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

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the 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

There has been no registered manager in post since 28 September 2016, a period of 25 weeks. The current manager came into post in January and is in the process of applying to be registered with Ofsted. He is the third manager of this home in the last year, a factor that may have had an impact on the functioning of the service and the limited progress that has been made.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

In addition, the remit of the home has changed. It now offers short-term, emergency and respite placements, in addition to working with families in the community to prevent admissions to care. As well as having a new manager, there have been many changes of personnel in the staff team. These changes were implemented in January, and are still in the process of embedding. A member of staff commented: ‘We are now getting together as a strong staff team.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Despite the changes, young people are making progress and relationships between staff and young people are positive. One young person said: ‘Staff are fantastic.’ Another young person said: ‘It is very good here. The food is good and the people are good.’ Young people are happy, they feel safe and their needs are met well. Four of the six young people currently living at the home have lived here prior to the change in remit. They are currently waiting for more appropriate placements, and the manager is committed to maintaining them at this home until the right placement is available. All the young people are positively engaged in some form of education, and for some this is a big achievement. Young people’s health needs are well met, and they engage in leisure pursuits to promote a healthy lifestyle, such as playing football and going to the gym. Staff support safe contact with family and friends so that young people can sustain important and meaningful relationships.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Cultural needs are well considered, as are the specific needs of asylum-seeking young people. Young people have access to appropriate food, they can attend places of worship of their choice and there is easy and prompt access to interpreting services.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is clear about the new remit when considering requests for a young person to move into the home. He undertakes a thorough assessment of the young person’s needs, identifies any known or potential risks, and evaluates how these may have an impact on the other young people in the home. This is clearly documented and further explored at the planning meeting. Young people leave the home in a planned way. Staff support young people to visit potential new placements and encourage them to make a positive choice. One social worker commented on how supportive the staff have been in helping a young person with a possible move.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are safe. No young people are currently considered to be at risk of sexual exploitation. One young person is occasionally missing from the home, but the frequency of this has decreased. However, the recording of these incidents is not robust and does not give enough detail about the actions that staff take when a young person is missing. The records are not collated, and, as a result, any patterns are more difficult to monitor. Additionally, there is no evidence to show that young people are offered a return-to-home interview. Behaviour is well managed using proactive diversionary techniques. Physical intervention has not been used since the last full inspection and there have been only three occasions when young people have received a formal sanction for poor behaviour. This demonstrates the success of staff’s approach, as well as the positive relationships that they have formed with the young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Monitoring is effective. The manager has a systematic approach to ensuring that he is kept up to date with the progress that the young people are making. The independent visitor conducts regular visits to inform the provider about the quality of the service. However, young people and the placing authority have not provided their permission for the case records to be viewed during these visits.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is currently assessing the development needs of the staff team, many of which are new to this home. The manager has started this process and has sourced relevant training to enhance the competence and knowledge of staff. This includes training on the impact of trauma on asylum-seeking young people and systemic work with challenging and resistant families. This is work-in-progress and there is currently no workforce plan to provide an overview of staff experience and their qualifications and developmental needs. This overview would provide a more systematic and focused approach in this area.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Partnership working is effective in improving outcomes for the young people. There are regular meetings with the health and development practitioner, who is linked to the home. This is an effective forum that ensures that health needs are addressed promptly and appropriately. There are also regular meetings with the virtual school to ensure that young people’s educational outcomes are considered. There is good communication with young people’s social workers. Social workers confirm that they are kept up to date and that staff from the home provide support to facilitate the work that they do, for example, by accompanying a young person to visit a potential placement. This promotes consistency of care and support.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Five requirements and one recommendation were made at the last inspection. These have been completed satisfactorily. The statement of purpose was updated in January 2017 to reflect the new remit. The fire prevention device has now been fitted on the lounge door to make the premises safer in the event of fire. The manager has conducted an audit of staff training and he is now in the process of ensuring that all mandatory training is up to date. Staff have also undertaken training to improve their understanding of the risks of radicalisation and extremism, and autism awareness training to improve their knowledge and competence. The manager has consulted with staff and conducted a review of the quality of care. He has used this to inform his interim development plan for the home. The process and criteria for any new admissions to the home are clear, and the needs of the young people who have moved into the home since January 2017 are as outlined

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

in the statement of purpose. The care plans and risk assessments have been improved and include how discriminatory behaviour is addressed. They are now more outcome-focused and show how young people’s targets are going to be met.

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 12/10/2016 Full Good 02/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/09/2015 Full Good 17/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person–

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44(2) (b)) 12/05/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:  When a child returns to the home after being missing-from-care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. This is with specific reference to providing evidence that this has been offered/requested. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. This is with specific reference to providing more detail and a collation to inform monitoring. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.31)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of Regulation 16, Schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should: detail the necessary management and staffing structure, the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure, and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose; detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training; detail the process for managing and improving poor performance; detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice and keep appropriate records for staff in the home. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the

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Recommendations

home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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

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