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

Unique reference number SC034746 Inspection date 05/11/2013 Inspector Nicola McEvinney Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/04/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is owned and run by a local authority. It is registered to look after a maximum of six children who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making good progress .

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Progress

At the last inspection in April 2013, the overall effectiveness of the home was judged to be adequate. At that inspection two requirements and three recommendations for improvement were made. The home has worked hard in addressing all of these.

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Progress

A new Regulation 33 visitor has been appointed and actively engages with the young people to gain their views on how the home is conducted. This individual has had a meal with the young people and is forging a trusting relationship with them to enable them to speak freely. The visitor contacts parents or significant family members to gain their views on the care provided.

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Progress

The home has sought advice from the fire officer with regard to the bedroom doors; the officer advised that the luminescent tape be replaced to ensure that these are effective fire doors. This advice has been followed promoting the safety of the young people.

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Progress

Young people's confidence is being promoted by the introduction of a new tool to identify their level of independence skills both practically and emotionally. Some young people are engaging well with this and have benefitted from input from other agencies to support their emotional development to help them prepare for adult life. However, other young people are reluctant to engage with this initiative, although staff persevere with them. For example, the home has had a 'bake off' and 'a come dine with me' experience which has helped to develop their culinary skills.

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Progress

Although there has not been any staff recruited since the last inspection the Registered Manager is very clear that part of the recruitment process is to verify references by telephone. This will ensure that only suitable people will be employed.

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Progress

The home is engaging with schools and social workers to ensure that educational plans are being provided. This is work on-going which will include young people's current level of attainment with expected levels of achievement identified. This will enable staff to focus their support where needed.

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Progress

Other areas of improvement is young people's educational attendance has vastly improved. The home is working on monitoring formats to enable them to effectively monitor attendance. There are effective links with educational providers and information is shared. Some young people have benefited from the tireless efforts of the staff who have secured a mainstream placement for young people which will meet their educational needs.

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Progress

The Registered Manager now only manages this home. He has better oversight of how the home is operating and has introduced a number of initiatives to enable staff to see how they are meeting the national minimum standards. Staff welcome his daily presence and feel well supported.

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Progress

The home is much more stable, the environment is enhanced by pictures and ornaments around the home creating a homely environment for the young people.

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Progress

Young people say that they enjoy living at the home, they consider that they are well looked after and feel safe. They always have someone to talk to if they have any concerns.

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Progress

There were no requirements or recommendations raised at this 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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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