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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC040105 1 SC040105 Registered provider: Kingston Upon Hull City Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is an edge of care service operated by a local authority. The staff provide an outreach service to children and young people and their families who are in need of support to prevent admission of children into residential care. The home can accommodate children and young people for short-term, respite and emergency placements. The aim of these placements is to support children and young people to return to their families or move on to appropriate alternative settings.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager is well qualified and has over 11 years’ experience as a registered manager. She has been registered to manage this home since March 2018.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC040105 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2018 Full Good 19/02/2018 Full Good 21/11/2016 Full Good 09/06/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC040105 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (Regulation 12 (1)) In particular, reduce the number of times that the children and young people self-harm and reduce the number of times that they are missing from the home. 30/11/2019

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— 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— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) and (2)(a))

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular:  improve children‟s and young people‟s safety and stability  reduce vulnerabilities  engage in education, training and work readiness  improve emotional well-being  reduce criminal activity. 30/11/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) Inspection report children‟s home: SC040105 4 This relates to admissions only being made if they are in line with the home’s statement of purpose in offering an edge of care service which provides emergency, respite and short-term placements. The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. (Regulation 45 (1)) 30/11/2019

p.3

improvement to be good

The staff team provides a caring and nurturing environment and actively promotes the individual needs of the children and young people. The effect of this is variable, as only some of the children and young people are making progress.

p.4

improvement to be good

Care planning in conjunction with the local authority is not consistently good. Some placements are subject to drift and delay due to insufficient local provision. There is difficulty finding suitable long-term placements within the local authority, particularly for children and young people with complex needs. Consequently, some of the children and young people experience instability in placements that started as short-term transitional placements. The children and young people in longer-term placements are also affected by children and young people coming and going for planned respite and for emergency overnight stays. This has a negative impact on their stability and feelings of security, and their emotional, social and psychological well-being is unduly affected.

p.4

improvement to be good

For some children and young people, the level of education provision has been limited and their attendance and achievements have declined. The staff work closely with the virtual school, local schools and alternative education providers to help children and young people continue their education. There are some good examples of this working and some children and young people have benefited from one-to-one tutoring. The children and young people are encouraged to read. One joined a local book club and made use of the home’s GCSE revision books to improve his learning.

p.4

improvement to be good

The children and young people receive appropriate support to be fit and healthy. The staff promote their interests in exercise such as rugby and football. The children and young people are encouraged to attend routine appointments and health checks. There is support from other agencies, such as help to reduce substance misuse. When the children and young people self-harm, the staff are responsive and ensure that they receive the necessary medical attention. Some of the children and young people reduce their self-harming behaviours, whereas for others these increase. This is compounded by the lack of stability in their placement.

p.4

improvement to be good

A new clinician and psychologist have been appointed to maintain and develop the support that the children and young people and their families receive to improve their Inspection report children‟s home: SC040105 5 relationships and emotional well-being.

p.4

improvement to be good

The staff promote the children and young people’s individual interests and hobbies. These include football, music, lego and playing out on a new scooter bought as a birthday present. The children and young people’s identities are promoted, and this includes them feeling safe to express their gender identity in different ways.

p.5

improvement to be good

The children and young people are able to influence the running of the home and they are listened to about key things such as family time and where they want to live.

p.5

improvement to be good

Missing-from-home incidents for some children and young people have increased, which heightens their risk of harm. The staff team members proactively search for the children and young people, following the individual protocols, and they work collaboratively with the police to return the children and young people home. Missing-from-home interviews are completed to capture any additional intelligence or risk. However, the current strategies have not reduced the missing-from-home episodes or the risk.

p.5

improvement to be good

Children and young people’s mental health has deteriorated, raising the risks to their welfare and safety. This has resulted in crisis for some, with emergency medical attention and hospital admissions. The staff team is supportive and persistent in trying to meet the individual emotional and complex needs for these children and young people.

p.5

improvement to be good

The children and young people have documented risk assessments and behaviour support plans that the staff consistently implement. The staff have a good awareness and understanding of the children and young people’s needs and vulnerabilities. However, due to their complex emotional behaviours, some of the children and young people remain at risk of harm and their needs are not being met adequately to keep them safe.

p.5

improvement to be good

One vulnerable and complex child, whose short-term stay was extended by the local authority due to the lack of long-term placements, displayed frequent outbursts of aggression, which led to criminalisation. This was compounded by the chaotic mix of children and young people also living at the home and their complex needs.

p.5

improvement to be good

The staff use their positive relationships with the children and young people to encourage good behaviour. This is reinforced with incentives and rewards. Sanctions and physical intervention are used rarely, and the latter as a last resort.

p.5

improvement to be good

Safe recruitment and checks for new staff take place prior to employment. Good induction processes are in place and staff receive mandatory and developmental training that is relevant to the individual needs of the children and young people.

p.5

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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC040105 6 The home is not currently achieving the overall outcomes in line with the statement of purpose. The provider has extended its care to children and young people from edge of care and respite provision to longer-term care. However, the provision of long-term placements is having a negative effect on all, including those in the home on a short- term plan. Children and young people are not found appropriate placements quickly enough and, as a result, they are experiencing delay and drift in progressing their long- term plans.

p.6

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

Monitoring of the home includes the monthly independent audits and the manager’s six- monthly quality of care reviews. However, the last quality of care report was submitted to Ofsted six months late. This does not provide the regulator with a timely overview of the outcomes for children and young people or how the home is managed.

p.6

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

The registered manager is passionate and committed, with a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in their care and practice. Where there are concerns about children and young people, the manager appropriately challenges professionals and escalates to senior management. However, these challenges have not been effective in moving children and young people on to appropriate placements to meet their individual needs.

p.6

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

Staff receive supervision and annual appraisals that help them to reflect and improve on their practice and put the needs of the children and young people first.

p.6

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

Collaborative and positive relationships with other professionals, such as the children and young people’s social workers, police and youth justice workers, are in place. A professional said, ‘They [the home] demonstrate commitment to the children that they support and appropriately manage and identify risks to children.’

p.6

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.6

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: SC040105 7

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered manager: Louise Taylor-Deville

p.7

Inspectors

Sue Hatton, social care inspector Simon Morley, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC040105 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, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspectors

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.8

Inspectors

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

p.8

Inspectors

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

p.8