Children's Home run by Halls Homes for Young People Ltd in Luton

Inspection report children’s home: 2628612 1 Registered provider: Halls Homes for Young People Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned by a small independent provider. The home cares for up to three children, aged between 10 and 18, who may experience emotional and/or social difficulties, and/or mild learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted when the home opened in September 2021.

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Inspection date: 7 March 2022

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 7 March 2022

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2628612 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judged that it has sustained effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection. No children have moved in since the last inspection. The manager is not considering any new referrals until management capacity has increased and the policies and recording systems are embedded in the day-to-day practice of the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, one child has moved on. This was an unplanned and sudden ending to the placement, following incidents of the child refusing to return to the home. The manager recognises the importance of achieving positive placement endings for children, and is in communication with the child’s placing social worker to explore how this could still be achieved.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children are comfortable at the home. Interaction between staff and children is generally positive. Staff use distraction and humour to maintain a calm environment. Staff have helped children to identify their own goals and incentives for receiving rewards. This helps motivate children to make progress, and has resulted in one child improving their self-care skills.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children receive regular praise. Staff confidently maintain boundaries to encourage good daily routines. Despite this, children are still awake until late most nights. Staff are supporting a medication review for one child to aid better sleep patterns, and are promoting more regular exercise for the other child.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff encourage children to engage with the external professionals identified to help meet their needs. This includes emotional and well-being services and programmes aimed at children who are vulnerable to online exploitation.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

One child regularly attends school. The other child has an offer of online learning that they are not engaging with. The manager has escalated concerns about the lack of appropriate education provision for this child, and has shared this child’s views and frustrations at being out of school. The need for an independent advocate was identified at the child’s last review meeting and this is not yet in place.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff help children to attend activities, such as youth club, to promote friendships and reduce social isolation. However, these activities are not always adequately risk- assessed. Staff provide good support to help children maintain relationships with their families.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is generally well decorated, with regular maintenance carried out to rectify any damage. A recent fire risk assessment identified several actions that Inspection report children’s home: 2628612 3 require attention within a short time frame. In addition, a broken settee needs to be removed from the dining room.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has not been successful in appointing a suitably experienced deputy manager, in line with the home’s development plan to increase management capacity. This means that management oversight is limited and the quality of recording of variable. A new system for recording medication has been established. However, the system is confusing, and staff do not consistently record when medication has been offered but refused. Children’s placement plans are not up to date, and do not contain clear decisions about delegated authority.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All staff have attended face-to-face physical intervention training. The manager has allocated online training to staff that is relevant to meeting children’s individual needs. However, the manager does not have a system in place that provides oversight of what training staff have completed and when. As a result, the manager does not have a good understanding of the knowledge and skills of the staff team.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A workforce coach has been appointed, subject to recruitment checks, to mentor and provide additional leadership for the staff team. Current recruitment practice does not routinely include verification of the reasons why applicants have left previous roles working with children or vulnerable adults. This could result in unsuitable individuals working at the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Risk assessments are detailed, and are updated following any incidents. Staff have acted quickly when children have left the home without permission or have been missing from home. When concerns are raised about staff, the manager shares these with the local authority designated officer.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager accesses supervision and support from an experienced practitioner. The independent person supports the quality assurance of the home with strong challenge and clear recommendations for improvement to the service.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the manager has made progress with establishing recording systems and implementing policies. However, two of the previous requirements have not been fully met within the allocated timescale. These relate to management oversight, and ensuring that records of restraint contain specific detail and include debriefs with staff and children. These are restated, along with two recommendations in relation to the home’s environment and obtaining delegated authority. Inspection report children’s home: 2628612 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 2628612 5

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the workforce development and recruitment plan identify the required level 3 qualification and the specific training needed by the staff to meet the needs of the children, including training in autism spectrum disorder. 30 May 2022

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to management oversight of the quality and accuracy of recording, including the recording of medication. 30 March 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2628612 6 This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(g))

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Requirement Due date

In particular: placement plans should contain accurate information; and staff should ensure that recording is clear, accurate and accessible to children. 30 May 2022

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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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home—

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; 30 March 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2628612 7 the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, if a person has previously worked in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults, the registered provider must seek verification, so far as is reasonably practicable, of the reason why the employment or position ended.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (‘‘the behaviour management policy’’) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home;

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; 30 March 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2628612 8 within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(b) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. Children’s homes, in most cases, should be homely, domestic environments. In particular, the registered person should ensure that broken furniture is removed from the home, and arrangements are prioritised for meeting the actions outlined in the fire risk assessment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that children have access to appropriate advocacy support, and, when possible, this should be provided by a person that the child chooses. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.16)  The registered person should ensure that each child’s placement plan sets out the permissions that the child’s placing authority has delegated to the registered

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Recommendations

person. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 30, paragraph 6.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. In particular, the registered provider should consider and plan to reduce any risks associated with social activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report children’s home: 2628612 9

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: 2628612 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Halls Homes for Young People Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 66 Drayton Road, Luton LU4 0PH

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Inspector

Paula Edwards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2628612 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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