Children's home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Dacorum

Inspection report children’s home: SC422231 1 SC422231 Registered provider: Hertfordshire County Council Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides short-term placements for the assessment of children’s needs. It accommodates up to three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved in effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The house is very well presented, homely and offers lots of different spaces, such as an education room, music room and an art room. The children also have access to gym equipment in the garden and in the house. The home continues to work with children over an agreed number of weeks. During this time, the child and their family participate in a programme of family work and undergo individual and group therapy sessions. The aim is to rebuild the family’s relationship and prevent the child from remaining in the care system for a prolonged period. Of the 29 children who have ceased the programme since the last inspection, the vast majority have returned to live with their families. Professionals speak positively about how the work of the team has improved these children’s lives and their family relationships. A support worker said, ‘I’ve never seen a parent so happy. She’s [the child] not stressed or negative and it has only been a week.’ The parent echoed this sentiment and spoke

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC422231 2 positively about how the staff work with families and commended them for not making parents feel judged. The children are happy, settled and relaxed at the home and enjoy being in the company of the staff. A child said that, when he arrived, he would have scored himself as feeling ‘5/10’, but that by the end of his first week he feels ‘10/10’. His parent and the professionals working with him spoke enthusiastically, with his parent saying, ‘In such a short period we have the old [child’s name] back.’ The staff skilfully and quickly develop relationships that enable the children to trust them from the outset. A child described the home by saying, ‘It is decent. Really good. The staff are funny.’ A parent speaking about his son said, ‘He pushes the boundaries and it doesn’t faze them [the staff]. It is such a calm place.’ Both children are now in education. A tutor speaking about one of the children said,

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

‘Attendance was poor, but he has been in every day and stays in school.’ This is a significant change for the child, who rarely attended for a whole day prior to moving in. A virtual headteacher said, ‘The first thing that they [the staff] do is get them [the children] back into school.’ The children have daily and weekly planners and reward charts. The activities encourage the children to achieve their targets and goals. The children’s meetings are held on a weekly basis and detail the actions and feedback from the last meeting. This demonstrates that the children’s views are heard and responded to. The discussions cover topics such as bullying, e-safety, smoking and healthy diets. These ongoing conversations about such topics assist with teaching children about potential dangers and the benefits of living healthier lives. When room searches have been conducted, they have been linked to concerns about the

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

children having items that they may use to self-harm. The staff hold key-work sessions and informal discussions about self-harmful behaviour and, when appropriate, refer the child to specialist services. Despite the number of children who have lived at the home, there have been no missing from home episodes, physical interventions, bullying or other significant incidents. The staff are familiar with the protocols to be followed should any of these events occur. A support worker said, ‘The children are 100% safe here. No- one goes missing, despite having a history of going missing from home.’ Several professionals described the staff team as proactive. There is nothing but positive praise for the team’s work and its ability to engage with children who are usually unwilling to participate in sessions or activities with other professionals. The staff conduct weekly multi-agency meetings that include the family. The weekly meetings

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

review the progress that the children are making. The staff ensure that the parents and professionals take responsibility for their part of any of the agreements/arrangements. This ongoing review ensures that the children and their families receive a personalised service that is tailored to help them to reach the end goal of the child returning to the family home. The manager has worked at the home for a number of years and holds a relevant level 7 qualification. The managers are always striving to improve the service. They continually make amendments to paperwork and the overall programme based on the feedback from the staff, children and their families. An example of this is that the children are now Inspection report children’s home: SC422231 3 having more family sessions in their familial home. These sessions and contact visits are occurring earlier in the programme. This is a development that was being discussed at

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

the last inspection and has been successfully implemented. This demonstrates the responsiveness of the service. When the children leave, the staff maintain contact with the children through the outreach provision. This ensures that the families continue to feel supported. All eligible staff hold a relevant level 3 qualification. New staff are enrolled on the course once they complete their probationary period. The two requirements and recommendation made at the last inspection have been met:  The manager is undertaking quality of care reports. The reports are evaluative and provide a good overview of the home.  The monthly independent visitor reports are being sent to Ofsted. These reports enable Ofsted to have an overview of events at the home.  The discussions and activities undertaken with the children in relation to the cessation of smoking are now more fully documented.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2017 Full Good 17/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 11/05/2016 Full Requires improvement 01/02/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

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

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it Inspection report children’s home: SC422231 4 meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hertfordshire County Council, Apsley One, Brindley Way, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP3 9BF

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Inspector

Sonia Hay, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC422231 5 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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