Children's Home run by East Riding of Yorkshire Council in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 1 SC035543 Registered provider: East Riding of Yorkshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority operates this home. The home provides care for up to six children. The aim of the home is to prepare children for independence. Where appropriate, staff support children to return home or to foster care.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is currently being managed by an acting manager who has been in day- to-day charge since September 2021. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be 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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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 20 December 2021

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/12/2021 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/10/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 3

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improvement to be good

Children receive care which is individualised to take account of their specific needs and vulnerabilities. Their bedrooms contain personal and sentimental items which help them to have a sense of belonging. Some of the children’s bedrooms are untidy and the general appearance of the communal areas is poor through damage and wear and tear. This does not support children to place value on the home.

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improvement to be good

The progress children make in education varies. One child enjoys the routine and stimulation of school and attends regularly. Other children refuse to attend and have a lack of structure to their day. Staff try to engage children in alternative learning but with limited success. This disrupts academic progress and healthy routines around sleeping and activity.

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improvement to be good

The day-to-day experience of the children has been undermined by the complex dynamics in the home. The relationships between the children are abusive and often involve violence. Staff have not been able to prevent children from harming each other. Assaults on peers have been reported to the police, but this has not prevented further incidents. This does not help children to feel safe and secure.

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improvement to be good

Some children have moved into the home even when they have not been suitably matched to the other children. For some, the location of the home has presented risks. Staff and professionals have recognised and raised concerns about the suitability of the match. This admission has led to concerns related to the child’s safety and that of others.

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improvement to be good

Children’s moves out of the home are not always well managed. One child experienced a positive and successful move, with good planning and support which helped the child to settle quickly. However, another child left in crisis and moved to an unregulated setting. This does not provide assurances that care and move on plans can always be implemented and that children experience stability.

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improvement to be good

Children build good relationships with staff. Sometimes, staff have been hurt during conflict between the children. Staff have shown tenacity and commitment in supporting the children through times of crisis. This has promoted some trusting relationships between adults and children.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risks are identified and understood by staff. Risk assessments, however, do not always reflect sufficiently the harm that peer-on-peer violence causes. Staff refer to playfighting, rather than assaults, and this contributes to a culture of normalisation. There have been repeated incidents when one child has been Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 4 targeted by other children. This does not ensure that children are protected from harm.

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improvement to be good

There are systems for children to report bullying. However, the process is not child- friendly or easily accessible. This does not support children to report concerns confidentially. Staff have however supported children to report matters to the police if appropriate.

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improvement to be good

There have been incidents of fire-setting in the home. There is appropriate referral to fire safety specialists around educating children, but not all staff have up-to-date fire training. Other actions, such as using fire-retardant bedding and disconnecting gas appliances overnight, do reduce risk. Despite this known risk, the home has not been kept free from preventable hazards, in that measures to prevent children accessing materials and means to start fires are not working. One child has also brought dangerous items and weapons into the home. This does not promote the children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

Multi-agency working is a strength at this home. The manager and staff work well with professionals to understand and reduce risks posed to children in the local community. However, this has not been effective for all children and professionals express concerns that one child’s risks have increased due to risks in the locality.

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls identified at the last inspection have not been wholly rectified. The safety of children online is compromised by children purchasing phones outside the control of the home. This prevents safety plans based on limiting their access to the internet and social media from being implemented. Staff will intervene and educate if they see children accessing inappropriate material, but as children often use phones and tablets away from staff this is not always possible.

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improvement to be good

There have been frequent safeguarding incidents since the last inspection. The manager has identified and notified the regulator about most of the incidents. However, there are still gaps around the outcomes of child protection enquiries and other serious incidents which prevent the regulator from having oversight.

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improvement to be good

Records of restraint are inconsistent and some do not include all the required information. One member of staff whose training had lapsed participated in restraining a child. The measures taken by the provider ensured that there was no impact on the child.

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good

The experienced manager has established himself in the role and is held in high regard by staff. He is not yet registered due to an unavoidable delay in submitting an application. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 5 The manager has recognised shortfalls in practice, and risks associated with children matched to the home. However, attempts to escalate his concerns in this area have not been effective.

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good

The manager has delegated some responsibilities to his staff, which is supportive of their professional development. Training is now being delivered face to face following the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions easing, but there are still gaps in training, especially notable around fire safety. This means that not all staff have up- to-date knowledge to promote fire safety.

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good

Staff are not always receiving supervision in line with the organisation’s policy. This limits the oversight of managers and their assessment of staff’s resilience and competence. Team meetings have been promoted, and these provide an alternative forum for sharing information and reflecting on practice.

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good

Recruitment of staff is robust, and appropriate checks are made. This results in care being delivered by staff who are safe to work with children and have relevant experience.

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good

The locality risk assessment has been recently reviewed but does not reflect the current crime picture in the area. This should help the manager better analyse risks for children who are potentially matched to the home.

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good

Children’s views are generally sought, understood and promoted. However, their voice is not well demonstrated when reviewing and reflecting on the sanctions used. This reduces opportunities to help children to understand the reparation and natural consequences of their actions. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(xi)(xii) and (xiii))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to putting effective systems in place to prevent children fighting and assaulting each other. 17 July 2022

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; 17 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 7 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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)(iv)(vi)(d))

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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

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

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 17 July 2022

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

This refers to conducting an assessment that informs whether children should move in without having a negative 17 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 8 impact on each other, and whether staff have the skills to care for them safely.

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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)) 17 July 2022

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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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a description of the measure and its duration;

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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 17 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 9 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) and (c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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)(b)(c)(d)(ii)(e)) 17 July 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming and supportive, and which provides appropriate boundaries in relation to their behaviour. Homes must also meet children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should understand that where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work

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Recommendations

closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 10  The registered person should ensure that the home is suitably located so that children are safeguarded effectively and can access services to meet needs

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Recommendations

identified in their relevant plans (see regulations 12(2)(c)). Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. Providers should refer to the non-statutory advice about the location assessment process: ‘Children’s homes regulation amendments 2014: Advice for children’s homes providers on new duties under regulations that came in to effect in January and April 2014’. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: SC035543 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: East Riding of Yorkshire Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Cross Street, Beverley HU17 9BA

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Inspectors

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Joanna Warburton, Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 12 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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