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

Inspection report children’s home: 2564769 1 Registered provider: The Hesley Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children and young people with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were registered with Ofsted in March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 23 and 24 March 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2564769 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2564769 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Currently, there are no children living at this home. There is one young person, who has reached the age of 18 years, living here. The home consists of three separate interconnected properties. The provider is updating and redecorating the two unoccupied properties. The home where the young person lives is well maintained, personalised, and stocked with toys and books to appeal to the young person’s interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop and implement individualised processes to enable children and young people to share their views and to encourage them to make choices. One young person said, in relation to their views being listened to, ‘The staff are doing everything they can for me.’ The approach of staff assists children and young people to develop strong bonds with their caring adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are supported to pursue their hobbies and to take part in new activities, which helps them to discover different interests. Staff arrange outings so that children and young people have opportunities to develop skills that promote independence while having fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children and young people to feel prepared for health appointments, sensitively helping them to adjust to changes in their routine so that their health needs can be met. Staff work collaboratively with health professionals, sharing information so that they can understand each child or young person’s current needs. The manager arranges training to enable her staff to gain a deeper insight into the diagnosis of those in their care, so that they become more skilled and in tune with children and young people’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children and young people to be well equipped for school. One parent said, ‘[Name] has remained in education, which is no mean feat. This brings home how well the staff have done.’ Staff consult with education professionals each day so that any potential issues or barriers to learning are known, supporting children’s continued progression.

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

Children and young people understand the processes in place to raise concerns. Staff create individual children’s guides, taking into consideration each child or young person’s communication needs. When children and young people raise issues, the manager makes safeguarding referrals appropriately. The manager provides feedback to children and young people to help them understand that their safety is important.

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

Physical intervention to manage children and young people’s behaviour is rarely used. Staff know the children and young people well and are often able to de- Inspection report children’s home: 2564769 4 escalate crisis behaviour. When physical restraint is necessary, children and young people are held by suitably trained staff. The manager oversees this practice effectively, helping to ensure that it is safe.

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

Children and young people receive help from consistent key workers who they identify as people they can talk to and trust. Staff provide regular feedback, where appropriate, to children and young people’s family members. This helps to support family connections and to promote children and young people’s emotional well- being.

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

Care-planning documents and risk assessments are linked, providing guidance for staff in how to care for children and young people and how to mitigate risk. The manager scrutinises incidents that occur, which helps her to identify patterns and new presenting behaviours. She promptly implements and adapts strategies to support children and young people. The manager alerts her team to any changes so that staff understand the measures in place to help protect children and young people from repeat incidents.

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

Health and safety checks of the home are completed routinely and are up to date. The manager invites external scrutiny, including regular medication audits. She uses any suggestions or shortfalls highlighted to drive improvement forward and raise the standard of care that children and young people receive.

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good

There are a high number of vacant staff positions, including care staff and senior roles. The current occupancy level means that there are sufficient staff to meet the young person’s needs. The manager has developed and implemented a new system which follows safer recruitment. However, the previous system did not include sufficient checks to ensure that individuals working in the home were suitably vetted. This has exposed children and young people to a potential risk of harm.

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good

The manager arranges the rota so that her staff regularly practise with different team members, which provides staff with the opportunity to learn from each other’s strengths and to identify areas for development. This approach helps the manager to avoid her staff becoming complacent, which is a protective measure for children and young people.

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good

The manager has failed to ensure that the statement of purpose is reviewed. This document contains outdated information in relation to who to contact if someone wishes to complain or has a safeguarding concern regarding a child or young person.

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good

Team meetings are held to reflect on practice and share learning. The manager encourages staff to contribute their views and they are reminded of the processes in place to help them to keep children and young people safe. Inspection report children’s home: 2564769 5 Staff do not always receive regular or in-depth supervision. Discussions recorded have little focus on children and young people. When staff have used this process to request additional support, this has not always been actioned. This lack of response demonstrates that there is not always a consistent approach to supporting staff to feel equipped to care for children and young people. Inspection report children’s home: 2564769 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, the 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(x)) 17 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 17 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d)) 17 July 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2564769 7

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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: 2564769 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Hesley Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Central Services Hesley Hall, Tickhill, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN11 9HH

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Inspector

Paula Kelly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2564769 9 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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Inspector

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