Children's Home run by CareTech Community Services Limited in Kirklees

Inspection report for children’s home: 1236450 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: CareTech Community 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 run by a private provider. It provides care for up to 5 children who may have physical disabilities, learning disabilities or may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection 2 children and 3 young adults were living in the home. One young adult moved out of the home during the inspection. The inspectors spoke to and observed 2 children and 1 young adult as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in August 2016. The manager was registered in November 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1236450 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/06/2025 Full Good 08/10/2024 Full Good 10/10/2023 Full Good 03/07/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 1236450 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress in the home. Staff recognise small areas of progress for children and celebrate this. Children are supported to move on to adult services well, and young adults and cared for in the home until an appropriate home is identified. The appropriate risk assessments are in place for this.

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Summary of findings

Children’s communication needs are understood, and children enjoy positive relationships with staff. Children’s views are not always well captured or documented in recordings.

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Summary of findings

Children have good risk assessments in place that are specific to their needs. Staff know and understand children’s needs and how to respond to them appropriately. As a result, there is a low level of incidents in the home. When risk assessments are updated these are not always viewed quickly by staff.

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Summary of findings

There is now a registered manager in place who is well supported by the senior leadership team. This has improved since the last inspection. Staff have regular supervision and are offered training applicable to their job role and the children they care for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in different aspects of their lives. One child is beginning to use more vocalisation to express themselves. Feedback from professionals and family members is positive and they are proud of the progress the children have made. Young people in the home are preparing to move on and have been supported to learn new skills whilst at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves out of the home are well considered and are meeting the children's complex needs. Staff work hard with partner agencies to ensure that there is a joined-up approach for children who are moving to new homes. Children are afforded the opportunity to spend time in their new homes so they can begin to build relationships with their new staff members and peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are spending time with people who are important to them. For some children, they can spend time with family members following extensive direct work and support offered by staff to children and their families. This has meant family time arrangements have been progressed in line with children's needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Direct work is completed regularly with all children. They are planned and unplanned and support activities and learning in and outside of the home. Sessions are based around the children's needs and wishes. Photos are used to capture the children's experiences. Children’s views and wishes are not always well documented following these sessions. Inspection report for children’s home: 1236450 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a children’s guide in place for any child moving into the home. This guide is not in an accessible format for some children with learning disabilities.

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

Managers follow safeguarding procedures appropriately and refer concerns to relevant agencies. Allegations and concerns about staff are investigated thoroughly with good multi agency input. When risks to children have been identified managers have taken disciplinary action to reduce the risk of harm. The investigations into staff conduct are appropriate and proportionate.

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

Staff have responded well to incidents in the home. They use de-escalation techniques in line with children's plans and intervention is early. Staff have a good understanding of how children present when they are upset or frustrated and know specific triggers that cause children distress. Managers and senior managers oversee incidents for children and provide a reflective analysis.

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

Children’s medication is administered in line with individual health plans. Clear records are kept of all medication administered to children. The staff team manage several different medications for children in the home and have a good system in place.

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

Children have appropriate positive behaviour management plans in place and staff know their individual risks. Staff use de-escalation techniques as part of positive behaviour management which work well for children. There has only been one physical intervention in this period. This was well recorded by staff, and management oversight was present. Children were offered a de-brief but these were not meaningful or conducted in line with their communication needs.

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

Staff have completed appropriate risk assessments in line with risks for children. The risk assessments are specific and meaningful and provide clear guidance on how staff should respond at different stages. The staff team have reduced the number of risk assessments in place to make them more specific. Risk assessments align with children's care plans and positive behaviour plans. Staff are not always reading and signing risk assessments in a timely manner once updated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has high aspirations for children and the staff team. He has raised standards and supported staff to develop their skills and confidence. Children and staff now have a stable and consistent management team whereby there is a focus on support and performance. Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken by managers where performance has fallen short. There is improved support from senior managers to support the manager in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions are held monthly in line with the statement of purpose. They are reflective and purposeful, and staff say they benefit from them. Action plans are smart and Inspection report for children’s home: 1236450 5 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

reviewed in each supervision. Snapshot supervisions are regular and the manager will utilise flash cards to support staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed mandatory training in line with the needs of the children they care for. During staff discussions, staff have said they find the training beneficial and ‘like to complete refresher training to keep their knowledge up to date.’ Staff have or are com- pleting an appropriate qualification for their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings where updates and information are effectively shared. Reflective discussions take place during team meetings about the care of the children. Good practice from staff is also celebrated during meetings to ensure they feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has struggled with staff recruitment although there have been several new staff in this period. Agency staff have been used to ensure that staffing is compliant for children living in the home. There is a small core staff team who are used consistently and offer familiarity for children. Where agency staff have been used the manager has tried to use the same staff for consistency. Appropriate checks are completed on agency workers. Inspection report for children’s home: 1236450 6 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Statutory requirement

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, 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

(1) The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children

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Requirement Due date

("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

(2) In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain

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Requirement Due date

a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

(b) the feedback and opinions of children about the children's home, its facilities and the

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Requirement Due date

quality of care they receive in it; (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b)) 1 October 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. This includes ensuring that staff have read and understood updated risk assessments for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’,’ page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. The views of children should also be captured following incidents. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’,’ page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s home has a children’s guide.

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Recommendations

he children’s guide must be made available to all children when their placement in the home is agreed (or on arrival at the home if the placement is made in an emergency) and must be age appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each Inspection report for children’s home: 1236450 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Recommendations

child to make sure they understand it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’,’ page 24, paragraph 4.21)

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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: 1236450 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: CareTech Community Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4th Floor, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Inspector(s)

Mel Turner, Social Care Inspector Amy Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1236450 9 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector(s)

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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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