Children's home run by Hull City Council in Kingston upon Hull, City of

Inspection report children’s home: SC040105 1 SC040105 Registered provider: Hull City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a local authority. It provides an edge-of-care service for up to six children, whose plan is to stay on a short-term basis in a residential setting. It also provides emergency, short-break/respite accommodation. All children may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 24 August 2021 to carry out a monitoring 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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 13 and 14 July 2021

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC040105 2

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the inspection undertaken on 13 and 14 July 2021, there were serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care and protection of children. This led to three compliance notices being raised, relating to the protection of children, the care planning standard and the handling of medications. On 24 August 2021, a monitoring visit was undertaken which identified that the provider had made some improvements and one of the three compliance notices, that relating to medication, was met in full; the other two were partially met. As a result, these two notices were reissued and have been reviewed at this inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC040105 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/07/2021 Full Inadequate 22/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/06/2018 Full Good 19/02/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC040105 4

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improvement to be good

Staff are proactive in providing an individualised care package to the children, who visit regularly as part of planned respite. The resources and personal items used by the children are chosen by them and reflect their likes and dislikes. This helps the children to settle and feel relaxed in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children make progress as a result of coming to the home. They start to build relationships with staff, and voluntarily spend more time in the home. This helps children to develop appropriate attachments with adults, who support them to have new, positive experiences. One child has described an occasion he spent on a planned activity with staff as the best day of his life.

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improvement to be good

Staff seek to establish positive links with family, and work to understand and address the wider concerns arising in the family home. This helps children to receive care at home which is more consistent and nurturing. When staff identify needs around the children’s health, education and emotional well-being, staff work alongside relevant professionals to ensure that these needs are met.

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improvement to be good

Children are consulted with at regular meetings and individual sessions. They have also been involved in a project about anti-bullying and improving relationships with their peers. Children have been consulted about what type of information they need relating to the service, in order to understand how and why they are being cared for. This results in children receiving information in an age-appropriate and accessible way. It also helps them to feel invested in their care and valued for their contribution.

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improvement to be good

Children are able to influence how they spend their time in the home and are supported to take part in activities which would not be feasible while in the care of their family. This enriches the children’s lives and supports them to gain a broader view of the world.

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improvement to be good

At the time of the last inspection, there were a number of children living in the home who had significantly complex needs, high vulnerability to risk and strained relationships with their peers. These children were supported to move on from the home in a managed way, and the preparation for those moves was satisfactory.

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improvement to be good

Children sometimes come to the home on an emergency basis, during which there is limited opportunity to gather full information about the child. Children who come to the home on a respite basis do so with increased preparation. This provides opportunity for information-gathering and assessments to be conducted more Inspection report children’s home: SC040105 5 robustly. However, new information about risks and concerns is not always incorporated into children’s risk assessments and other documentation. This can lead to gaps in staff’s ability to keep children safe and can lead to inappropriate matching.

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improvement to be good

Risk management plans lack analysis of the frequency and level of children’s risky behaviours. The plans do not reflect children’s improving circumstances or escalation of behaviours. Steps to follow are not explicit or simple to identify, which does not direct staff clearly on how they should respond in such situations. This does not promote consistent and robust care of the children.

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improvement to be good

Since the home has been admitting children on a respite or emergency basis only, there have been no incidents of going missing. Despite this, staff know how to respond should incidents of going missing arise, and children have a personalised missing plan which is kept up to date on their file.

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improvement to be good

During an evaluation of the premises, inspectors noted that dangerous items are appropriately stored in the home’s safe. However, staff were unaware of exactly how many items needed to be accounted for. This creates an opportunity for dangerous items to be in circulation without staff knowing. This is of particular concern, as some children have a history of carrying knives.

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improvement to be good

When children display concerning behaviours which suggest they may pose a risk to themselves, staff manage situations effectively. This helps to avert serious incidents and promotes a feeling of well-being and security for children.

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good

Leaders and managers have implemented changes which have led to improvements. As a result, the compliance notices reissued following the monitoring visit are now met.

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good

Leaders and managers have a clear understanding about the purpose and scope of the home. They are aware of the continuing need to embed some of the new documentation, policies and practices into the team’s day-to-day work. They have multiple systems for disseminating and sharing information; however, the systems for checking out staff’s competence and understanding are still not working as effectively as they should. For example, staff are required to sign to state that they have read and understood documents, but this is not done consistently. This does not provide assurances that the systems implemented are effective.

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good

Gaps linked to staff training mean that the requirement raised at the last inspection is not met. This means that children may be cared for by staff who do not have the necessary and up-to-date skills and knowledge. Inspection report children’s home: SC040105 6 The manager submits safeguarding notifications to the regulator. However, these are not always received in a timely way, which reduces the opportunity for the regulator to have oversight of events in the home.

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good

Allegations are appropriately investigated and reported, including to the designated officer from the local authority. Staff say that they feel better supported in this respect. However, during investigations into these allegations, there have been occasions when staff have continued to work on the premises without a formal risk assessment to protect both them and the children. Additionally, outcomes of these allegations are not consistently recorded in the staff’s supervision records.

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good

The frequency of supervisions is not in line with the home’s policy. Additionally, some staff have not had their annual review of performance. This does not maximise the opportunity for leaders and managers to reassure themselves of staff’s well-being, understanding and competence.

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good

The home is now achieving its stated aims and objectives as a provider of respite and emergency accommodation. The home’s physical appearance is welcoming and homely. The manager is child-focused and is motivated to promote best outcomes for children. This includes supporting children to improve family relationships with a view to returning home. Shortfalls previously identified are being addressed, which contributes to a better experience for children during their time in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC040105 7

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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 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—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to updating risk management plans as new information comes to light and ensuring that steps to manage/reduce these risks are clearly set out for staff to follow. It also refers to introducing measures to keep track of dangerous items removed into safe storage. 30 November

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 30 November Inspection report children’s home: SC040105 8 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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Requirement Due date

This refers to staff completing all mandatory and service- related training. This also refers to ensuring that staff read and understand the children’s care plans and other documents and deliver care which aligns with the requirements set out in the documentation and offers continuity.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to ensuring that notifications are made in a timely fashion and without delay, within 24 hours. 27 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC040105 9

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17)

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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: SC040105 10

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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: The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull HU1 2AA

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Inspectors

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Regulatory Inspector (lead) Louise Hollick, Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC040105 11 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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