Children's Home run by East Riding of Yorkshire Council in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection report children‘s home: SC035499 1 SC035499 Registered provider: East Riding of Yorkshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority operates and runs this home. The home provides care for up to six children and young people and its plan is for them to live in medium- to long-term residential care. The home’s manager has been registered since October 2019. He was previously the deputy manager of the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 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 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: 5 February 2019

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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: SC035499 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/02/2019 Full Good 23/10/2018 Full Inadequate 02/03/2018 Full Good 13/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‘s home: SC035499 3

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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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Requirements 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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(d)) In particular, ensure that there are sufficient permanent staff to bring stability to the home, especially when children and young people are moving into the home. 23/01/2020

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Requirements 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)) In particular, the children and young people should experience a planned move into the home as expected within the home’s statement of purpose. 23/01/2020

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Requirements Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36(1)(a)) 23/01/2020

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The benefits of good care and education are understood well by the staff. Strong partnership working means that everyone involved in the children and young people’s care and education has a shared understanding and responsibility around maintaining good outcomes. Strong encouragement of the children and young people supports them Inspection report children‘s home: SC035499 4 to attend school and achieve their potential. This has involved the staff sitting with children and young people during their exams to help them to maintain focus, feel less anxious and ultimately to gain their GCSEs. As the children and young people successfully transition from school to college, they are supported to enrol on courses that they are interested in. The children and young people enjoy a range of activities. They share their views with staff about hobbies and interests and this has resulted in the children and young people

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

re-engaging with these, including horse riding, football and rugby training, and running. This positive engagement in community activities has led to one child being picked to play for a youth rugby team. The children and young people are making positive health choices. Specialist agencies come into the home to raise awareness and educate the children and young people about pertinent issues, such as drug and alcohol misuse. The staff understand the children and young people’s life experiences and the impact of these on their behaviours and sense of self-worth. As some children and young people refuse to engage with mental health services, the staff ensure that they are emotionally available to the children and young people, providing them with hugs and time to talk. Not all children experience planned moves into the home. A recent unplanned move into the home led to all the children and young people feeling anxious and unsettled. There

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

have been lessons learned from this. Improvements to the fabric and decoration of the home have led to it feeling more like a family home. The children and young people have been involved in the decision-making, and this includes having their bedrooms redecorated.

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

The work undertaken with the children and young people through key-work sessions has enabled them to take well-managed and measured risks. For one young person, this means they can now travel independently to college and are able to have a mobile phone. The staff place the children and young people at the centre of their practice and implement strategies to keep them safe. As risks heighten, strategies to manage risk are well documented within the children and young people’s individualised risk assessments. Issues within the community involving local youths are continually addressed. The manager works closely with the police and local businesses to implement measures to disrupt anti-social behaviour and safeguard the children and young people living at the home. The children and young people’s complex behaviours can often place them and others at risk. In such cases, the staff take immediate action and follow this up to keep everyone

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

safe. For example, when one young person was damaging the fire equipment and setting fire to her belongings, the emergency services came to talk to the children and young people about the seriousness of these behaviours. The staff are proactive in searching for children and young people who go missing from the home. Where appropriate, the staff try to prevent the children and young people from leaving the home, using distraction and their strong relationships with children and young people. However, despite the staff doing all they can to help the children and Inspection report children‘s home: SC035499 5 young people, their safety and protection cannot always be maintained. Consequently, some children and young people have moved on to secure accommodation to ensure their safety. Staff respond quickly to incidents of bullying and intimidation between the children and young people. The police provide further support and advice to children and young

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

people, and speak to them about the negative effects of these behaviours. They also take action to prevent any inappropriate relationships from developing to safeguard those involved.

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

The appointed manager is now registered. He has a wealth of residential care experience and a depth of knowledge and understanding about the children and young people. This ensures that care is appropriate to their needs. There has been a high turnover of staff. Some permanent staff have left their full-time positions to become relief members of staff. Recruitment campaigns have occurred but vacancies remain, leaving the team understaffed. This shortfall is managed by relief staff providing support for the children and young people. The manager ensured safe recruitment processes for the staff who have joined the team. These staff members have the relevant experience and skills to support the ethos of the home. The manager is supportive of his team. However, he is stretched and is currently managing without a deputy. The recruitment campaigns to find an experienced deputy have not been successful. Consequently, the manager is completing evening and

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

weekend shifts to fill the staffing gaps. This means that time is taken away from his managerial duties and, although he has measures in place to monitor and review practice, there are some gaps identified within the children and young people’s care records. This is currently not affecting the quality of care children and young people receive. Supervisions are regularly undertaken with the staff, including the relief team. Records are reflective and examine the children and young people’s challenges and the impact these have on the staff. The staff’s resilience enables them to fulfil their roles and maintain their relationships with the children and young people. Staff report that morale is good despite the staff shortages, as the current group of children and young people is settled. Partnership working is good. The staff encourage the children and young people to engage with all identified support services. Importantly, professionals – and, where

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

appropriate, families – work together to discuss the children and young people’s needs to enable further developments to their plans.

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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 Inspection report children‘s home: SC035499 6 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: SC035499 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Goole Council Offices, Church Street, Goole, East Yorkshire DN14 5BG

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC035499 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 looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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