Children's home run by Horton Establishments Ltd in Kingston upon Hull, City of

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The girls live in a homely, friendly, family-like environment. They benefit from a staff team who are caring, supportive and invest in their well-being.  The girls make good progress at school, in their social skills, behaviour, and improve their confidence and self-esteem.  The girls have a good say in their own care and enjoy a wide range of leisure activities.  The girls are safe and the high quality of care keeps them safe while allowing them to take age-appropriate risks.  Leadership and management of the home require improvement. Additional demands on the manager has led to a number of shortfalls. The impact of these has been minimised by other strengths of the service.

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children's needs are met. In order to meet the engaging with the wider system standard, in particular challenging social workers who do not make their statutory visits and engaging with independent reviewing officers when there are shortfalls in meeting relevant plans, the registered person must– (a) seek to involve each child's placing authority effectively in the child's care, in accordance with the child's relevant plans. 31 May 2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard. In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must– (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 30 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

14: The care planning standard. In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered manager must– (1) ensure that children– (a) receive effectively planned care; (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure– (b) that arrangements are in place to (ii) manage and review the placement of each child in the 30 June 2016 home; (c) that each child's relevant plans are followed.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only– employ an individual to work at the children's home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3) The requirements are that– the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification, if by the relevant date, the individual has attained– the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma (Regulation 32, 2(a), 3(b), 4(a) &(b)) 31 August

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children's home at least once each month. (Regulation 44(1)) 30 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (5)) 30 June 2016

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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

 The policy on protection of children from abuse and neglect should include arrangements in relation to dealing with allegations involving staff in the home, e-safety and to counter risks of self-harm and suicide. All policies should be reviewed regularly and revised where appropriate (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19). In particular, improve the consistency in decision making to refer to the designated officer allegations involving staff.  The registered person must specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28). In particular, ensure that all children have a written individual missing from home protocol.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61 paragraphs 13.2 & 13.3). In particular, there should be compliance with the frequency of supervision according to the registered person's policy.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who have learning disabilities and/or emotional and behavioural difficulties. The registered provider also runs a special school which can provide for the education of children from the home. At the time of inspection both girls living at the home went to other schools.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

8 February 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

13 March 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

The girls enjoy a pleasant homely environment that is as far as possible a normal family home. The decor and furnishings are of good quality, domestic in style and both girls have personalised their bedrooms to reflect their personalities. The girls have an array of scooters and bikes to play outside on, as well as a trampoline. They have also started growing fruit and vegetables in the garden. One of the girls has a friend next door she likes to play with. The girls enjoy a good variety of activities, including guides, dancing, horse riding and swimming, and they are fans of the local rugby league club. Staff will help them try different experiences, such as going to a local skate park and an indoor rock-climbing wall. This fits with one of the aims in the statement of purpose, ‘to participate in a wide range of on-site and community based activities’. Both girls have good attendance at their respective schools and they meet their

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Good

academic targets. There is good communication between care staff and school staff that helps to promote the girls’ personal and social development as well as their education targets. The girls use a computer at home and have a range of books to explore independent study and read for pleasure. Staff are nurturing and the girls benefit from their understanding and empathy. They have built good relationships with the staff and vary their favourite staff member from month to month. Staff are very engaging with the girls, spending a lot of time with them, talking and going out, and they help do their hair, makeup and nails. Staff show the girls that they are committed to the girls’ well-being, enjoyment and achievements. This has a positive impact, with the girls developing their ‘personal qualities’ as aimed for in the statement of purpose. They feel valued, they improve their confidence, take pride in their appearance, develop

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Good

social skills and levels of challenging behaviour have reduced significantly. Both girls are articulate and able to speak up for themselves or will write letters to the manager. The manager and staff listen to them, take what they say seriously, and are patient in explaining why they cannot do some of the things they want. Overall, the girls have a good say in decisions about their care and on the running of the home. The girls are in good health, take regular exercise and have healthy diets. Both have access to counselling services either through children and adolescent mental health services or independently. Staff support young people to attend their medical appointments, health assessments and check-ups. The girls also access more specialist services when needed, such as treatment for acute injuries. The girls like helping in the kitchen, cooking and baking. They also assist with household chores and planting food to grow in the garden. As they get older they

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Good

develop more independence, opening bank accounts and travelling on their own. Staff are effective in supporting the girls with the transition to adulthood, balancing their needs, risks, and safety. The girls maintain regular contact with important family members, which strengthens their identity. Levels of contact have increased and another positive aspect is the reduction in supervision while contact takes place. The girls benefit from the staff support to ensure that contact takes place when it should. Staff have a good array of information about the girls’ likes and dislikes, health, education and care needs. This informs their practice, which in turn supports the girls’ progress. It would help to review and monitor their progress by developing this information into a clear in-house plan based on relevant plans received from the placing authority.

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Good

The girls are safe and feel safe. They learn how to keep themselves safe, for example when going out independently and using the internet. One of them talked in depth about the e-safety she has learned from staff. A new initiative is staff talking to the girls about the places where they feel safe and the reasons why so that any concerns are addressed. There are no issues of bullying, generally the girls get along well, and staff are quick to resolve any disagreements. Risky behaviour, such as missing from home, substance and alcohol misuse, and smoking, is non-existent. Risks to the girls’ safety are assessed and kept under review. These processes of risk management are good and support the girls to take age-appropriate risks. For example, one of the girls now goes to the local shops and to family contact meetings on her own. There are appropriate measures and safety factors in place to promote her independence.

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Good

Staff understand well the reasons behind any challenging behaviour of the girls. The girls have their own behaviour support plans that detail individual strategies. Staff are effective in following these plans, using de-escalation and distraction. There is low use of physical intervention and only as a last resort. Staff are resilient, patient and understanding in supporting the girls through difficult situations. Over time, this has led to a significant reduction in levels of challenging behaviour. The girls have improved in responding to clear direction and expectations from staff. The girls reflect more and often apologise after an outburst. Staff use the strong relationships that they have built with the girls to positively influence their behaviour and help them to cope better with their emotions. As set out in the statement of purpose, this ‘develops skills for children and young people to manage their own behaviour effectively’.

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Good

Occasionally, the girls do leave the home without permission. Staffing levels allow for close supervision and staff are quick to follow or locate the girls safely. Fully developed, up-to-date missing from home protocols are not in place and these would help to inform future staff practice should they be necessary. The manager promptly informs social workers of any incidents or concerns about the girls’ safety. Practice in referring allegations or concerns about staff practice with the designated officer is not as consistently robust. Subsequent actions taken by the manager do promote the girls’ safety. However, better communication with the designated officer would make the safeguarding process more open and transparent.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager has appropriate experience and qualifications. He has been in post since October 2015. He has some support from a deputy manager, but she has only been in post for less than two months and spends the majority of her time at a much larger ‘sister’ home to this one. For a six week period during February and March, the manager was also responsible for overseeing the sister home. Along with recent demands of being on-call for a week at a time, this has impacted on his being able to fulfil his management responsibilities for this home. His regular monthly monitoring of the girls’ care, supervision of staff and monthly visits by the independent visitor all reduced in frequency. The deputy manager plans to act up as manager in the future, when needed, to prevent this happening again. Statutory visits by social workers are not completed within the required intervals and recommendations from a last child looked after review have not all been

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Requires improvement

followed up appropriately. The manager presents adequate reasons for this, but agrees that there was a lack of challenge to the placing authority and failure to communicate with the independent reviewing officer. This undermines the external supervision of a child’s placement, risks drift for future care planning and compromises the quality of independent scrutiny. These shortfalls in the effectiveness of leadership and management arrangements require improvement. The impact on the girls has been minimised by a number of factors. There is good communication with social workers, who are regularly informed of the girls’ progress, incidents and concerns. The girls can and do call their social workers and talk to them if there is anything they are unhappy about. This helps keep those responsible for the placement up to date with important factors in their care. There is an independent visitor who checks on a monthly basis how well the girls

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Requires improvement

are cared for and safeguarded. This strengthens the accountability and oversight of the quality of care, with written reports sent to the registered provider and Ofsted. There was no visit or subsequent report for February, but otherwise the visitor is maintaining the monthly frequency. The manager focuses on continuously developing the service. He has supported the girls to grow vegetables in the garden, with the aim of cooking what they grow. The girls have helped review the children’s guide and he has plans to encourage them to write letters home about their achievements. These activities all support the girls’ inclusion in the running of the home, are educational and facilitate the girls to think about their progress. The manager regularly talks to the girls about their care and he is proactive in promoting their voice. One of them writes letters to him, which he responds to promptly. His commitment to ensuring that their wishes and feelings are heard

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Requires improvement

helps them feel included and listened to. He is planning to improve this further by developing the keyworker role to be even more effective. As well as monthly monitoring, the manager completes a six-monthly review of the quality of care. This is detailed and links to the manager’s development plans. While there is also good consideration of the views of the girls, the written review does not reflect the opinions of their parents, social workers, or staff. On a day-to- day basis, the manager listens to all stakeholders who are able to influence the girls’ care. Staff feel supported and report that there is good teamwork so that the girls experience consistently good care, expectations and boundaries. The manager addresses practice issues with staff through supervision and team meetings. Now he does not have to oversee another home, supervision arrangements are improving. The staff team have a wide range of skills and experience. This is underpinned by

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Requires improvement

induction, training and attaining the required level 3 diploma qualification. Staff put this to good practice in understanding the girls’ care needs and developing strategies to support the girls to achieve well. A minority of staff have not attained their level 3 diploma within set timescales but are close to doing so. The manager is monitoring their progress to prevent further delay.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‘Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection’.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of children looked after is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place. However, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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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 that 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 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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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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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