Children's Home run by Kingston upon Hull City Council in Kingston upon Hull

Assurance visit report: SC034746 1 SC034746

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a local authority. It provides care for young people whose plan is to live in a medium- to long-term residential setting.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered in September 2019.

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership. This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit. Assurance visit report: SC034746 2

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The care of children

Most of the young people spend a lot of time away from the home, preferring to be with their own friends rather than with each other. For some, this continued during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown which presented extra challenges for the staff. Staff educated the young people about the extra hygiene measures intended to reduce the spread of the virus, and the young people complied with these in the home.

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The care of children

Staff spend time with the young people when they are at home. This helps the staff to build strong relationships with the young people and enables the young people to feel confident to share their worries and concerns. As a result, staff have prevented some incidents of self-harm, and have disrupted some harmful relationships.

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The care of children

During the lockdown periods, young people completed little or no schoolwork at home. Most of the young people do not engage in education and do not have any structure to their day. Staff actively promote young people’s attendance in education, but this is rarely effective. One young person said he had no hopes or aspirations for the future.

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The care of children

Some young people experience difficulties with their emotional and mental health and some engage in offending behaviour. The staff work well with professionals who offer specialist support to the young people. This support has sometimes been disrupted or diluted during the pandemic and has had a negative impact on some young people. Staff have been persistent in requesting and promoting this support for the young people and have eventually been successful in securing it.

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The care of children

Staff encourage and support family time between young people and their families. Staff made arrangements so that young people could continue to visit their family safely during the pandemic. This was important to help the young people to feel reassured and secure.

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The safety of children

The impact risk and matching assessments are not always detailed, particularly in respect of the potential risks to the existing group when a new young person is admitted. This failure to identify all the possible risks has led to some young people negatively influence each other and some unsettled relationships in the home.

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The safety of children

Staff understand the risks to the young people and have plans to try to keep them safe. Staff know what to do when the young people are missing and act appropriately to support their safe return home. There has been a reduction in the length of time and number of occasions when young people have gone missing from home. However, some young people still spend unauthorised times away from the home. These unauthorised absences are often at addresses which have been risk assessed by a social worker.

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The safety of children

The young people have complex behaviours and risk relating to drug misuse, criminal exploitation, self-harm and underage sexual relationships. Staff liaise Assurance visit report: SC034746 3 appropriately with professionals and work in a multi-agency way to manage these risks. Staff try to find new ways to keep the young people occupied and safe. This includes bespoke activities for the young people which encourage a productive use of their time. Some staff act as champions in the home. One member of staff has received training from the specialist vulnerable, exploited and missing persons team (VEMT). This staff member is also the missing from care champion based in the home. This has improved and increased communication between the staff and the VEMT team.

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The safety of children

The manager raises concerns with social workers and other professionals and challenges them if she feels their response compromises the safety of young people. However, sometimes this does not result in further action that is swift or effective. In these situations, the manager does not always escalate things further.

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Leaders and managers

The home has a permanent manager who is supportive of staff, and they and other professionals hold her in positive regard. The manager has a detailed knowledge of the young people, their backgrounds, their current needs and risks. She has developed positive partnerships and works with others to achieve positive outcomes for the young people.

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Leaders and managers

During the pandemic, the manager has been tenacious in trying to maintain the safety and well-being of both the staff team and young people. She has taken swift action to minimise the impact from the virus. However, absences as a result of the virus led to staff shortages. The manager assisted in meeting these gaps by working on shifts at the home and through recruiting relief staff and changing shift patterns. Both she and others have described ‘pulling together’ during the pandemic. This has enabled the home to continue to operate at normal capacity, including new young people moving in during this period.

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Leaders and managers

Staff have had regular supervision and describe this as frequent and useful. During the pandemic, there has been an absence of face-to-face staff team meetings due to the need to socially distance. Communication through smaller group discussions, emails and feedback from senior staff meetings have supported the ongoing sharing of information.

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Leaders and managers

A previous requirement linked to staff training has been reissued. There are still gaps in staff training that pre-date the pandemic. Not all staff have the necessary knowledge in areas such as child exploitation, self-harm and working with those who have experienced emotional trauma and neglect. Some staff have also not completed the necessary qualification for them to work in residential care.

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Leaders and managers

In addition, the requirement has not been met for the manager to regularly consult with other professionals and families for her quality of care review. This requirement has been repeated. Assurance visit report: SC034746 4

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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 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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)) This refers to all staff completing training on:  substance misuse – interventions with young people  child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation  supporting young people that self-harm  the impact of attachment, trauma and neglect. 31/03/2021

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Requirement Due date

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. The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (5)) This refers to consulting and obtaining feedback from families and placing authorities/professionals. 30/04/2021

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— 28/02/2021 Assurance visit report: SC034746 5 understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(iii)) This refers to motivating the young people to engage with their education, including in the home. Additionally, to advocate for them in identifying the most appropriate/alternative education placements. In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; seek to secure the input and services required to meet each

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Requirement Due date

child’s needs; if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)) This is particularly in respect of escalating concerns if the placing authority is not working in the child’s best interests, for example not identifying a new placement when a child has disengaged, or not meeting young people’s educational needs. Consideration should be given to compiling an escalation policy to provide timescales for repeatedly/further escalating concerns. 31/01/2021

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained— the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. The relevant date is— in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. 01/04/2021 Assurance visit report: SC034746 6 The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual— does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-

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Requirement Due date

time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b) and (6)(a)(b)) 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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) and (2)(a)) The registered manager is to undertake a thorough impact risk assessment, taking into account the individual needs of the young people already living at the home. 17/01/2021

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kingston upon Hull City Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Tina Ruffles, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC034746 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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