Children's home run by Hartlepool Borough Council in Hartlepool

Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 1 SC472417 Registered provider: Hartlepool Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A local authority owns and operates the home. The manager has been in post since the home opened in October 2013.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 11 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on our 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 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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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2019 Full Good 12/02/2019 Full Good 17/07/2017 Full Good 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children flourish in an environment where they are cared for by a staff team who place their best interests at the centre of everything they do. Staff invest their time in getting to know the children and build trusting relationships. Children feel relaxed and happy in their home and are instilled with a sense belonging and permanence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children coming to live in the home benefit from carefully considered planning and preparation. Children are supported to visit the home and get to know the staff and other children living at the home. Staff warmly welcome children and this creates a positive start to their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children leave the home, they are able to take good memories with them. Staff create photo albums to record children’s progress and experiences. One child wrote to staff to thank them for their time at the home. This shows how much children value the support of staff and the difference this makes to children’s lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children are attending school and making good progress with their education. Where children are not making progress, staff are proactive in addressing any issues. One child has been excluded from school despite the strong objections of the manager. The home advocates strongly for children in their care and will actively seek alternative academic provision to ensure children continue to learn and strive towards their goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can take part in a wide range of activities, which are organised and encouraged by the staff. Experiences such as hiking, cold-water swimming, fishing and horse-riding help to encourage the interests and talents of children. This gives them a sense of achievement, increases their self-esteem, and secures their relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and are registered with local health services. Staff support the children to attend their routine appointments and where children need medication, this is well managed by trained staff. Children are not currently accessing any specialist support for their emotional well-being. Staff are receiving training in relation to mental health, emotional welfare and trauma so they can meet the needs of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff establish positive working relationships with other professionals to facilitate the progress of children’s plans. Professionals have commented on the good communication they receive from the staff and how well they meet the needs of the children.

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

Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 4 Children feel safe and protected in the home by staff who they know have their best interests at heart. Staff understand children’s risks and support children to understand how to keep safe through effective key-working sessions. This supports the learning and development of the children and contributes to a reduction in missing incidents and negative behaviour in the home.

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

Individualised risk assessments and plans are effective tools to inform staff about techniques to support children to be safer. They are regularly evaluated and reviewed for their success in keeping children safe. Where changes are needed, plans are updated with the most-recent information. Behaviour management plans not only discuss any potential concerning behaviour but also the children’s positive attributes. This ensures that staff focus on the strengths of children during difficult periods and use this constructively to keep children safe.

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

The use of restraint in the home is very rare. Staff use their knowledge and understanding of children to de-escalate any incidents before this is required. One restraint was used since the last visit. This is well recorded and staff can reflect on it and learn lessons for the future. Children are given a voice and encouraged to contribute and consider what could be done differently next time.

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

Staff use sanctions and restorative practice to support children’s learning in respect of appropriate behaviour. Staff supported one child to write a letter of apology to show their regret at causing damage. Another child has repaid some of the cost of repairs to property. This encourages the children to think about the consequences of their actions and to reflect on the impact of their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced, knowledgeable and passionate manager. He and the staff speak confidently and competently about the children and know them very well. There is a strong ethos of child-focused practice and staff share ambitious goals for the children in their care. There is a shared ownership as they strive to achieve positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from the children, their families and professionals is actively sought to support the development of the home. This forms the basis of good-quality care planning for children. Where the responses of other agencies do not meet the expectations of the manager, there is robust challenge to resolve any issues without unnecessary delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager creates a culture based on learning and reflective practice. Staff receive a structured induction, regular supervision and an annual appraisal. This, along with group reflective learning sessions, support their ongoing learning and development. However, the manager does not keep up-to-date records of what training has been completed or is in need of a review. This hinders his ability to maintain oversight of his staff’s training needs and, therefore, their ability to meet the needs of the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 5 Records are kept in relation to the children that reflect their everyday lives, their plans and work carried out by the staff. However, not all records are up to date and there is some paperwork missing from children’s files or that has not been signed or dated. Important information about the needs of children may be missing. This could result in children’s needs not being fully met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has submitted an update of home’s statement of purpose to Ofsted as required. However, the statement incorrectly states that the home can care for more children than the registration allows. In addition, details related to the staff team require revision to recent staff changes. This means that the regulator and professionals do not have an accurate picture of what the home can provide to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have presented a homely environment which the children have contributed to creating. However, there are areas of the home that are in needs of repair, cleaning or redecoration. This means that parts of the home look tired and, as a result, may make children feel less valued. Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 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 registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the statement of purpose should accurately reflect the number of children that can live at the home, the current staff team and their qualifications and experience. 01 October 2021

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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)) 01 October 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs19 and 20) The plan should: - detail the necessary management and staffing structure, including any staff commissioned to provide health and education, the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose; - detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training, such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications; - detail the process for managing and improving poor performance; - detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33 (4) (b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 7 completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. In particular, the manager must keep an up-to-date record of all training completed by the staff to maintain sufficient oversight of their ability to meet the needs of children and young people. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. In particular, that the home’s décor is maintained, and minor repairs attended to without any unnecessary delay. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC472417 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hartlepool Borough Council, Civic Centre, Victoria Road, Hartlepool, Durham TS24 8AY

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Inspector

Deb Duffy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC472417 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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