Children's Home, Residential special school run by Hesley Services Limited in Doncaster

Inspection report children‟s home: SC035687 1 SC035687 Registered provider: Hesley Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a residential special school owned by a private company. It is registered as a children’s home and offers care and accommodation for up to 37 children and young people who have a learning disability and/or learning difficulties, together with complex needs, including behaviour that may challenge. This children’s home is made up of a number of separate houses. The manager has been registered since June 2018. At the time of the inspection there were 32 children and young people living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 November 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 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

Date of last inspection: 28 November 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC035687 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2018 Full Good 12/12/2017 Full Good 28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC035687 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people make sustained progress due to the structured daily routines and bespoke care that together meet their individual and specific needs. The children’s and young people’s communication, daily living skills and social skills improve. However, the children and young people would benefit from having individualised targets set for them. The children and young people become more resilient and tolerant of others, so they can travel on the mini-bus or public transport. This provides them with independence and a range of new opportunities, such as visiting new places or travelling home for contact.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children‟s and young people‟s attendance at the onsite school is good. There are individual plans and timetables to support their specific needs. The staff adopt a consistent approach across both settings. The good information sharing between the home and school makes sure the staff are fully informed. They provide extra support if children and young people have had an unsettled day, and there is a better understanding of the children‟s and young people‟s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people benefit from positive relationships with staff. There are plenty of smiles and laughter as children and young people experience a range of fun activities at the home such as karaoke and rebound trampoline sessions. There is more community involvement, and children and young people enjoy new hobbies and interests, such as going to the local youth club or swimming. Some young people also complete the Duke of Edinburgh award, which involves them having a residential trip.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people who are new to the home benefit from a careful and individualised introduction before moving in. This includes the input from the home’s multi-disciplinary team, who provide a clinical input. Parents are fully involved and provide vital information about their child so that the environment can be adapted prior to the child’s or young person’s arrival at the home. The thorough admission and matching process means that new and existing children and young people do not face disruption and everyone settles quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The participation of the children and young people has improved with the introduction of ‘Our voice’ meetings, chaired by the manager. The children and young people are encouraged to feed back about the running of the home. Their attendance at the multi- disciplinary meetings ensures that children and young people are empowered to have a voice and make decisions about their future.

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

Children and young people live in an environment that is safe due to the high staffing levels that provide a minimum of one-to-one support. As a result, there have been no incidents when children and young people are missing from home. Physical adaptions are made to make sure the individual children‟s and young people‟s houses are safe, Inspection report children‟s home: SC035687 4 such as enclosed internal blinds or reinforced furniture for those that like jumping on their bed.

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

Some of the children and young people display self-injurious and self-harming behaviours. The regular meetings with the on-site multi-disciplinary clinical team help staff understand the reason for these behaviours. As a result, the risks to the children and young people that stem from their individual vulnerabilities are known and understood by staff. The risk management reports are easily accessible for staff in the new computerised system. This makes it easier for staff to access the most up-to-date instructions to manage children‟s and young people‟s behaviours. These records link closely to the children‟s and young people‟s daily living plans, giving staff a clear overview at all times.

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

The staff team‟s safeguarding practice is good. The leaders and managers have provided staff with information, advice and training about the whistle-blowing procedures. Staff have a greater understanding about the role of the designated safeguarding lead and feel confident raising concerns about any incidents of inappropriate or unsafe staff practice.

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

When concerns are identified, managers take swift and appropriate action to safeguard the children and young people. However, care records lack the necessary details to identify what actions have been taken and how this affects strategies identified in children‟s and young people‟s care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children and young people and staff benefit from the leadership of a committed manager who has extensive experience in residential care. She is supported by child- centred care managers who know the children and young people very well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has made ongoing improvements, including meeting the requirements and recommendation raised at the last inspection. She has implemented new processes and procedures to help improve consistency of practice across the homes. The supervision audit tool, which monitors the frequency and quality of staff supervisions, is an example of this. Staff benefit from regular supervision and structured team meetings where the children and young people are at the focus of discussions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leaders and managers have improved the process of recruitment and retention of staff. Staff vacancies are now at their lowest for many years, leading to a significant reduction in the use of agency staff. This means the children and young people benefit from consistent care resulting in better and stronger relationships. Staff speak of their enjoyment at working at the home, and feel highly supported by the managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff receive good mandatory training. However, the practical shadowing sessions lack structure and staff have different experiences. This leaves some staff without the required knowledge needed to meet the basic care needs of children and young people and to address their routines and boundaries. Inspection report children‟s home: SC035687 5 The manager has plans to make further improvements, which are reflected within her detailed quality of care report. The independent visitor’s monthly visits are consistently sent late to the regulator. They also lack evaluation and do not regularly seek the views of stakeholders. This impedes the independent visitor’s ability to make a well-considered opinion about whether the children and young people are safeguarded effectively, and whether their well-being is promoted.

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. The conditions are— that the care is delivered by a person who— has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(3)(c)(i)) In particular, make sure that new staff have a thorough and consistent shadowing experience during their induction to prepare them for caring for the children and young people. 01/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which— is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children‟s home from abuse or neglect; and sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect. The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular— provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or 01/01/2020 Inspection report children‟s home: SC035687 6 neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b)(2)(d)) In particular, provide more detail to the chronology of actions, particularly in respect of what immediate action has been taken to safeguard children and if any changes have been made to their care plans. The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‟s home at least once each month. The independent person must produce a report about a visit

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Requirement Due date

(“the independent person‟s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person‟s opinion as to whether— children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being. The independent person‟s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5) 01/01/2020

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

Specifically, ensure that children and young people have individualised targets set, and that staff record on the daily recording system when work has been completed on these targets. Linking this information to the care plans will make it easier to identify the progress made.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC035687 7 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: SC035687 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hesley Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hesley Hall Coach House, Hesley, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN11 9HH

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Inspector(s)

Tina Ruffles, social care inspector Lisa Summers, HMI Sue Hatton, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC035687 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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