Children's Home run by Hartlepool Borough Council in Hartlepool

Inspection report children's home: 2490894 1 Registered provider: Hartlepool Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by the local authority, and provides care and accommodation for up to two children who have may have emotional, behavioural and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since July 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 17 to 18 September 2019

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: first inspection

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2490894 2

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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, the 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–

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12(1), (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 23/10/2019

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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–

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous 23/10/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 2490894 3 improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b), (2)(h)) The registered person must ensure that–

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Requirement Due date

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31(2)(a)) 23/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39(1), (3)) 23/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if–

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child–

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 23/10/2019

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the Inspection report children’s home: 2490894 4 needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  Regulations 35–39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored

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Recommendations

securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. Children’s case records must be kept for 75 years from the date of birth of the child, or if the child dies before the age of 18, for 15 years from the date of his or her death. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) Inspection report children’s home: 2490894 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is clean, nicely decorated and well maintained. The garden is a private, enclosed area with equipment for a variety of activities. The photographs displayed around the home are of the children and the adults who care for them. This helps children to develop attachment and a sense of permanence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their starting points. They enjoy going to school, and attendance levels are good. Staff from the home visit school on each occasion that they are invited. This shows the children that they are a priority, which improves their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements are celebrated using individualised reward schemes. As a result, children can understand when they are making progress. This boosts their confidence and helps to promote good behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience a range of activities, days out and holidays. These moments are captured in personalised photograph albums, which enables children to build a record of positive memories. Children’s opinions and preferences are taken into consideration when planning activities. This demonstrates that children’s views are valued and respected.

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improvement to be good

Children are cared for by a warm and nurturing staff team. Children are responding to the boundaries in place and say that their carers are people whom they trust. This shows that the children have strong and positive relationships with staff. It is these relationships that are helping children to be safe.

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improvement to be good

The manager and her team do not fully understand their roles and responsibilities in the process of reporting safeguarding concerns. This has not led to serious failure, but a development of knowledge in this area is required to ensure that children are protected. Risk assessments do not always consider the impact that children’s behaviour may have on each other. Without an assessment, it is not possible to see whether risks are being managed or reduced.

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improvement to be good

There is no system in place to record when sanctions are used to manage behaviour. Without a method to record this, practice cannot be sufficiently scrutinised. This means that there is no effective oversight to ensure that children are being treated fairly.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged and supported to make friends. Key-work sessions are used to help children to learn about healthy and appropriate relationships, and the topics covered are pertinent to the children’s individual needs. This helps children to learn about keeping themselves safe. Inspection report children’s home: 2490894 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is passionate about the care that children receive. When she identifies that standards can be raised, she tackles this with confidence in order to drive improvements forward. Her team share her vision, and the result is that children live in a very homely environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not always ensured that all staff are suitably qualified in first aid or the administration of medicine. This shortfall means that there are times when it would not be possible for children’s health needs to be met by those on duty. Children have not suffered due to this, but the current arrangements are not appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is no effective system to monitor and review records. This has resulted in some documents that provide guidance to staff being contradictory. The gaps in records create confusion, resulting in the care that the children receive being inconsistent. In other areas, some key information is missing from records. Without this information, it is not possible for the manager to review the quality of care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing areas that require improvement. She welcomed issues being raised during the inspection and showed enthusiasm to learn in those areas identified for development. Inspection report children’s home: 2490894 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 difference 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: 2490894 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hartlepool Borough Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Paula Kelly, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2490894 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, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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