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

Inspection report children’s home: SC034313 1 SC034313 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 local authority owns and manages this home. The home provides care for children and young people whose plan is to live in a medium- to long-term residential setting. The manager is registered and suitably qualified, and has been in post since November 2018.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC034313 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/08/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/03/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC034313 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people benefit from a homely environment and staff who are caring and nurturing. A thorough refurbishment of the home is under way, liked and appreciated by the children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are kind and friendly, and are sensitive to the needs of the children and young people. They have invested in building positive relationships with the children and young people that include firm and consistent boundaries. The children and young people respond well to this, and their emotional well-being improves as a result.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people grow in maturity, take fewer inappropriate risks and behave better. They are listened to, and they have a part in the running of the home and in the decisions made about their care and education. They spend time with independent advocates, they learn to negotiate with staff and their views are sought regularly. The manager and staff respond well to the children and young people’s wishes and feelings and help them to enjoy positive relationships with each other, for example when agreeing house rules about the use of a communal stereo.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children and young people go to school, and their attendance has improved. They achieve well at school and the staff support them through any difficulties. The manager and staff are proactive in promoting good education and they work closely with the children and young people’s schools and the local authority’s virtual school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children and young people to follow healthy lifestyles. This support includes helping with diet, encouraging exercise, and ensuring attendance at health checks and appointments. The staff discourage smoking, and the risks from alcohol and substance misuse are low and have reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people enjoy a range of activities, such as ice skating and rugby. They enjoy short trips away and holidays. Examples include shopping in London, a trip to Blackpool and a holiday at Butlins. They benefit from seeing their relatives and friends, which helps maintain their sense of identity and place in the community.

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improvement to be good

Compared to the last inspection, the safety and well-being of the children and young people are significantly better. There is better decision-making about which children and young people should live in the home together. Consequently, the children and young people experience a settled living environment.

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improvement to be good

The staff know and understand the risks and vulnerabilities that the children and young Inspection report children’s home: SC034313 4 people face. These are clearly set out in care planning documents, along with appropriate strategies that the staff implement. This helps the children and young people become increasingly safe.

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improvement to be good

Risk management is successful, which is evident in a low level of challenging behaviour and the infrequent times that the children and young people are missing from the home. The staff response to any missing-from-home incidents is good, and they endeavour to find children and young people as soon as possible. All of the children and young people now receive visits from an independent visitor to check on their welfare after each missing-from-home episode.

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improvement to be good

The amount of times the police are called out to the home has dropped significantly. The risks of the children and young people entering the criminal justice system are very low. These are big improvements since the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

The staff take time and effort to get to know the children and young people and see things from their perspective. The staff use the subsequent quality of these relationships to influence the children and young people to behave well and keep themselves safe. At the same time, the staff support the children and young people to take age-appropriate risks as part of their development. They are trusted to go out and return on time, use local transport, cycle, make new friends and take part in a range of activities in the community.

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improvement to be good

Some of the records in relation to risk management are not up to date, and in some cases there are differences between the paper and electronic copies of the same document. Timescales for when staff report a child or young person as missing to the police are not always clear. To date, this has not impacted on how well the staff help to keep the children and young people safe. Record-keeping in relation to one missing- from-home incident was not thorough. On this occasion, this did not impact on the safety of the young person involved. The manager had already taken steps to ensure that this does not happen again.

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improvement to be good

The staff respond well to significant incidents, such as when children and young people have been assaulted or are known to have a knife in their possession, or on occasion when they have been aggressive to staff. The manager has a good oversight of these incidents but does not consistently sign relevant records to evidence this. She acknowledged that this should happen, and she also plans to improve the quality of the recording of the support that staff give the children and young people following an incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has made a positive impact on the leadership of the home. Improvements she has made to the home are supported by the staff, who have developed into a cohesive team, and their morale is higher. Consequently, there are better standards of care for the children and young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC034313 5 Under this new leadership, the aims in the statement of purpose are being met. The care of the children and young people is founded on evidence-based social work models, such as systemic and restorative practice. The staff feel invigorated and want to see the children and young people succeed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New care planning systems, improved key-working arrangements and monitoring of the children and young people’s outcomes are contributing towards their good experiences and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff make sure the wishes and feelings of children and young people are promoted. There is good partnership work with other agencies. This includes appropriate challenge from the manager when decision-making from other agencies does not meet the needs of the children and young people. For example, the manager and staff have stood by the children and young people to promote their education and to influence future plans for where they might live.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel that there is a lot of support from the manager, their roles and responsibilities are clear, and their learning and development is promoted. Regular supervision and team meetings reinforce good practice and provide time to reflect on the needs and progress of the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a realistic development plan in place, informed by her own monitoring and that of an independent visitor. These systems have a good focus on improving the experiences and progress of the children and young people. Consultation with partner agencies is positive and highlights good standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and is committed to a process of continuous improvements. For example, there is additional training planned for staff, and she is taking steps to improve the quality of record-keeping. Her plans for change have the needs of the children and young people, and their safety, at the forefront. Inspection report children’s home: SC034313 6

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that the staff have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2)(a)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must complete accurate and detailed records of missing-from-home incidents, and the records must include relevant information about young people’s safety. For example, records should include a description of cars that young people are seen getting in or out of, and their license plates. 30/06/2019

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided. (Regulation 13 (1) and (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all care records and staff training records are accurate and up to date. The records of incidents, consequences and use of physical intervention must include the manager’s comments and signature. 30/06/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC034313 7

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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: SC034313 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kingston Upon Hull City Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Simon Morley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC034313 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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