Children's Home run by Leicester City Council in Leicester

Inspection report for children’s home: SC039025 1 SC039025

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Registered provider: Leicester City 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

This home is operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to 6 children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 5 children living at the home at the time of the inspection. The children contributed to the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2016.

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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: 28 January 2025

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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: SC039025 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2025 Full Good 27/02/2024 Full Good 13/03/2023 Full Good 31/08/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC039025 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A homely environment has been created where children feel welcomed and supported. Children like living at this home. One child said, ‘I get on very well with staff. The care here is engaging and welcoming.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans are specific to each child’s needs. They cover all aspects of the child’s life. This includes how the child’s voice will be heard and their views of the plan. They report what is going well for the child, any worries the child has and how staff will help with these. Children’s cultural and religious needs are recognised and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The importance of children’s education is recognised by staff and managers. They work proactively to support children to attend schools and engage in learning. Where children experience barriers, staff communicate effectively with external professionals. This ensures that children receive appropriate support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional wellbeing needs are understood by staff and supported appropriately. Staff liaise with health professionals and ensure that children access relevant services. There is a close relationship with children’s mental health services. This ensures that children get prompt access to the help they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage one to one with children regularly. These key-work sessions cover topics relevant to the child. They are well recorded and include clear actions, reflections and next steps. Management oversight is also recorded to help staff reflect and learn from the time with the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to prepare for adulthood through tailored independence planning. Staff work with each child to develop practical skills. They are helped to access external support as required. One child is living in an attached flat. This provides an opportunity to develop greater independence.

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

Staff understand risks to children. There are individual risk assessments in place for each child. They are updated regularly and include any safety goals and concerns. There is also a good assessment of risk in the local area. This includes responses to known risks in the locality to keep children safe.

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

Children’s positive handling plans are detailed and bespoke to each child. The way staff should respond to children’s unwanted behaviour is recorded. Physical intervention is very rarely used. It is a last resort to keep a child or others safe. All staff are trained in de-escalation techniques. However, plans have not always been reviewed in a timely manner. Management oversight has not always been added. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039025 4 Children sometimes go missing from home. This is responded to appropriately by staff. Risk assessments and protocols record actions for staff to take. Children are positively welcomed on return. They are helped to see the dangers of being missing from care in one-to-one sessions with staff.

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

Staff respond well to instances of children misusing substances. Risks are recognised and reflected in the child’s risk assessment. External professionals are sourced to support children with regards to these risks. Staff use one-to-one sessions to help children understand the impact of substance misuse.

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

Harmful behaviours are sometimes displayed by children. Staff respond well to this, with warmth and empathy. Safety plans are devised alongside mental health professionals. Children are involved with writing their safety plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff like working at this home. They speak positively about the manager and the deputy managers. They feel like they can go to them about anything at any time. One staff member said, ‘[Deputy manager] is very supportive. He is very good and the door is always open for me.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team knows the strengths of the team and areas still to develop. This is aided by effective staff development days. There is also a well-written and detailed workforce development plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Policies and procedures are comprehensive. They are held in an online manual for easy access. However, staff could not locate these on their computers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose has been updated. The manager has not sent the updated version to Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that regular team meetings are held. The progress of children and any concerns are discussed in detail. Operational issues are addressed. Discussions are held to develop staff in important areas of practice, including safeguarding practice and missing-from-home procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular one-to-one supervision sessions from a deputy manager. Important issues are discussed, including staff welfare and the impact of children’s unwanted behaviours on staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders value guidance from the responsible individual. He knows the children and staff well and gives effective support, including monthly supervision of the manager. He regularly makes unannounced visits to monitor the care and protection of children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039025 5

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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 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—

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Requirement Due date

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, this refers to ensuring that all children’s support plans are reviewed and updated regularly to help staff meet the individual needs of children. 30 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 30 April 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home’s care. In particular, this refers to staff knowing where to locate the home’s policies and procedures. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20) Inspection report for children’s home: SC039025 6

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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: SC039025 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Leicester City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City Hall, 115 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FZ

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Inspectors

Shaun Caplis, Social Care Inspector Susie Vere, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC039025 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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