive collaboration between the home and education providers helps the children start to gradually adjust to attending school regularly. Staff celebrate children’s achievements, no matter how big or small.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s attendance at health appointments and promote healthy living. Staff have regular conversations with children about a range of health-related matters, including alcohol and substance misuse. Furthermore, drug and alcohol professionals meet with children to help them to consider the long-term effects of substance misuse on their health and wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leisure activities focus on the children’s interests. Children’s memory books highlight the fun times and provide special reminders of life at the home that children can look back on. Staff promote family time by building relationships with families, and staff support visits so that children stay connected with their loved ones.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children’s wishes and feelings and act on them accordingly. Children’s access to advocacy services also provides them with further opportunities to speak to someone independent of the home. In one instance, leaders and managers have reached the difficult decision to end one child’s time living at the home. The decision was not an easy one and it was made in the best interests of all the children.

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

Staff understand the children’s vulnerabilities and risks and work diligently to safeguard children. Staff follow the children’s written risk assessments, which they reassess dynamically as situations arise. This shows staff using their initiative to make the quickest and safest decisions for children. The coordinated approach between the home and professionals has resulted in decisive action being taken to safeguard children and promote their welfare. Inspection report for children’s home: 1274672 4 Staff use their positive relationships with the children, clear boundaries and de-escalation skills to resolve any unwanted behaviours in the home and avoid calling the police. A restorative approach helps children to understand how their unwanted behaviours can hurt others, and it informs children about empathy. While leaders and managers notify Ofsted about serious incidents, the manager’s rationale for not notifying Ofsted about

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

some repetitive incidents is not evaluated effectively or sufficiently.

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

Staff act quickly when children’s whereabouts are not known and they go out looking for the children. The staff collaborate with the police and social care professionals to ensure the safe return of children. Although the majority of return home interviews take place, the manager’s follow-up request for at least one interview has been slow. The manager addressed this matter during the inspection.

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

Leaders and managers work closely with a recruitment agency to ensure that they recruit suitable staff to care for and safeguard children. While great care is taken to complete a thorough recruitment system, a question about safeguarding is missing from the interview process for new applicants. This does not provide assurances that prospective staff have an adequate understanding of safeguarding children in advance of being appointed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have changed since the last inspection. The previous registered manager, staff and the 2 children who lived at the home moved to a larger property close by. The closure of this home for several months allowed for the refurbishment of the property and for leaders and managers to carefully consider the needs of the children moving into this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are ambitious for the children. They are visible, directly involved and actively promote a supportive and inclusive culture. The relevant staff induction and training enable the staff to care for the children with competence and skill. Leaders and managers take decisive action when staff practice falls below expectations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager, and receive regular supervision sessions. Team meetings provide further opportunities for the staff team to discuss the children and share any relevant practice issues. Daily handovers ensure that the team has a shared understanding of the previous day’s events and the children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals highly rate the quality of the communication from the home. Leaders and managers are said to be unwavering, child-focused and committed to supporting children. This was characterised by the provider’s offer to fund a specialist therapeutic service for a child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a strong understanding of the children’s needs and their progress. They understand the service’s strengths and areas for development and use the Inspection report for children’s home: 1274672 5 monitoring systems to maintain effective oversight of service delivery. The manager receives effective support and guidance from senior leaders who are visible and approachable. The independent visitor provides a further layer of scrutiny. However, the independent visitor does not routinely consult with stakeholders to get a rounded view of the care the home provides.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has an idea of the direction he wishes the home to take. However, there is currently no workforce development plan for the home. Such a plan would give staff a clearer picture of which areas need improving so better-quality care can be provided. Inspection report for children’s home: 1274672 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce- related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them by including a safeguarding question during the recruitment process. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should consider the frequency of incidents and judge whether their cumulative effect makes notification to the regulator appropriate, even if in isolation each event would not warrant this. The registered person should provide a written rationale for not submitting a notification when monitoring incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63,

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Recommendations

paragraph 14.11)  The registered person should implement a system to facilitate the independent person’s contact with parents, carers and professionals. This is intended to help the independent person to make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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: 1274672 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Harmony Children’s Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Park Square, Leeds LS1 2NE

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Inspector

Jacqueline Malcolm, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1274672 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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Inspector

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