Children's home run by City of York Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC034940 1 SC034940 Registered provider: City of York Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home offers short breaks in a residential setting to children and young people who have disabilities and are aged five to 18 years. The short breaks are usually part of planned packages of care that are designed both to enable children and young people to experience a wide range of social and leisure activities, and to support their families and carers in providing for their long-term care at home.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None. Inspection report children’s home: SC034940 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2018 Full Good 18/07/2017 Full Good 20/02/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC034940 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides short-break care for children and young people who have complex physical and learning disabilities. There is a good process for ensuring that child-centred decisions are made in relation to children and young people coming to the home. Children and young people benefit from an individual introduction plan prior to their stay. Furthermore, there is ongoing communication with parents. This helps to build relationships with parents, and reassures them that their child is safe and well looked after.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are cared for by a small and consistent staff team. Staff at the home have demonstrated good knowledge of the children and young people in their care and have positive regard for them despite the challenging behaviours they can present. This helps children and young people to form secure relationships, and means that staff can anticipate their needs. Children and young people are treated with dignity and respect at all times and care is arranged to promote their independence where possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The use of a range of communication methods means that children and young people can openly express their views, wishes and feelings. Staff listen to children and young people, and value their voice. They are responsive to requests and demonstrate through their actions that children and young people are heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are good working relationships between the staff, professionals and parents. Feedback from parents is positive in relation to the impact that the short-breaks service has on their lives and the lives of their children. Professionals were unanimous in their good opinion of the managers and staff, stating that the care they provide makes a positive difference to children, young people and their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are making progress from their starting points and this is evident in the feedback from professionals and parents. However, this is not captured well enough in the records held by the home. Plans are not always followed by staff. This means that children and young people are not consistently being supported to achieve their goals.

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improvement to be good

The risk assessments are inconsistent in quality and do not always identify all of the risks posed to children and young people. Not all risk assessments are updated in a timely manner. This means that more recent incidents are not reflected in written documents. However, there are some good examples of risk assessments which include evidence of multi-agency input. This ensures that all professionals are working together to manage and reduce risks to children and young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC034940 4 Behaviour support plans are individual to each child and young person. These plans clearly identify strategies for managing challenging behaviours. However, staff have not consistently followed agreed plans. For example, not all sanctions are applied in accordance with agreed strategies. Furthermore, on at least one occasion there was no management analysis of the effectiveness of the action taken.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not always confident about applying and following safeguarding procedures when children and young people may have been harmed. On one occasion, a referral to the local authority was not made in a timely way, which may have left a child at risk. Subsequently, a strategy meeting was convened and a child protection enquiry took place. Ofsted was not notified under regulation 40, as required.

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improvement to be good

The records of incidents of physical intervention and the application of consequences have not always been of a good enough standard to demonstrate that children and young people have been safeguarded appropriately. The new manager has addressed this with staff and additional managerial oversight is now in place. This has been effective in raising the quality of recording and therefore a requirement will not be made.

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improvement to be good

High staffing levels ensure that the children and young people are supported and supervised when in the home and out in the community. This reduces the risk of the children and young people going missing from home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team shows a great deal of enthusiasm and ambition for children and young people. The enthusiasm for future plans is infectious and this has invigorated the staff team in recent months. Leaders and managers have demonstrated a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. They are committed to raising standards and improving outcomes for children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has a wealth of experience and this is being harnessed by leaders and managers to provide improved care for children and young people. Staff are able to feel part of the development of the home and they feel valued and listened to. This encourages them to take more responsibility for developing their roles in caring for children and young people as well as their professional skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has been staffed by a disproportionate number of relief staff, meaning that some children and young people have had unfamiliar adults providing personal care. The impact of this has been minimised by the new manager, who is now using a limited number of relief staff. In addition, the home is recruiting for appropriately qualified and experienced applicants to join a permanent staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have cultivated good relationships within their community. Pupils from the nearby school are actively involved in volunteering at the home to help maintain the outside areas. The staff team also makes use of other facilities in the local area for the benefit of children and young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC034940 5 Leaders and managers are responsive to the needs of children and young people, and are committed to providing a service for those in need. One young person has been provided with a dedicated area which meets his individual needs. This increases his safety and allows him to continue to access short breaks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The delivery of supervision is inconsistent. Not all supervisions have been implemented in line with policy and procedures. The manager has identified that records of staff supervision do not fully reflect the discussions that take place. Inspection report children’s home: SC034940 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

all aspects of a child’s care are carried out as per their plan, to ensure that they are working towards their assessed goals;

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Requirement Due date

behaviour management strategies used by staff are in line with the child’s assessed plan. 31/03/2020

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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 that staff—

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 17/04/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC034940 7 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all staff respond effectively to child protection concerns and act in accordance with the home’s child protection procedures.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) 17/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if a child protection enquiry involving a child is instigated, or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry). (Regulation 40(4)(d)(i)(ii)) 31/03/2020

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Recommendations

 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 needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3) Inspection report children’s home: SC034940 8

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC034940 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City of York Council, West Offices, Station Rise, York YO1 6GA

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Inspector

Deb Duffy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC034940 10 to 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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