Children's home run by City of York

Inspection report for children’s home: 2608630 1 Registered provider: City of York Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and manages this home. The home offers short breaks for up to eight children who have physical and/or learning disabilities, and are aged five to 18 years.

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Information about this children’s home

The service moved to a new purpose-built setting in November 2020. This is the first inspection at this new setting.

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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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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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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 for children’s home: 2608630 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2608630 3

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improvement to be good

Decisions made by leaders and managers to accommodate children who do not fall within the homes statement of purpose have had an impact on the overall judgement of this home. The home provides short breaks for children with disabilities. One child, who did not meet the home’s criteria, was admitted to the home in an emergency. The members of the staff team were not trained in order to ensure that the child’s needs could be met, or that positive experiences and progress were assured. The admission of this child had an indirect impacted on children using the service as short break arrangements, for example some children were cancelled over one weekend.

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improvement to be good

Most children coming to the home benefit from an individualised introduction to the home. Parents are provided with information about the service, which explains what they can expect. Children are given a children’s guide in a format which meets their communication needs. Staff meet with children and their families to discuss their needs and get to know the children prior to them visiting the home. Introductions to overnight stays occur at the pace of the child. This ensures that care is arranged to meet the needs of the child and is flexible depending on those needs.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to develop their independence skills. Observations during the inspection showed staff encouraging children to complete task for themselves. Staff were seen to ask permission from children when caring for them and were treating them with dignity. Staff follow the care plans for children to ensure continuity of care by familiar members of staff. This provides a predictable environment for children and helps them to feel secure and cared for by adults they can trust.

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improvement to be good

Some children are able to verbalise their needs, while others rely on sign language and picture symbols. This, along with objects of reference, signs and symbols throughout the home, helps children to communicate with staff. The home is purpose built and designed to meet the diverse needs of the children. The design and decor of the home is calm and offers low stimulus. These improvements provide an appropriate environment and allow children to better communicate their needs. This has resulted in a reduction of incidents in the home in comparison to the previous setting.

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improvement to be good

Staff build good relationships with the children’s families, who trust staff to care for their children. Communication is good and gives parents confidence that their children are well cared for during their short break. One parent said that they are ‘able to relax’ when their child is enjoying their short break, despite their child’s ‘complex needs and risks’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2608630 4 Children take part in a range of activities with the support of staff. Children have visited places like ‘Go Ape’, they grow plants at their allotment and do activities in the home. Children’s participation is captured in photographs and shared with family through an online journal. This maintains a record of the time children spend at the home and provides evidence of their experiences and achievements.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not always equipped to meet the needs of all children in their care. One child admitted to the home was vulnerable to risks that staff were not experienced in managing. Staff had not received training to understand and address issues related to child sexual exploitation, self-harm and substance or alcohol use. This left the child vulnerable to harm, and staff unable to respond appropriately in order to ensure that the child was protected.

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improvement to be good

Staff use restraint only when this is necessary to safeguard children from harm. However, one physical restraint detailed in an incident report was not recorded in the home’s restraint log. Furthermore, there have been two incidents where non- approved holds have been used. The manager does not ensure that a discussion is held with children when a restraint has been used. This practice does not ensure that children are safe or that children are consulted about methods used to safeguard them from harm.

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improvement to be good

Children’s needs and risks are well understood by staff. Care plans and risk assessments are detailed, with clear strategies to manage the risks, behaviours and needs of the children. Where children display behaviours that challenge, the staff follow the plans to support the children to regulate their emotions. When plans are not effective, the manager is proactive in addressing this. Support from multi-agency partners is sought, and new strategies are discussed and implemented. This helps to ensure that children are safe, and that staff work effectively to meet their needs during the children’s short break.

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improvement to be good

Children who attend the home often have complex health needs and require medication. There have been some instances where errors have been identified. The manager has ensured that additional training has been effective in addressing this. Staff keep accurate records of each child’s medication and the administration of that medication. This has resulted in a reduction in errors and helps to keep children safer.

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good

Leaders and managers made a decision to admit a child outside of the home’s stated remit. This meant that the child was cared for by a staff team whose members were not trained to meet their needs. The manager did not ensure that adequate training was put in place to support staff to care for the child prior to admitting the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2608630 5 Staff lacked the experience to manage those behaviours, and this had an impact on their well-being.

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good

The manager has not ensured that all staff receive regular supervision. This can mean shortfalls in practice are not addressed and individual training needs are not identified. Not all staff have had the opportunity to reflect on their individual practice, which inhibits their learning and development. Some staff have not had supervision for some time, and this impacts on the manager’s oversight of the needs of his staff team.

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good

The manager does not submit the home’s statement of purpose to Ofsted when it has been reviewed and updated. This does not keep the regulator informed.

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good

When completing the review of the quality of care report, the manager has not taken account of feedback from the children, their families or other professionals. The report lacks evaluation and does not show the impact of care on the experiences and progress of children. This restricts the manager’s oversight of the home.

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good

The manager and staff demonstrated a passion and enthusiasm for caring for children. The manager builds positive working relationships with other professionals, some of whom are co-located in the staff offices of the home. This helps to foster effective communication between the manager, staff and social work teams in the local authority. These close working relationships support effective planning for children using the service.

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good

The manager is implementing systems to maintain better oversight of the home. This has enabled him to demonstrate a reduction in negative behaviours and in the use of physical intervention. The manager has also been able to identify some shortfalls in practice with a view to implementing plans to address this. It is positive that both leaders and managers are focused on making improvements to benefit the children accessing this service. Inspection report for children’s home: 2608630 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and

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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)(a)(c)) 22 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 22 April 2022

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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. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 22 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 22 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2608630 7 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;

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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

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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 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— 22 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2608630 8 the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should work in partnership with relevant people as appropriate to ensure that each child is provided with support (appropriate to their age and understanding) to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. In particular, ensure that children are supported to share their views about actions taken to safeguard their well-being or support their behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)

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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: 2608630 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: City of York Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Offices, Station Rise, York YO1 6GD

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Inspector

Deb Duffy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2608630 10 regulates and inspects 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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