Children's home run by Hartlepool Borough Council in Hartlepool

Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 1 SC472417 Registered provider: Hartlepool Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A local authority owns and operates it. The manager has been in post since the home opened in October 2013.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 February 2019

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/07/2017 Full Good 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/08/2016 Full Outstanding 04/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.3

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.3

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.3

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.3

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)) 13/03/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.3

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.3

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.3

Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

p.3

Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(i)(ii)) 13/03/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 4 No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

p.3

Requirement Due date

the taking of any action by, or in accordance with the instructions of, a registered medical practitioner or a registered dental practitioner which is necessary to protect the health of the child; or

p.4

Requirement Due date

taking any action that is necessary to prevent injury to any person or serious damage to property. (Regulation 19 (1)(3)(a)(b)) 13/03/2019

p.4

Recommendations

 Supervision of staff practice should ensure that individual adults in the home are engaged in the safeguarding culture of the home so they understand what they would need to do if they found other staff misusing or abusing their position to the detriment of the safety of a child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14) In particular, safeguarding should be a standard agenda item in team meetings and staff supervisions.  Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained to a high standard and has large communal areas that are well used by the children, young people and the staff team. The home is warm and inviting, creating a relaxed and calming environment for the children and young people. Each child and young person has a large bedroom that is decorated and furnished to individual preference. This gives children and young people a sense of belonging.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people receive a very good standard of care. There is encouragement from a dedicated staff team to promote healthy living for the children and young people. They are offered healthy food options and encouraged to be active. Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 5 Activities include running, horse riding and snowboarding. This promotes good health as well as enriching children’s and young people’s experiences.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently four children and young people residing in the home. Staff work hard to develop positive relationships with children and young people. This helps to settle children and young people quickly and develop trusting relationships. Subsequently, each child and young person is making very good progress despite their placements being in the early stages.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team works well with a range of health and social care professionals to ensure that children’s and young people’s holistic care needs are met. A professional commented, ‘They do what a good parent would do by advocating on behalf of all the young people. We [professionals] are all singing from the same hymn sheet, which helps. They are not afraid to make alternative suggestions if they think it will be beneficial to the young person. They are professional in their challenge.’

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a good ethos of education attendance and attainment. The staff team works well with a range of educational professionals. This includes close links with virtual heads of schools. When children and young people have been excluded from school, the manager advocates well on their behalf to ensure that alternative educational provisions are put in place. This means children and young people benefit from smooth transitions back into education.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Low-level challenging behaviours are managed well. Sanctions are restorative in nature and effective. Additionally, proactive key-worker sessions help children and young people understand the impact and consequences of negative behaviours. The staff work hard to understand the underlying factors that can present as challenging behaviour. The staff help children and young people develop their own emotional resilience through reflective discussions. This helps children and young people develop pro-social behaviours both in and outside the home.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child and young person has an individual care plan and risk assessment. There is not yet an effective system in place to assess the impact of new admissions to the home. This would strengthen risk assessments and ensure effective safeguarding of all children and young people.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are regularly consulted via house meetings and key-worker sessions. Planned events have taken place following requests, such as trips to the zoo, meal preferences or requesting pets. There is good evidence that the views of children and young people are acted on. The home received an Investors in Children Award in February 2018. This reflects the significance given to the value of children’s and young people’s participation. The home does not yet have a system in place that reports back to the children and young people on how their views have been acknowledged and how they will be acted on by the manager and the staff team. This would help children and young people understand processes for responding to their requests. Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 6

p.5

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

There is good evidence that children and young people living in this home are effectively safeguarded. Safeguarding is not currently included as a standard agenda item in team meetings and staff supervisions. This would strengthen the home’s safeguarding culture.

p.6

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

Where there have been safeguarding incidents, decisive action has been taken to safeguard children and young people. The staff team follows individual risk assessments. The appropriate protocols are followed to manage risks effectively.

p.6

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

Despite there being no missing from home episodes for the children and young people who are currently placed in the home, the manager maintains positive relationships with a range of professionals, including the police. Preventative measures are taken to safeguard each child and young person which are effective.

p.6

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

Children and young people spoken with said that they feel safe and know the adults are there to help protect them. One young person commented, ‘I love it here. I feel well loved. Staff love me and I love them.’

p.6

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

Effective behaviour management has significantly reduced the number of physical interventions used. The inspector found evidence of an incident that had been recorded but not acknowledged as a physical intervention. This has been made as a requirement. Recording all incidents of physical intervention means that the manager can monitor and track themes and trends to improve practice.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified, with extensive experience of working with children and young people who are looked after. He is very well supported in his role by a dedicated staff team. The manager leads by example. Together with his staff team, they have a shared goal to be aspirational for the children and young people in their care. This supports progress and helps children and young people to develop aspirations for themselves. One young person has requested additional tuition to aid his learning, which has been acted on. This helps children and young people feel listened to and valued.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is confident in challenging other professionals where there are shortfalls in the quality of care provided to children and young people. His ability to escalate concerns means that he ensures that the home complies with the targets as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that the staff team is kept up to date on relevant research. He uses forums such as team meetings and staff supervisions to discuss policies, research, and encourages reflective thinking. Some mandatory training has elapsed. This has been included as a requirement.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is able to monitor practice and ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard. The children and young people have an excellent relationship with him Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 7 and they enjoy spending time with him. He gets involved in the activities with the children and young people. One young person commented, ‘[Manager’s name] is the boss but he is just like the other staff in that I can talk to him if I needed to. I would feel comfortable telling him if I was not happy about something, but I am not unhappy.’

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the home’s strengths as well as areas for development. He is able to accept constructive feedback from the independent visitor, as well as the inspector, to help drive improvements forward. He has plans to embed reflective practice within team meetings and staff handovers.

p.7

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.

p.7

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: SC472417 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hartlepool Borough Council, Civic Centre, Victoria Road, Hartlepool, Durham TS24 8AY

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Danielle Swainston

p.8

Inspector

Jacqueline Tate, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9