Children's Home run by Rite Directions Limited in Kingston upon Hull

Inspection report for children's home: 1254316 1 Registered provider: Rite Directions Ltd 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 managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children who have complex needs associated with learning disabilities or difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is in day-to-day charge of the home. She registered with Ofsted in August 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 15 February 2022

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1254316 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/06/2019 Full Good 13/11/2018 Full Good 07/03/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1254316 3

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inadequate

Children’s overall experience and progress are poor because shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home mean that children’s safety, welfare and well-being are compromised.

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inadequate

There are currently four children living in the home. Relationships between children and staff are mostly positive, and children said that they like living in the home. Staff support and encourage children to take part in individual and group activities in the home and in the community. This helps children to learn new practical and social skills and build relationships with their peers.

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inadequate

Some children have complex physical and emotional health needs. Staff work in partnership with external health professionals, including primary healthcare agencies, hospital teams and children’s mental health teams, to ensure that these needs are met. One social worker said: ‘Staff facilitate all [name]’s appointments. They were concerned around health and quickly got the right support in place.’

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inadequate

All children living in the home regularly attend education and are making progress. Some children have aspirations for their futures and are excited by their potential career options. However, one child’s education plans are out of date. This means that staff are not aware of any recent developments, and may not be working towards the same plan as education professionals.

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inadequate

Staff regularly consult with children through house meetings and general discussions. When appropriate, staff act on children’s requests, such as going to a coffee shop after school or choosing activities to go on. Some children also attend their statutory reviews with staff and other professionals. This means that children are involved in decisions about their care.

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inadequate

Staff encourage children to develop independent living skills. Children help to prepare their own meals, help with food shopping and clean their own bedrooms. One child said, ‘I really love to cook and clean and help staff around the home.’ As a result, children learn to practise the skills they need as they move towards adulthood.

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

The manager does not ensure that safer recruitment checks are carried out on agency staff employed to care for and support the children. She is unaware of the content of required Disclosure and Barring Service checks for agency staff, or when these checks were completed. Furthermore, the manager does not know the content or relevance of their previous employment references, or if any of these agency staff have previously been subject to disciplinary procedures relating to safeguarding Inspection report for children’s home: 1254316 4 concerns. The manager does not know if the agency staff she employs have the skills and experience that they need to work with vulnerable children, or whether they have previously worked in this field. These failures place children at serious risk of harm.

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

The day-to-day care provided by staff does not ensure that children are protected from harm. For example, there are occasions when some children’s interactions with other children and staff are inappropriate. Staff do not help children to respect other people’s personal space, or to recognise what appropriate touch is, or to understand the possible consequences of inappropriate touch.

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

The manager does not review or update children’s risk management plans or risk assessments to ensure that these remain relevant. These plans do not include all known risks to children’s safety and welfare, and do not provide staff with clear strategies to manage and reduce risks. As a result, children’s safety is not promoted effectively and the care they receive is not consistent.

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

A legal safeguarding document for one child is not available for staff to read. This means that the manager and staff do not have the current information to safeguard the child effectively, which exposes them to risk of harm.

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

Leaders and managers do not inform children’s social workers of all serious incidents or safeguarding matters. This lack of transparency means that significant information is not shared, and it is not included in the children’s statutory plans. Furthermore, the manager has failed to notify Ofsted of these incidents.

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

Staff do not know or adhere to safeguarding procedures if a child makes a disclosure. On one recent occasion, this prevented additional safeguards being put in place to protect children from further harm or trauma. Consequently, children do not receive the appropriate care to keep them safe.

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

The manager does not have oversight of potential hazards in the home. For example, one child burnt their hand on the bathroom radiator because the temperature of the exposed pipe was too high. In addition, some children have broken furniture in their bedrooms and a communal sofa looks worn. This does not provide children with a safe or well-maintained home.

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

The use of physical restraint in the home is rare, and is only used as a last resort. Records of these incidents are detailed and include strategies used to de-escalate these situations. In addition, children and staff participate in debrief sessions following physical restraints. This helps staff to reflect on and learn from these incidents and develop ways to better support the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not have sufficient oversight of the service and does not monitor the home effectively. She does not use the available internal auditing tools to monitor or review staff practice, shortfalls in children’s care, safeguarding matters Inspection report for children’s home: 1254316 5 and concerns, health and safety concerns, and records and documents. Consequently, the manager has failed to identify areas of poor practice that have an impact on children’s overall experience, progress and safety. Furthermore, the manager has not addressed four of the requirements raised at the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The day-to-day operation of the home is dependent on the use of agency staff. For example, for the period 16 February 2022 to 6 May 2022, 17 different agency members of staff were used to cover 76 shifts. This does not provide children with continuity of care. Furthermore, leaders and managers do not ensure that the agency staff used to cover these shifts have the necessary skills and training to care for the children or to meet their specific and complex needs. This means that children are not provided with a stable environment as set out in the aims and objectives of the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision, although the quality of these sessions is poor. Staff do not have the opportunity to reflect on their practice or to identify their own learning needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Training for permanent staff is up to date. When necessary, staff also complete specific training that reflects children’s individual needs or unique medical conditions. This helps staff to better understand children’s needs and behaviours. Inspection report for children’s home: 1254316 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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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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)(ii)(vi)(b)(d)) 12 June 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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 12 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1254316 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; and

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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)(a)(c)(d)(e)(h))

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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

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

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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)(b) (3)(d)) 12 June 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)) 12 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)) 12 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1254316 8 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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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)(e)) 12 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 1254316 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rite Directions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Tan Y Marian, Constitution Hill, Permabear, Gwynedd LL34 6BA

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Inspector

Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1254316 10 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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