Children's Home run by Hopespring in Sunderland

Inspection report children’s home: 2630728 1 Registered provider: Hopespring 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 charitable trust. It provides care for up to two children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector spoke with the one child who is currently living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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

This is the home’s first full inspection.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2630728 2 Inspection report children’s home: 2630728 3

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected. Inspection report children’s home: 2630728 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide the child with an excellent level of care, which meets his complex needs. He is building trusted and secure relationships with the staff, who have a good understanding of how his experiences affect him on a day-to-day basis. One professional described the child as ‘thriving’ since moving in to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and is decorated and furnished to a high standard. The child scored living in the home as 10 out of 10. On first moving in to the home, the staff helped him to settle in by taking him out to buy new items for his bedroom and supported him to paint a mural on his bedroom wall. This approach encouraged the child to settle in to his new home and helped him to feel a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to attend school. Since living in the home, he has 100 per cent attendance, which, being a previous school refuser, is significant progress. One education professional said, ‘Not attending school is not an option.’ The staff’s focus on attendance provides the child with the best opportunity to progress academically.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Seeking the views of the child is prioritised within the home. A variety of forums take place, including children’s meetings, ‘my chats’, and key-work sessions. This means that the child has a say on his care and care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to make a complaint if he is unhappy about any aspects of his care. He knows how to complain and is confident in speaking to the staff should he want to raise an issue. He has made one complaint which has been investigated but he has not been formally informed of the outcome. This does not give him the message that any complaints raised will be taken seriously.

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

The child says that he feels safe living in the home and knows that he can speak to any of the staff if he is worried about anything. Staff provide a consistent approach in managing the child’s behaviour. There are clear rules and boundaries in place, which he understands and responds to. This helps him to further develop his relationships with staff, thus keeping him increasingly safe.

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

Since moving in to the home, there have been no physical interventions, one brief missing-from-home episode, no incidents requiring police intervention, and one sanction. For this child, this is significant progress from his starting point. However, one member of staff spoken to did not have a robust enough knowledge of these safeguarding procedures. The registered manager is aware of this and there is a plan in place to address this shortfall.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed when staff are appointed. This provides assurance that the staff are suitably vetted and qualified to provide safe care to the children. Inspection report children’s home: 2630728 5 Reports, including the impact risk assessment and safety plan, are clear and easy to understand. While these reports provide the staff with a detailed plan of how they will support the child when risks occur, they do not include all the known risks. This shortfall means that the staff do not have all the information available to them when providing care to the child.

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

While only one sanction has been given, the recording of this is poor. It is not evidenced in the record whether the child has been debriefed, and there is no scope for the child to comment on the sanction or date and sign the record. In addition, the registered manager reviewed and evaluated it for effectiveness, despite being the member of staff who gave the sanction. This does not provide independent scrutiny as to whether the sanction was fair and appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is relatively inexperienced, having not been a registered manager previously. However, she has a strong presence in the home, ensuring that she spends time with the child. She has an excellent understanding of his needs and has a clear vision of what she wants to achieve for every child who comes into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is open to scrutiny and is keen to continue to strive to further develop and improve the service. She is supported by a small yet stable staff team. Feedback from the staff throughout the inspection was consistently positive with regards to the support and development that the registered manager provides to them. This means that the child is being cared for by a consistent workforce who feel supported, which provides him with stability and security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive monthly supervision. However, they are not consistently used to discuss or reflect on either practice-related issues or the child’s needs. This limits the opportunity to drive improvement forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that training records are kept up to date and that all staff have completed mandatory training. However, the manager and the staff have not completed training specific to the individual needs of the child. This means that the staff lack specific knowledge about the child when providing care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recording within the child’s case records is of a high standard. Documents are regularly updated, are child-friendly to read, and include the voice of the child throughout. However, scrutiny of the safety plan identified that not all the staff had signed and dated the record to indicate that they had read the updates. In addition, the impact risk assessment contained one conflicting piece of information to that of the placing local authority’s referral document. Inaccuracies in recording mean that the child and the staff do not have the correct information about the child’s history.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor does not consistently give the child the opportunity to speak about his experiences in the home. There have been two occasions where the visits have been undertaken while the child has been at school and four occasions where no member of staff other than the manager have been consulted with. This means Inspection report children’s home: 2630728 6 that there is a lack of independent scrutiny, which potentially places the child at risk by limiting the opportunities for him and others to talk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose does not include all the required information. It does not include the names of the registered manager or responsible individual. Not all of the staff’s qualifications are recorded, and the method of physical intervention used within the home is not clear. This shortfall means that children, parents and commissioners do not have all the information available to them to consider before a child moves in to the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2630728 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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to impact risk assessments and individual children’s safety plans. 9 April 2022

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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)) 9 April 2022

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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

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and 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 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 9 April 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2630728 8 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)(a)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to sanction records.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children are informed in writing of the outcome of any complaints they make. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 22, paragraph 4.13)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all the staff complete training specific to the individual needs of the child. In particular, complete fabricated or induced illness training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are systems are in place so that all the staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision so that they can reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all the children’s case records are kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that the independent person consults regularly with the children, their families and other professionals, and records the outcome in their report. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 65, paragraph 15.8) Inspection report children’s home: 2630728 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: 2630728 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 10 Sea View Road West, Sunderland SR2 9HA

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Inspector

Paula Shepherd, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2630728 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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