Children's home run by Hennessy Living Group Limited in Kirklees

Requires improvement

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.2

because:

 Care plans are not clear in setting out what is required to help young people make progress. There is little evidence to indicate the level or quality of individual work that staff do.  The home’s management does not provide sufficient challenge to placing authorities. This is particularly apparent in terms of the lack of information provided for young people who have been referred for placement.  The home’s internal security has been poor, which has resulted in unnecessary risk to young people.  Risk assessments on young people are sometimes incomplete, or are not completed in a timely fashion.  Some aspects of management monitoring are poor. Staff training in some areas needs to be improved.

p.3

The children’s home’s strengths

 The one young person who has had a placement in the time that the home has been registered made progress. Staff established good relationships with him and helped him to improve his social skills.  Staff work effectively with other agencies to manage complex health needs.  Staff establish good relationships with parents. This enables contact between young people and their families to be beneficial and improves the potential for successful rehabilitation.

p.3

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 within the given timescales.

p.4

Requirement Due date

14. In order to meet the care planning standard, with particular reference to ensuring that care plans are kept up to date, and include any restrictions of children’s liberty, the registered person must ensure that children: (1)(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. 23/12/2016

p.4

Requirement Due date

6. In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, with particular reference to carrying out and recording individual, purposeful work with children (key-worker sessions), the registered person must ensure that staff: (1)(a)(b) understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children and use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 23/12/2016

p.4

Requirement Due date

12. In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure: (2)(b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm, and (d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. 23/12/2016

p.4

Requirement Due date

12. In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to reviewing and updating risk assessments on a regular basis, the registered person must ensure that staff: (2)(a)(i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. 23/12/2016 The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every six months. The system must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(5)) 23/12/2016

p.4

Requirement Due date

5. In order to meet the engaging with the wider system standard, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff: (a) seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans (b) seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs (c) if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, and (d) seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation.

p.5

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. In particular, to arrange training for senior staff in risk assessment and supervision of staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

p.5

Information about this children’s home

The home accommodates up to five children, including two under short-break arrangements, who have physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities. It is operated by a private company.

p.6

Requires improvement

The home was registered in February 2016. Since then, the home has had only one long-term placement. At the time of the inspection, this young person had recently left, and one other had been admitted the previous day for a short break. The home has therefore had little opportunity to demonstrate its impact on outcomes for young people.

p.7

Requires improvement

Placement plans are reasonably detailed but do not clearly set out what work staff need to do to help young people progress. Plans are not always updated in response to changes. For example, the arrangement for locking the home’s front door was altered in order to keep the young person safe. This restriction of liberty was not reflected in his care plan. There is evidence that staff work individually with young people but records of such work are sparse. Furthermore, evaluation of the progress made by young people is haphazard. One progress report was commenced over a month ago but less than half of it is completed. This makes it impossible to assess accurately in which areas a young person is achieving their objectives, and when additional work may need to be done.

p.7

Requires improvement

Staff demonstrate a caring and committed attitude to young people. They develop good relationships with them, enabling them to provide advice and guidance which young people are more likely to take heed of. One young person developed a greater awareness of how to behave more sociably, for example, by moderating his use of bad language. His mother had nothing but praise for the staff, saying, ‘The staff have been brilliant. Since returning home he has been doing well at home, he is more polite, clears his dishes, and is eating more varied foods like vegetables.’

p.7

Requires improvement

Staff are aware of the importance of supporting young people’s education. When young people are not able to attend full-time schooling, the manager liaises with the placing authority to seek alternative education placements. Additionally, staff provide them with interesting and informative activities. However, this tends to be ad hoc rather than planned in a systematic way, and is not always thoroughly recorded and evaluated. The hard work that staff put in is, therefore, not achieving maximum impact.

p.7

Requires improvement

The home’s arrangements to promote young people’s health are good. Medication is kept securely and records of its administration are robust. Staff collaborate effectively with health professionals to meet the needs of young people with complex conditions.

p.7

Requires improvement

Staff promote young people’s contact with their families. They work constructively with parents, for example, providing guidance on behaviour management. This support is important in repairing disrupted relationships and improving the likelihood of a young person’s successful return home.

p.7

Requires improvement

The quality of risk assessments on young people is poor. Staff do not complete them consistently. For example, one member of staff rated the risk of violence by a young person as ‘catastrophic’. Subsequently, another member of staff assessed the risk as ‘6/25’ (5/25 is deemed as ‘low’) with no explanation of why the rating had changed so markedly. Some risk assessments are not completed within the appropriate timescale. For example, the individual fire evacuation plan for a young person who relies on a wheelchair for mobility was not completed until two days after their admission. The document for another young person had not been updated following an incident of alleged self-harm. These shortfalls mean that risk assessments cannot be relied upon to provide staff with the information they need to keep young people, and themselves, safe.

p.8

Requires improvement

Although no young people have been subject to sexual exploitation, plans have been developed which identify actions required to reduce the potential for this occurring. For example, by doing individual work with young people on the dangers of grooming via the use of social media. However, there is no evidence that this work has taken place.

p.8

Requires improvement

Additionally, staff do not always assess the impact of a young person’s admission upon the group, or whether the home can safely meet their needs. This is mainly because of the lack of information from placing authorities in the case of both young people who have been placed since the home opened.

p.8

Requires improvement

In general, the premises are safe and present no hazards. However, the door to the office, containing confidential information and other important articles, including the keys to the home’s vehicle, was initially not fitted with a lock. This resulted in one young person gaining easy access and subsequently placing themselves at significant risk of harm. The door was secured with a lock immediately after this incident.

p.8

Requires improvement

The frequency of missing from home incidents for one young person has been high – seven in the 35 days they have spent here. Staff have responded appropriately, by liaising with placing social workers and other agencies in developing plans to reduce the risk of this behaviour. Staff are good at managing young people’s challenging behaviour. All are trained in the skills necessary to resolve young people’s distress or aggression. As a result, there has been no need to use physical restraint. There has been one allegation against staff made by a young person. The manager dealt with this promptly and appropriately, with the outcome that it was without foundation.

p.8

Requires improvement

The home is recruiting additional, permanent staff. This is to ensure more consistent staffing levels and eliminate the need to use agency staff. This is beneficial for the young people, providing greater consistency and predictability. The recruitment and vetting process is robust, ensuring that only people suitable to work with children are employed.

p.9

Requires improvement

The manager is awaiting registration, having completed all her checks. She is experienced and suitably qualified, and is enrolled on a course leading to a higher level of qualification. She is committed to the welfare of the young people, demonstrated over the last few months by her working additional hours due to staff vacancies. With the current recruitment in progress, this situation should resolve itself shortly. It has, however, resulted in some aspects of leadership and management being found wanting. For example, the manager’s monitoring of the home’s performance has not been completed and submitted to Ofsted within the required timescale.

p.9

Requires improvement

All staff except one have the required qualification. The two team leaders are enrolled on a management qualification course. This will provide them with the skills they need to manage staff and take charge of the home in the manager’s absence. Staff receive supervision regularly. The content of supervision tends to be around procedure and policy rather than reflection on practice. It would therefore be beneficial for senior staff to have training in supervision.

p.9

Requires improvement

The home is spacious, welcoming and attractively furnished. It provides young people with the feeling that they are valued. Bathing facilities are suitable for young people with disabilities, enabling them to attend to their personal care needs in comfort.

p.9

Requires improvement

The manager has been proactive in making links with other professionals. For example, she requested that the designated officer for safeguarding visit and speak to staff about their role. She has also made contact with a senior children’s social care manager within the host local authority with a view to improving the service that the home provides to young people.

p.9

Requires improvement

There have, however, been shortcomings in the manager’s effectiveness in working with, and challenging, the contribution of other agencies and services. In particular, the quantity and quality of information provided by the local authorities of both young people who have been placed has been completely inadequate. The manager has made efforts to obtain this with little success. The inspector had to contact the placing authority for the young person currently placed for the required information. This was provided later that day. There is no clear policy for escalating these difficulties to the responsible individual or other directors of the company. As a result, young people have been admitted with staff being unaware of important information. For example, their history and family chronology, whether they have had previous placements, and health and education assessments. This means that staff cannot know what risks a young person might pose, or whether the home can

p.10

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’.

p.11

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

p.11

What the inspection judgements mean

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

p.11

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 whom 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

p.12

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 .

p.12

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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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,

p.13

Information about this inspection

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

p.13

Information about this inspection

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

p.13

Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.13