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 last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to receive excellent care and support from a staff team that is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for each young person. As a result, young people progress in all aspects of their lives. For example, one young person proudly said, ‘I have lost 11 pounds’ and ‘I swapped my snacks at school for fruit.’ The home has adopted a ‘healthy eating club’ which both young people and staff are a part of, to promote healthy lifestyles.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff know the young people extremely well as individuals: their likes, their dislikes and their personalities. This means that the staff use effective strategies to support young people based on what works well. This minimises young people’s frustrations. The home has a comprehensive approach to assessing and managing risks. The welfare and safety of young people is carefully considered on a daily basis, and plans are routinely updated to reflect changes. The home does not use physical interventions, and the use of sanctions is very rare. There have been no sanctions or complaints since the last inspection. One young person said during a discussion about rules, ‘I can raise this in the young people’s meeting.’ This clearly demonstrates the value of these meetings in the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff effectively manage the needs of young people living in the home, and those benefiting from short breaks. The manager and staff carefully consider the young people, as a group and individually, and decide how best to provide them with positive experiences. The staff use different areas of the home creatively to support young people who need a quieter space. The staff respond warmly and firmly to promote appropriate boundaries and structures, and use humour, where appropriate, which young people respond to well.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff work extremely well with other professionals to ensure that there is effective planning for young people’s complex needs. Where young people have complex medical needs, there are clear plans to ensure that young people receive the immediate care and treatment they need.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, one child has been admitted to the home. The home has responded promptly to the child’s individual needs, and advocate strongly in all planning processes to achieve the best outcomes. The child has made measurable progress in all areas since living at the home. No young people have moved on from the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has taken action to meet the requirements from the last inspection. A meeting to discuss improving the monitoring report has taken place with the independent visitor. This has resulted in some more detail and analysis in the report. However, the report of the independent visitor does not include an explicit opinion on how effectively the home is safeguarding children. The manager is currently reviewing the quality-of-care report to improve the clarity of actions for the home going forward. This is due in May 2017 and is not yet complete.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has taken action to consider the recommendations. She attends frequent meetings within the service as part of the overall review of service improvements across the local authority. The manager keeps the staff team fully informed of all current developments through team meetings. A consultation exercise is under way to seek the views of the staff and families on the shape of services going forward. The statement of purpose has been reviewed and updated to explicitly reflect the use of monitoring and surveillance devices in the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has consulted with others for guidance on using reflective practice in supervision, and methods with which to improve the quality of supervision records. She is currently considering what best fits the needs of the home to inform how this is progressed. Action on this recommendation is under way but is not yet implemented.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff are committed to achieving high standards for each young person, and for their own practice. Two staff members have completed their level 4 qualification and a further two are starting this qualification. This demonstrates that the staff value their ongoing training and development. The home has increased staffing capacity. There is one new staff member and one part-time member of staff who is now working full time. The one vacancy remaining is to be advertised. There is no impact on young people as the staff work flexibly to ensure that levels are always sufficient for young people’s needs.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has regular team meetings and case discussions. These clearly focus on each young person and how best to progress their outcomes and plans. The manager takes prompt action to address all actions from the independent visitor’s report. There are no outstanding actions from recent visits.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home actively consults with parents and professionals every six months to consider how the home can continue to improve. The feedback received so far indicates positive views. For example, a teacher wrote, ‘Communication and participation is excellent.’ A visiting social worker reported on how well the home communicates with everyone involved with their child. The social worker reports that their young person is ‘very comfortable with staff’ and that staff understand the young person’s cycles of behaviours and use distractions effectively.

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Information about this children's home

This local authority home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight children and young people who have learning disabilities. The majority of the children and young people live at the home on a long-term basis and a number of short-break placements are available to support children, young people and their families.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 14/12/2016 Full Outstanding 10/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/07/2015 Full Outstanding 16/02/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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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

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 that the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b)) 01/05/2017

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality-of-care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality-of-care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take. (Regulation 45 (3))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, make clear the intended actions in the review report. 28/04/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  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 (‘Guide to the children's home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2). In particular, that supervision records show that staff reflect on their practice.

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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 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 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

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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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