Children's Home run by Hull City Council in Kingston upon Hull

Unique reference number SC034313 Inspection date 09/07/2013 Inspector Nicola McEvinney Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 12/11/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is run by a local authority and registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home also offers an outreach service to young people who have left care and may need additional support.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

The majority of young people make good progress in all aspects of their lives. This is the result of the highly effective support they receive from the staff team who have high aspirations for them.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are central to the care planning process where their views are actively sought in the formation of the ‘My Plan’. This captures their individual needs with aims identified to assure that these needs are met.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff have an excellent awareness of safeguarding issues which ensures young people feel safe and they are safe. They enjoy living in a stable home where they consider that they are well cared for and staff treat them fairly.

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Overall effectiveness

Shortfalls identified at this inspection relate to the monitoring of the home. Recommendations raised relate to training on the use of an EpiPen and repairing the pool table. However, the Registered Manager has taken immediate steps to rectify these shortfalls.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure as part of the Regulation 33 visit, children, their parents and persons working at the home are interviewed to form an opinion of the standard of care provided (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) 01/08/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure Ofsted is provided with a copy of the Regulation 33 report (Regulation 33(5)(a)) 01/08/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure as part of the registered person's monitoring; children, their parents and placing authorities are consulted. (Regulation 34 (3)) 01/08/2013

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure staff receive training on first aid, in particular the use of an EpiPen (NMS 6.7)  ensure young people are able to pursue individual interests, by repairing the pool table. (NMS 7.2)

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Outcomes for children and young people

The majority of young people make excellent progress in developing their positive self-image. Through the intensive work delivered by the staff team, young people have built up good attachments. This has enabled them to grow in confidence and giving them opportunity to fulfil their potential. Their improved self-worth has also impacted on a significant decrease in the use of substance misuse. This has enabled them to participate more effectively with education and other activities which improve their life opportunities.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from having their health needs met. There are good links with the looked after children health adviser who is a regular visitor to the home. She advises the young people on a range of issues such as smoking cessation, personal hygiene and sexual health. There has been some success with smoking cessation with some young people who show a commitment to stop smoking. This has a positive effect on their health and stamina. The looked after children nurse will also ensure young people’s immunisations are up-to-date which protects them from a range of communicable diseases. For those young people who require rescue medication, for example an EpiPen or inhaler, staff are vigilant in ensuring young people always carry one with them. However, staff have not received training on the administration of an EpiPen which, in an emergency could compromise a young person’s health.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The majority of young people benefit from having educational placements and are good attendees. For some young people this is a massive achievement as prior to placement they had not attended education for a significant amount of time. There has been a major improvement in all academic subjects. This significantly improves their life opportunities. For those individuals who have been excluded from education, the home is proactive in securing alternative provision which is able to meet their holistic needs.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Some young people enjoy being involved in community projects which benefit more vulnerable members of our society. For example, gardening and painting fences. They also joined in with a team building exercise with the local police. This helps to build social responsibility and good relations with the police.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The young people benefit from the home having good links with parents and significant family members.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from learning skills to enable them to make a successful transition to adulthood. They are confident in their skills as they are given opportunities to help with shopping and meal preparation. The home is committed to young people once they leave the home and offer on-going support to ensure placements can be maintained.

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Quality of care

Young people speak highly of the care provided; they are confident they are looked after by staff who care for them. They know staff offer unconditional support to enable them to learn by their mistakes, saying, ‘They give us room to grow.'

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from living in a stable home. However, there are individual crisis management plans in place identifying possible triggers to unwanted behaviours with clear guidance in place to diffuse these situations. This ensures these incidences are managed effectively. Young people respond to incentives that encourage their good behaviour which rewards them with opportunities that they can share with their family and friends. This promotes their well-being.

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Quality of care

The ‘My Plan’ ensures young people’s views are ascertained in all aspects of their care. Where they express wishes and feelings that cannot be realised it allows for discussion and young people are part of the decision-making process. This empowers the young people as they feel listened to.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from having their individual plan of care monitored on a monthly basis. This ensures their outcomes are measured and targets for development are set. This ensures young people’s plans are not allowed to drift and young people continue to progress. They further benefit from having their daily routine set out to ensure a consistency of care.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from staff having high aspirations for their educational achievement. It is an expectancy that all the young people have an appropriate educational placement. There are effective links with educational placements to ensure that staff are aware of levels of achievement and levels of expected attainment. This ensures that appropriate support may be given. However, some individuals are not in education and therefore not achieving; although the home is proactive in raising this promptly to ensure alternative provision is identified.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from accessing a range of services to help meet their needs. For example, the looked after children nurses and health adviser offer support on a range of health issues, including smoking and sexual health; the drug and alcohol services supports young people on substance misuse; MacMillan nurses offer bereavement counselling. A learning mentor supports some young people with accessing education and other activities which have had a profound impact on their life opportunities. An individual from the children and adolescent mental health service also supports individual young people. He attends the home fortnightly to offer guidance to staff to manage some of the very complex emotional needs of some young people. This worker will also offer consultations to staff to further aid their work.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy a range of activities, including rugby league; boxing; attending the local gym; horse-riding and they go out with staff to the coast. Over recent months the young people have participated in a horticultural project, growing vegetables and maintaining the garden. This will further develop their life skills. However, activities within the home are limited due to repairs required to the pool table.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy living in a well-maintained home which is pleasantly furnished and decorated providing a homely environment.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is outstanding at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are safe in the home and the say that they feel safe. There is no bullying and staff are quick to intervene in any disagreements young people may have.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected by having effective risks assessments in place identifying potential dangers with clear guidance on how these are to be managed. Staff are proactive in ensuring that potential risks are explored, this includes visits to known associates to ensure that they do not pose any threats. This helps to build up good relationships with young people’s friends and their families which further protect young people. The incidence of young people going missing has dramatically reduced; there have not been any incidents of this over the last few months. This is despite a number of young people having the propensity to do this prior to placement. However, there are individual protocols in place to advice staff what action they should take in the event of a young person failing to return to the home when expected. When young people stay at relatives or friends staff will contact the family to ensure the young

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Safeguarding children and young people

person is there. This further ensures young people’s safety.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people’s safety is enhanced by the significant reduction in their involvement in risk-taking activities. For example, young people are not engaging in criminal activity and no longer participate in the use of drugs such as Mcatt and have greatly reduced their cannabis use. This promotes their welfare.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are safeguarded by the robust recruitment procedures in place which ensure only suitable people are employed. All staff, including ancillary staff attend safeguarding training. This is excellent practice and ensures all the team have good awareness of safeguarding issues

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected by any allegation being thoroughly investigated with advice sought from the local authority designated officer.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected by all health and safety checks being carried out ensuring that they live in a safe environment. Fire procedures are explained to visitors to ensure that everyone knows what action to take in the event of a fire.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

Young people are looked after in an exceptionally well managed home. The innovative Registered Manager leads a team of well-qualified, committed staff who provide high quality care to young people where the majority of them have the opportunity to maximise their potential. There are sufficient numbers of staff employed, who say they are very well supported and have good training opportunities.

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Leadership and management

Professionals working with the home speak highly of the staff team. They have the ability to engage some young people where there were serious concerns with regard to their well-being and welfare. These young people’s life opportunities have been enhanced by their admission to this home. Young people’s outcomes are closely monitored to ensure that they are making progress in all areas of their lives. Where young people are not making progress the Registered Manager is proactive in ensuring services are accessed that will meet the holistic needs of the individual.

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Leadership and management

The Registered Manager ensures that he keeps abreast of new legislation and developments in social care which is shared with the team to continually strive for improvement. He recognises the strengths of the home is in the ‘My Plan’ being used effectively. This captures young people’s wishes and feelings ensuring that they are central to how the home operates and their care plan formulated.

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Leadership and management

The home benefits from building up good relationships within the community. In particular they have productive communication with the local police who are welcome visitors to the home.

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Leadership and management

The Regulation 33 visitor does not consistently speak to children or parents as part of their monthly monitoring process. These reports are not sent to Ofsted regularly. The Registered Manager, as part of his Regulation 34 monitoring does not gain the views of young people, their parents or the placing authority. This does not allow for their input in improving the quality of care provided.

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Leadership and management

There were no requirements or recommendations raised at the last inspection.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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