Children's home run by Hampshire County Council

Inspection report children’s home: 1257573 1 Registered provider: Hampshire County 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 owned and managed by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children. According to the home’s statement of purpose, it offers residential care with a therapeutic emphasis and multi-agency involvement, to help children recover from experiences which have rendered them vulnerable and disrupted their primary relationships.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 22 June 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Recent inspection history

Inspection report children’s home: 1257573 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1257573 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(vi)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, inform relevant professionals without delay of an allegation that may relate to a member of staff who has behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child. 25/02/2019

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35(3)(b)(ii) 25/02/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children seek out reassurance and comfort from the staff, who respond with authentic warmth and care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Well-trained staff understand the importance of helping children recover from past trauma and developing healthy attachments. Multi-disciplinary support with a focus on supporting staff to develop positive and safe relationships with children is exemplary. As Inspection report children’s home: 1257573 4 a result, the children make good progress and benefit from the support that is available to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the children to develop their talents and interests. Children are supported to attend a broad range of activities and clubs. These include dance, athletics, football, youth club and volunteering opportunities. Staff recognise that leisure and enrichment activities help the children to develop their social skills and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to make sure that the children achieve well at school. The manager and staff work closely with the children’s schools and relevant agencies to ensure that teachers have a good understanding of the children’s needs. Regular attendance is an accepted part of daily life. Staff provide practical and emotional support for children who transfer to different educational settings. Children’s academic progress is considerable, taking account their starting points. Staff place the well-being of individual children at the centre of their practice, irrespective of the challenges they may present. All the children’s achievements are celebrated and rewarded.

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

Staff have training in an evidence-based attachment parenting model. Acceptance and emotional warmth are integral parts of the staff’s interactions with children. This approach is further strengthened by clinical expertise and advice via a CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health services) worker who links with the home. As a result, well- thought-out and consistent care prioritises the emotional health needs of the children.

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

The clear routines and boundaries that are in place help the children to manage their behaviour. The care and help provided by competent staff assist the children in overcoming adverse early life experiences.

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

Risk assessments and risk management plans set out what staff need to do to help keep the children safe from risks that arise from their vulnerabilities. Partner agencies contribute to the location risk assessment. Emerging trends, local issues and risks such as child sexual exploitation and county lines are identified. This information informs the staff’s understanding of and response to risks beyond the home.

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

Children have positive relationships with the staff and are able raise any concerns they may have. Positive behaviour plans are effective, as are key-working sessions, in enabling children to understand and reflect on their behaviours. Restraint records are detailed and show steps taken to avoid physical interventions. However, some report logs sampled showed that endorsements to confirm the accuracy of these records were not signed within the required time frames. This time delay has the potential to undermine the management team’s ability to assess whether practice is safe and proportionate A repeat allegation protocol was seen in place for one child with a 24-hour cooling-off period. This was agreed with the child, the designated officer of the local authority and the social worker. However, the protocol did not differentiate between complaints about Inspection report children’s home: 1257573 5 practice and allegations that may relate to a staff member behaving in a way that has

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

harmed a child. There have been no incidents where the child was put at risk because of this protocol. However, the time delay in this protocol has the potential to leave a child at risk. Additionally, this may give the wrong message to the children that they aren’t believed when they raise a concern about a member of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and leaders have created a culture of high aspirations for the children and this permeates throughout the culture of the home. Staff spoken to were enthusiastic, confident and proud of the children’s achievements. There are sufficient staff and a strong core team. As a result, high standards are achieved, and the children benefit from living in a well-run home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from being one of the local council’s children’s homes, and benefits from having the support of the wider council. In addition, the manager utilises her good local knowledge and networks. This helps keep children safe, enables them to have a broad range of experiences and allows them to be involved in community-based activities The manager and staff have good working relationships with placing social workers and other professionals. One social worker said, ‘Staff go above and beyond.’ Staff are confident about challenging other professionals to ensure that children receive the services and support that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and leaders are ambitious for the staff to develop expertise in providing high-quality care that can help transform the lives of the children. Staff make good use of training and think creatively about the best ways to support the children. Training and induction are wide-ranging and include ongoing staff development. This ensures that the staff are proficient and confident in providing a nurturing and therapeutic approach to the children’s care. Inspection report children’s home: 1257573 6

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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

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: 1257573 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hampshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3rd Floor, Elizabeth II Court North, The Castle, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 8UG

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Maria Calway-Kennedy

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Inspectors

Anne-Marie Davies: social care inspector Peter Jackson: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1257573 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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