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

Unique reference number SC034495 Inspector Jacqueline Malcolm Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Kingston Upon Hull City Council Registered person address The Guildhall Alfred Gelder Street HULL HU1 2AA

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Responsible individual Jon Plant Registered manager Stephen James Houghton Date of last inspection 03/03/2014 2 of 12 Inspection date 06/11/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people outstanding Quality of care outstanding Keeping children and young people safe outstanding Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

Children and young people spend positive times in a good, nurturing home where they significantly benefit from high quality, individualised care. Overall, this results in children and young people making exceptionally good progress from their starting points. Children and young people are well matched with each other, which helps them to enjoy well planned short breaks. Their involvement in a range of fun activities provides them with hours of stimulation and good times.

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Overall effectiveness

Children and young people’s health and educational needs are fully satisfied during their stays. This ensures children and young people’s continuity of care. Parents highly value this service. A parent said, ‘I can’t believe there aren’t more of em’. Other comments include, ‘I don’t have a bad word to say’; ‘the care and support for me and my daughter you cannot beat’. A social worker said, ‘we work really well together’.

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Overall effectiveness

Children and young people are cared for by a well retained, experienced and competent staff team who have an excellent knowledge of them and can meet their diverse needs. This includes their exceptional understanding of children and young people’s communication skills ensuring that children and young people’s wishes and feelings are listened to and acted on wherever possible. Strong and effective safe care practices promote children and young people’s safety and welfare at all times. A 3 of 12 parent said, ‘this again you cannot beat, always made safe 100%’.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is well managed by a motivated and child-focussed Registered Manager who, together with senior care staff, provide good leadership to the staff team. They demonstrate a strong commitment to improving the lives of the children and young people to ensure that they continue to thrive. Thorough internal and external monitoring arrangements ensure good oversight of care practices in the home. This helps to drive forward improvements, which are in children and young people’s best interests.

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Overall effectiveness

Two shortfalls raised at this inspection relates to the manager satisfying himself that all staff are regularly supervised and making sure this is clearly evidenced. A good practice recommendation relates to ensuring that up-to-date risk assessments are in place for all children and young people. These shortfalls do not negatively impact on children and young people’s safety and welfare or hinder their extremely positive outcomes. 4 of 12

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home is registered to care for and accommodate up to eight children and young people at any one time, of either gender, with learning disabilities. Some children also have physical disabilities and complex health needs. The vast majority of children and young people have short breaks at the home. Occasionally a child or young person is accommodated on a long-term basis.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2014 Interim good progress 03/12/2013 Full good 15/01/2013 Interim good progress 30/08/2012 Full outstanding

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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 that all persons employed receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal; specifically demonstrate that all staff are regularly supervised. (Regulation 27(4) (a)) 31/12/2014

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): 5 of 12  ensure there is a system in place to monitor the quality and adequacy of record keeping and take action when needed; specifically in relation to promptly updating risk assessments. (NMS 22) 6 of 12

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Overall, children and young people make excellent progress as a result of the quality of care and protection they receive at this home. A parent said, ‘it is his second home. They are his family’; ‘If x didn’t want to be here, he would unpack his bag every time’. Children and young people’s participation in a plethora of interactive and interesting activities makes this a fun environment that they enjoy revisiting. Well planned activities are tailored to suit all children and young people’s needs and abilities. They can access the leisure services for children and young people with disabilities, which is located next to the home. This service enables children and young people to participate in a range of activities, such as the youth club, disco, swimming, day trips to the seaside, holidays away and visiting other places of interest. Some older young people’s recent engagement in wheelchair dance classes

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

provides further opportunities for them to socialise and have fun. Children and young people can indulge in a wide selection of in-house activities that provide them with hours of stimulation. For example, the well-equipped cinema enables young people to watch movies, play on the x-box, PlayStation and listen to music. The mural on the cinema walls, painted by pupils from the local school, demonstrates good integration with the wider community. Children and young people access the computer room and pampering and sensory experiences in other rooms provide hours of relaxation. Children and young people’s activities are extended to the well-resourced grounds that contain suitable play equipment. Parents said, ‘they always have something going on’; ‘they do stuff all the time’.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

The majority of parents maintain responsibility for their children’s health and education. In any case, these are exceptionally well met by the home, which protects children and young people’s vulnerabilities and is highly supportive to families. Children and young people with complex health needs are safeguarded by their comprehensive health plans and the homes proactive responses to their health concerns. This is enhanced by their strong relationships with health and social care professionals who provide additional resources as required. Children and young people who have been hospitalised received consistent care and attention from care and fieldwork staff during their hospital stay. This provides children and young people with familiar faces and strong confirmation that they are genuinely cared about. A professional stakeholder said, ‘if any concerns, we are straight back to the doctors. We don’t mess about. We have a clear plan in place’. Children and young people

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

benefit from healthy and varied meals when they stay in the home. Their access to exercise helps to improve their physical and emotional well-being.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Children and young people enjoy excellent school attendance and further opportunities to engage in educational and social activities. These are supported by clear education plans. A home-school diary aids communication and ensures that any issues are swiftly responded to. Children and young people’s good progress is 7 of 12 supported by positive comments made about them, such as, ‘x is doing brilliantly; making good progress; a pleasure to teach’. Staff from the home attend and contribute to a range of education meetings and their partnerships with education providers, parents and carers are effective. These positive interventions maximise young people’s opportunities to thrive and contribute to improving their quality of life.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Contact is actively promoted, which preserves young people’s identity needs and keeps them in touch with their kin. Parents, carers and significant others are encouraged to maintain contact with their children. This is irrespective of whether their stay at the home is short-term or for longer periods. Parents and carers say they feel comfortable contacting the home at any time of the day or night. They are confident that any staff member will be able to appraise them about their child’s progress, which provides them with much reassurance and confidence in the home. Parents said, ‘contact is sufficient’ and ‘I don’t phone up coz I know x is fine’.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Children and young people have developed appropriate skills that increase their independence. For example, making choices, baking in the kitchen, increasing the use of their communication signs and gestures and walking for periods without their wheelchair. Young people’s confidence is significantly enhanced by the steps they take to do more for themselves.

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Quality of care outstanding

Children and young people receive an excellent quality of care during the course of their stay. Staff show a genuine interest in them and speak about them with great affection. The exceptionally good relationships developed between staff and young people promote strong attachments and trust. This helps children and young people thrive in an environment where staff are aspirational for them to succeed. Those young people who are living at the home continue to have mutually strong friendships and enjoy participating in activities together. Parents speak very highly of the care and support delivered to children and young people. A parent said, ‘I am pleased with x at (name of the home). I don’t want x taken out, he does well there and they know him well enough’ and ‘I couldn’t praise it high enough, high calibre of staff’.

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Quality of care outstanding

Children and young people benefit from a resilient staff team who have an excellent knowledge of their needs. They go above and beyond their role to deliver high quality care and support with impact. This is supported by the outstanding joined up working relationships between the home, social work team, parents, health and education. The motivated staff team’s flexibility naturally drives them to care for children and young people at short notice or as part of a robust safeguarding or support plan. Such well integrated work practices promote children and young people’s safety and welfare. Well planned placements ensure that young people and their families are fully supported whenever possible. A parent said that the home was able to accommodate their child at short notice during the Christmas period. 8 of 12 They said, ‘it’s those little touches’ that make the difference to their lives in times of need. Clear and detailed individual placement plans support high quality placements

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Quality of care outstanding

that meet children and young people’s diverse needs. This includes needs arising from their personal identity that staff recognise and celebrate. Close communication with parents and carers ensure their contributions are well integrated into the plans. Key workers oversee the progress of the plans to ensure that children and young people continue to make good progress. A keyworker said that a young person in their care ‘is a completely different girl’ since the start of their placement.

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Quality of care outstanding

An excellent example of how well the home promotes diversity and difference is captured in the monthly themed evenings focussing on different countries around the world. This engages a range of children and young people with different needs and abilities with opportunities to try different foods and learn more about different countries, such as America and China. Themed music nights provide opportunities for children, young people and staff to dress up and celebrate music from the different ages. Staff show excellent artistic skill in creating props, such as a life size juke box to recreate the scene. A parent said, ‘you could come uninvited. There they were in their 60’s gear, that’s when you know their needs are met’ and ‘I am amazed by the themed nights’. These creative and fun activities add value and creativity to children and young people’s stay at this home.

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Quality of care outstanding

Children and young people’s wishes and views are listened to and understood through their preferred methods of communication. For example, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and Makaton. Communication passports are very useful in understanding children and young people’s individual preferences, including how they prefer their care and support to be delivered. Children and young people’s rights are promoted by regular visits from an independent advocate who meets with them to discuss their care needs and obtain their views on how the home is run. Feedback from these meetings provides an effective monitoring tool for the manager to improve the quality of service in the home.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people's good health is effectively promoted by the home's strong arrangements for managing medication. For example, all medicines are securely stored in a locked facility and the robust procedures for signing in and administering medication protects children and young people. Staff are trained in first aid procedures, so that they know how to safely care for children and young people in an emergency.

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Quality of care outstanding

Children and young people with disabilities significantly benefit from living at, or staying in a very well maintained home. The home is suitably adapted to meet young people’s holistic needs. The home provides them with a spacious, clean, well- furnished and attractively decorated environment to enjoy a range of activities. Photos of the children and young people adorn the walls of the home, which clearly demonstrates how important they are to life at this home. Young people who have short break stays are encouraged to personalise their rooms and bring their favourite toys with them. Young people who live at the home over a longer term are not 9 of 12 compromised by short break placements because they have their own separate living space.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Children and young people immensely benefit from their stays in a home that embraces a strong and proactive safeguarding culture. This is in close integration with their social workers and families. This promotes safe care practices that protect children and young people from the risk of neglect, abuse and sexual exploitation. Children and young people are closely monitored around the home to ensure their safety. Careful placement matching ensures that children and young people spend time with other compatible young people. Bullying is not identified as an issue at this home and the children and young people are an established group who are familiar with each other. Parents and professionals consider children and young people to be safe at this home. Typical comments include, ‘you know x is safe’; ‘they are protective of the kids’ and a professional stakeholder said, ’I have no safeguarding issues. I have not found anything to make me feel concerned’.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Children and young people are cared for by staff who have an excellent awareness of their safeguarding responsibilities. Their practice is supported by mandatory safeguarding training, which underpins how they keep all children and young people safe, irrespective of their disability.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Strong risk management strategies respond to children and young people’s diverse and complex needs. However, in one instance, a risk assessment relating to a behavioural issue had not been updated. This raises no negative impact due to staff awareness about the reviewed risk management strategy. Excellent, close relationships with safeguarding and social care agencies ensure effective working together partnerships that also review the impact of risk in core group meetings. This ensures children and young people’s continued safety and protection.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Behaviour management strategies are very effective in helping to manage children and young people’s challenging behaviours and minimise incidents in the home. Although the home has a ‘no restraint’ policy, staff are regularly trained in behaviour management and their competence is tested yearly. This results in minimal incidents in the home and goes some way to enhance young people’s sense of safety and stability. A parents said, ‘they do tolerate behaviours, they do really well with x’.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Good supervision levels ensure that no children and young people go missing. However, they have individual missing person’s plan that informs staff about the action they must take in the event that a child or young person is absent from the home. 10 of 12 Young people’s physical safety is very well managed and supported by staff who apply good health and safety practices. This ensures young people’s protection against the risk of fire and other risks to their safety.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Children and young people are protected by robust recruitment practices and the chaperoning of visitors around the home. This ensures that children and young people are protected from unsuitable people who may pose a risk to them.

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Leadership and management good

Children and young people live in a good home that has good leadership and management oversight. The Registered Manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2010. He is a qualified social worker and has the relevant experience and management qualifications to competently manage this home. He is highly aspirational for the young people and has an excellent understanding of their needs and takes full accountability for their care and welfare. Parents and carers place the manager in high regard because of his supportive, but firm and fair approach. A parent said, ‘I don’t think you could bend anything around x’ and a member of staff said, ‘he is a very good manager’. An experienced and senior team supports the manager and staff understand their roles and responsibilities. They are valued by the management team and effectively work together to deliver with compassion, the best outcomes for young people. Professionals and parents liken the team as a ‘family, a

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Leadership and management good

big massive extended family’. A parent said, ‘these people turn up for the job because they love it’.

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Leadership and management good

Children and young people are cared for by a skilled and competent staff team who have appropriate childcare qualifications at level 3 or social work degree level. Good staff retention means that children and young people benefit from consistent adults around them that understand their individual personalities and unique traits. Good training opportunities enable staff to refresh their knowledge in safeguarding and behaviour management. Bespoke training, such as autism, working with parents with a learning disability and communicating with children with disabilities consolidates the staff team’s learning and skills. Staff confirm that they feel supported and supervised. However, not all staff members’ supervision records evidence that all staff are regularly supervised. In one instance this appeared to have not happened for several months. Although there is no negative impact on children and young people; this

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Leadership and management good

does not sufficiently inform how staff are supported to fulfil their duties and reflect on their practice and development.

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Leadership and management good

No requirements or recommendations were raised following the last inspection. The manager understands the home’s strengths and weaknesses and works within the home’s realistic development plan so that services for children and young people continue to improve. Thorough internal and external monitoring systems and other effective communication help the manager and staff team to drive forward improvements. This is supported by sound arrangements for consulting with children, 11 of 12 young people and stakeholders about their view of the home. In addition, daily handovers, team meetings and team days enable the team to reflect and improve their practice with children, young people and their families.

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Leadership and management good

The home has an informative Statement of Purpose that details the services that young people can expect to receive. The children’s guide provides child friendly and accessible information for children and young people. This includes an audio children’s guide, which provides a creative alternative to communicating with children and young people.

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Leadership and management good

Significant events relating to the protection of the young people are notified to Ofsted. This enables the regulator to undertake their safeguarding duties. Good, up- to-date records show children and young people’s progress during their stay at the home. They are securely stored to protect their privacy and confidentiality. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management good

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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