Children's home run by Hull City Council in Kingston upon Hull, City of

Inspection report children’s home: SC036157 1 SC036157 Registered provider: Kingston upon Hull City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is approved for five disabled children on a long-term basis, and disabled children on short-term breaks and emergency placements. The home has not recently been providing short-term breaks due to a demanding emergency placement and then refurbishment, but it will resume once the refurbishment has been completed.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC036157 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2018 Full Outstanding 13/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/12/2016 Full Outstanding 10/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC036157 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children who live at the home are very well looked after in an excellent, caring environment. As a result, they are thriving, because since coming to live at the home, their health, education and overall prospects have evidently significantly improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

At the time of the inspection, the household was warm and welcoming, with a lively and energetic atmosphere. The young people were enjoying their school summer holidays, and some described to the inspector with enthusiasm the various trips and outings they had chosen to make as a group.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Both the staff and residents’ groups are currently stable, and the home has therefore provided the young people resident there with an exceptional place to live over a considerable period of time. This means that the home’s existing outstanding level of care is well established and can now be further enhanced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is currently supporting individual young people to move back into mainstream education from special needs provision, to begin to stay over with their family again without supervision, or to take advantage of new and innovative treatments to meet their complex health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Key to the home’s approach to achieving these highly successful outcomes is the close and respectful relationships that exist between the young people and staff of the home. The young people’s educational attainments and emotional and physical well-being are all visibly improving, and this is because they trust the adults in their lives and feel comfortable in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is currently undergoing major refurbishment, and some young people were able to describe what improvements are being made and the important part that they will play in choosing the home’s new decor and furnishings.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Notifiable events, which are usually rare in this home, have been much more in evidence recently due to the appropriate emergency placement for a two-month period of a young person whose life was in crisis. An increase in reported safeguarding incidents is entirely attributable to the circumstances of that emergency placement. All were well understood and dealt with appropriately.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Risk assessment and risk management plans produced by the home are of a very high standard. The unique physical layout of the building, which comprises two wings, meant that the young person placed short term in an emergency could be cared for without any increase in risk to the long-term residents. However, the offer of respite was suspended to facilitate this arrangement. Restraint is not used at all with long-term residents and notwithstanding an increased Inspection report children’s home: SC036157 4 risk of harm, it was used sparingly on only two occasions during the two months of the emergency placement. Restraint was suitably delivered, and debriefing followed as it should.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Episodes of going missing also increased during this period. These were not connected with sexual exploitation and return home interviews were routinely undertaken. Only one complaint has been received since the last inspection, and this was dealt with appropriately.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Staff from the home significantly reduced the extent and duration of the crisis by drawing on their depth of experience and introducing clear routines and expectations. Prospects of the young person’s next placement being successful significantly improved because of the home’s positive intervention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is very well managed by a long-standing registered manager and senior team that is suitably qualified and highly experienced. Together, they model the child-centred ethos of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Management of the home is extremely efficient and supported by effective systems and processes to ensure compliance with the full range of requirements, such as fire regulations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are aware of the home’s strengths and have a viable development plan in place to address any weaknesses. For example, they listened when told that the decoration of the home was ‘tired’ and they are undertaking a major refurbishment of the physical environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers also respond appropriately to insightful reports provided to them by the independent visitor to the home. The local authority invests in an advocacy service commissioned from a national charity to ensure that the young people’s wishes and feelings are being responded to and this augments the home’s existing, young-person- friendly culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff value the level of management supervision and support that they receive. Supervision recording follows the format of care planning, so that progress can easily be evidenced. This is very good practice. Staff also receive regular updated training and can ask for additional input where required; for instance, a group of staff undertook training in British sign language when this was needed to help an individual child.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC036157 5 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

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 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC036157 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull HU1 2AA

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Silvia Madrid-Ortega

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Inspector

Ian Young, Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC036157 7 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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