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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC008015 1 SC008015 Registered provider: Hesley Services Limited 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 32 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 May 2019. At the time of the inspection, there were 30 children and young people living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 10 to 11 December 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: 12 December 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: SC008015 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2018 Full Good 10/01/2018 Full Good 01/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC008015 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people make progress in different ways. This is demonstrated in the child-focused review reports, which contain photographs clearly showing the achievements of the children and young people. The progress includes the children and young people developing daily living skills as well as improved communication, social skills and better tolerance and resilience. As a result, children and young people have new experiences, such as going to the cinema or out together for a meal in the community. For some, this has also contributed to a better quality of relationship with their relatives, including children and young people returning home to see their families. Another young person has made significant progress and is about to move to an adult provision. He said, „I owe it to the staff here for where I am today. They are like family to me.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is careful planning when children and young people are referred to the home. This includes input from the in-house multi-disciplinary team to give a clinical perspective. New children and young people are successfully matched with the existing children and young people, which supports minimal disruption. Some of the children and young people have lived at the home for many years. They have formed good relationships with their peers and the staff. Children and young people receive stability and rarely move on from the home unless they are moving on to adult services. All moves are completed in a planned way so that children and young people experience a positive ending.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The managers and staff prioritise the education of the children and young people. There are close working relationships between the home and school staff, which include daily meetings. The children‟s and young people‟s attendance at the on-site school is good, which is a result of the support the children and young people receive at the start of the day. The individual plans and timetables support their specific needs. The on-site school allows the children and young people to come home at lunchtimes. They enjoy this time and they have the opportunity of having freshly prepared meals individualised to their tastes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are happy living at the home. Their needs are reflected within their homes, such as strong furniture or blackout blinds to help them sleep. Each home reflects the interests of the children and young people, with their bedrooms decorated and personalised. The staff work with the children and young people to make them more tolerant of their surroundings. For one child, this has led to him now being able to live in a well-furnished and homely environment.

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

All the children and young people are supported and supervised by the staff according to their individual needs. Since moving in, some of the children and young people need less supervision due to better emotional regulation and a reduction in their self-injurious Inspection report children‟s home: SC008015 4 behaviours.

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

Staff spend lots of time with the children and young people and have a good understanding of their individual behaviours and needs. Staff recognise and respond when children or young people need extra support, avoiding an escalation in their behaviours. The staff follow the guidance within the individualised help profiles to advise and guide the children and young people about strategies to use. This helps children and young people to remain calm and settled.

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

Regular and effective multi-disciplinary team meetings provide professionals with an oversight of the children‟s and young people‟s needs and the progress they make. The clinical team shares information with staff to inform the plans for children and young people. These include the individualised risk assessment and management plans, which give clear instructions that staff follow. Children and young people are kept safe due to the staff‟s interventions.

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

Children and young people are held or guided by staff to keep them and others safe. The staff interventions are needed to prevent injuries and to de-escalate challenging behaviours. These are well documented by staff, providing a clear description and overview to enable reflection. Managers monitor the use of restraints to identify patterns and trends in the children‟s and young people‟s behaviour. This reflection helps to inform staff of what intervention has or has not worked well. For the majority of the children and young people, there has been a reduction in the use of physical interventions since their arrival.

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

The independent visitor‟s monthly reports are often sent late to the regulator. Although detailed, they do not always seek the views of parents and professionals and lack evaluation. This does not help to provide the manager with a rigorous assessment about the quality of the home‟s care. This is mitigated by the manager‟s own six-monthly quality of care review, which is detailed and evaluative. The manager seeks the views of the children and young people and other stakeholders. She has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and areas to continue to develop further.

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

Regular health and safety tests ensure that the home environment is safe for the children and young people. However, a cupboard under the sink containing cleaning equipment in one block of flats was left unlocked. Children are always supervised in the flats, therefore mitigating any risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is now registered with Ofsted. She has experience of working with children with disabilities across a range of services and in residential care. She is confident and uses this knowledge to challenge external providers to make sure that the children and young people have access to the correct help and support. Additionally, an advocate visits weekly to make sure that children and young people have a voice in the planning for their futures. Inspection report children‟s home: SC008015 5 The manager maintains good oversight of the individual homes, staff‟s practice and the progress of the children and young people. This is supported through the use of her effective monitoring tools. Supervision records are clear and reflective. However, there are gaps relating to the timeliness of some supervisions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The recruitment and retention of staff has improved, resulting in a reduction of relief and agency staff. The children and young people experience better consistency of care through having the same core team of staff. The staff have ongoing training to meet the needs of the children and young people they are caring for. The staff understand the importance of whistleblowing and report any concerns they have about individual practice. These are explored, and action is taken when needed by managers. But there continue to be isolated incidents where staff would benefit from ongoing training about the appropriate use of language in front of children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff joining the home meet with the newly appointed induction coach throughout their probation period. This provides them with ongoing guidance and support to address any questions they may have. The manager also visits the individual homes to get to know the staff team members and to observe their practice with the children and young people. There is good communication in team meetings, which the managers attend to share information. This leads to staff feeling supported. Inspection report children‟s home: SC008015 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 home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(b)) In particular, in respect of ensuring that staff keep the cleaning cupboards locked in the children’s homes. 01/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) In particular, to keep a record of why a supervision session has not taken place. Also to provide ongoing training to staff about the appropriate use of language in front of children and young people. 01/02/2020

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Requirement Due date

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 (“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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC008015 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: SC008015 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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Inspectors

Tina Ruffles: social care inspector Sue Hatton: social care inspector Deb Duffy: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC008015 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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