Children's home run by Hull City Council in Kingston upon Hull, City of

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged outstanding at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children and young people who have short breaks or who are accommodated over a longer period continue to make good progress at this well-managed service. The registered manager and staff speak with great affection about the children and young people entrusted to their care. The manager said about one young person, ‘That child is completely adorable. He has grown quite a lot’ and ‘We are here for the child’. Since the last inspection, the necessity to prioritise the needs of children and young people longer term has limited the capacity of the short breaks service offered to families. This is a temporary setback. The community leisure resources services that children and young people access in the meantime effectively bridge the gap. Safeguarding children and young people remains central to staff practice, and consequently the staff team keeps them safe. The manager said, ‘We won’t put any of our young people at risk.’ No children and young people have been missing,

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

and there are no child sexual exploitation concerns. There have been no allegations made against staff or other safeguarding issues. The staff team is good at identifying and reporting any potential safeguarding concerns to professionals. The team’s strong partnerships with social care, education, health and families contribute towards children’s and young people’s advancement. In particular, the regular communication with education and health providers ensures that individual progress is monitored and that any barriers are promptly addressed. The positive experiences and progress of children and young people who are cared for longer term are realised in a number of ways. They include better engagement with health examinations, improved behaviour and developed speech, not grabbing food from others around the table and being able to reveal their individual personalities. One older young person is developing independence skills, which will

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

help him when he leaves later this year. His parent visits him at the home and they cook together. This is a positive development. A staff member said, ‘The transition is going well. His anger outbursts are non-existent.’ Those children and young people who have made the transition from short breaks to long-term care do so with minimal disruption to their routines and they acclimatise well to the boundaries. The manager said, ‘I think we are doing something well.’ Careful planning ensures that new children and young people fit in compatibly with the existing group. This promotes their well-being and has no negative impact on the other children’s and young people’s experiences. The same support is afforded to those on short breaks, which makes for an enjoyable time and sustains their home life. Concerns raised by a parent about their child’s quality of care have been looked into by the manager. A meeting was convened with the parents and other

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

professionals to resolve the arising matters. Good relationships and the emotional support provided to parents by the staff team ensure that they are updated on their children’s progress, and enable them to continue to maintain an effective dialogue with the staff team to help counter any difficulties that may come up. This supports the team around the child. Excellent peer relationships enable children and young people to spend time with each other. One young person considers himself to be part of a sibling group with the others, which promotes his sense of belonging and social interactions. The home is well resourced with play material that children and young people use when they are not in school. Activities outside of the home include trips out, scouts, attending leisure facilities and clubs. These provide valuable opportunities for children and young people to enrich their lives and have fun.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Good staffing levels safeguard the children and young people. This ensures their close supervision, thus keeping them safer. No physical interventions have taken place since November 2015. This is testament to the positive bonds between the children, young people and staff, coupled with the positive strategies used by the team to manage challenging behaviours.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children’s and young people’s wishes and feelings are well integrated into home- life. For example, a young person who is inquisitive to learn about his identity has been responded to with health and social care intervention. An independent visitor regularly spends time with the children and young people. They express their views about meals, family contact and health issues and raise no complaints.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children and young people live and stay in a clean and warm environment. The manager and staff team make sure that those children and young people who live at the home long term have personalised rooms that meet their preferences. At this inspection, one young person was due to be pleasantly surprised by the imminent plans to revamp his bedroom and, through the bright décor, fixtures and fittings, showcase his passion for digger trucks. This approach is an exemplar of how young people are made to feel really cared about and special.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The requirements made at the last inspection about helping children and young people to keep safe has been resolved as a result of the staff listening to and acting on a young person’s wishes and feelings. This has prevented him from running away and placing himself in risky situations. The second requirement about making sure that recruitment checks verify, as far as possible with previous childcare and vulnerable adult employers, the reasons why applicants cease employment is work in progress. Although the questions are asked in the application forms and references, the extent of the contacts made by the provider is not consistently evident. This requirement is repeated. The independent scrutiny of the service by an external visitor provides an assessment of service delivery. However, the subsequent reports do not meet the regulations. Specifically, the visitor has omitted to include their opinion about

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

children’s well-being and the effectiveness of the safeguarding measures. Confirmation of these matters would reassure Ofsted and professional stakeholders of the facts.

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Information about this children's home

The home is run by a local authority. It provides care for a maximum of eight children and young people with learning disabilities. The home has two separate units, one offering permanence and the other short breaks.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

16/02/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

14/03/2014 Interim Satisfactory progress

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person meets 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2 - If a person has previously worked in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults, verification so far as reasonably practicable of the reasons why the employment or position ended (Regulation 32(3)(d), (Schedule 2(4)) 31/05/2016

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (the independent person’s report) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether— children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b)). 31/05/2016

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This 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 Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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