Children's Home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Hertfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 1 SC444176 Registered provider: Hertfordshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a local authority and provides care for up to four children. It aims to provide high-quality care that makes children feel safe and enables them to reach their full potential.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted for this home in December 2020.

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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 11 December 2020 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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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/07/2018 Full Outstanding 08/09/2017 Full Outstanding 20/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/09/2016 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home voluntarily closed for a period and reopened in December 2020. Three children have moved out of the home and three children have moved in since it reopened. Three children are currently living at the home and are making good progress relative to their complex starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have high expectations for the children and encourage them to be ambitious. Two of the children have good school attendance. One child, who was attending education regularly, has recently become despondent due to the course not containing the curriculum initially promised. The manager is proactive and there has been no delay in holding conversations with education professionals and social workers to explore an alternative provision. The children know that achieving their goals for the future is important to staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to have hobbies. They have good access to a range of activities in the community and at the home. One child enjoys horse riding and is about to start boxing lessons. One of the children especially loves building with small plastic construction blocks and staff regularly spend time joining in with this activity. Another child is interested in music and staff support them in going to concerts with their friends. Such activities increase children’s social skills and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff recognise the benefits of animal therapy. One of the staff brings in their pet dog and the children enjoy taking the dog out for walks. Children are supported to choose and care for their own pet. One of the children has a rabbit and the home has a pet hamster. The children respond well to being given the opportunity and responsibility of caring for these animals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to maintain good relationships with the people who are important to them. One of the children has family and friends who live many miles away. Staff stay with the child at a hotel to ensure that the child can spend good- quality time with those people who matter most to them. One child’s family member said that staff bring the child for visits. The staff stay in touch during visits and make themselves available to the family if needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff ensure that children have a memento of their time spent living at the home. Each child has a book containing photos and records of special moments. This ensures that achievements are documented and celebrated, and that children have a record to keep of this important part of their life story.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into the home are well planned. Children are encouraged to visit before they move in. On one occasion, a child was able to spend the weekend away with staff before moving into the home. Careful planning and familiarisation help the children to settle quickly. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 4

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

Staff have developed good relationships with children who, due to past traumatic experiences, have previously struggled to trust adults. Children have confidence in the abilities of staff to help and protect them. A child said, ‘The staff are amazing. They keep me safe. They really care and they look after me very well.’

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

Children are encouraged to learn how to manage their emotions through having creative conversations. When an incident of bullying behaviour occurred at the home, the manager immediately undertook mediation work, which meant there were no further incidents. These conversations enabled the children to gain the skills to reflect on their behaviours and make better choices.

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

When children go missing from the home, the staff follow procedures well. They work in partnership with the police to ensure children’s safe return, and independent return home interviews are always requested. None of the children currently living at the home have gone missing. This is significant progress for children who have extensive histories of going missing.

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

Detailed individual risk assessments provide staff with the necessary strategies to minimise potential dangers and protect children. These assessments are comprehensive, updated regularly and include the child’s views. The manager ensures that staff are aware of any new guidance to reduce risks further.

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

Physical interventions are rare. Staff are attentive and recognise any changes in children’s behaviours. They intervene promptly and are skilful at de-escalating incidents. When physical intervention is required for safety reasons, the manager ensures that the child’s opinion is heard following the incident, and that staff are debriefed. This enables a period of reflection and helps to develop strategies to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring. There have been no incidents requiring physical intervention since August 2021.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced and knowledgeable manager is well supported by an equally dedicated deputy manager. Together, they provide good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the home has changed from providing care to children under short-break arrangements to providing permanent care. The home reopened in December 2020 following this change, with a new staff team. There have been some changes to the staff team since reopening, however, this has not had a negative impact on the care provided. The staff who have remained and the new staff are enthusiastic about their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good-quality inductions, and all staff are up to date with the organisation’s mandatory training. Staff morale is high. All the staff who were spoken with during the inspection said that they feel well supported by the Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 5 manager. One staff member said, ‘She is the best manager that I have ever had. She gets involved, she takes time to listen and she really understands staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers and families are very complimentary about the managers and staff. They appreciate the high level of dedication, the good communication and the regular detailed reports. A social worker said, ‘The staff are absolutely superb. They always keep me up to date, with good weekly reports. They meet all of [child’s name]’s needs. They have reviewed and promoted his health, cultural and education needs in such a short space of time. It is a very supportive team.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular staff meetings and clinical meetings are well attended. The staff use this time to discuss the children’s progress, monitor their own interactions and receive clinical guidance. This ensures that the children continue to receive a consistent and therapeutic response.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work in line with the ethos of the home as detailed in the home’s statement of purpose. This is to help children to feel safe, recover from past experiences and support them to reach their full potential. The manager has regularly reviewed and updated the statement of purpose. However, the updated versions have not been submitted to Ofsted as required. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 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

notify HMCI of any revisions [to the statement of purpose] and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b)) 4 April 2022

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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 for children’s home: SC444176 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hertfordshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford SG13 8DQ

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Inspector

Lynne Drage, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 8 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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