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

Inspection report children's home: 1254316 1 Registered provider: Rite Directions Limited 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. Two children were living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the full inspection on 5 and 6 May 2022, compliance notices were issued under regulations 12, 13 and 32. At a monitoring visit on 16 June 2022, Ofsted found that progress had been made and regulations 12 and 13 were met. However, further action was needed under regulation 32. Inspection report children's home: 1254316 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/05/2022 Full Inadequate 15/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/06/2019 Full Good 13/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1254316 3

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improvement to be good

Structured key-work sessions are based on the children’s views, wishes and feelings. These offer children and staff opportunities to discuss a range of topics that affect the children’s day-to-day experiences. However, there is no evidence that staff have discussions about raising children’s awareness of positive relationships. This may hinder children’s ability to make safe choices in the future.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to attend their routine health appointments and eat a balanced diet. Relevant referrals to healthcare professionals are made to support children’s mental health. However, one child who has lived at the home for over two years is still not registered with a dentist. This is not helping the child to maintain healthy oral hygiene.

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improvement to be good

All children attend education and most are making progress. However, the education, health and care plan on file for one child remains out of date. This means that staff are not working with up-to-date information, and this is not helping the child to progress.

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improvement to be good

Children are learning independent living skills while living at the home. However, one child does not have an independence plan in place to support their onward move. This means that there is a delay in helping the child to develop independence skills. This does not help to support the child’s next steps into adulthood.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy a variety of activities. During the inspection they were getting ready to go on a caravan holiday with staff. Children have positive experiences and make happy memories as a result of living at the home. They are cared for and nurtured. This enables the children to develop trust in the adults who care for them.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from social workers and children’s parents is mostly positive. They said that they are kept up to date through phone calls, reports and emails. This means that people involved in the children’s care are all up to date with relevant information.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not working in line with the policy and procedures that are in place for the disposal of clinical waste. This hygiene concern exposes children, staff and visitors to infection and illness.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments provide staff with clear actions to follow to reduce the risk of harm to children. The registered manager updates the risk assessments when a risk Inspection report children's home: 1254316 4 occurs and reviews them on a regular basis. This helps the manager to identify if risks are reducing or increasing in frequency.

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improvement to be good

High staffing ratios are in place to help manage children’s risk and vulnerabilities. This means that children do not go missing from the home. Staff spoken to are aware of the children's missing from home protocols. They know what actions to take to locate children as quickly and safely as possible. Nevertheless, the children are not educated by staff about stranger danger and exploitation. This does not provide the children with an awareness of how to keep themselves safe when out in the community.

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improvement to be good

Children explore their emotions and feelings through visual aids and discuss their behaviours with staff. As a result, children are coping better when they are feeling sad or angry. Consequently, there have been no physical interventions at the home since the monitoring visit.

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improvement to be good

Children respond well to consistent boundaries and routines. Children have a sense of security living at the home and trust the adults who provide their care. One child’s mum said, ‘If [name of child] wasn’t happy and didn't feel safe living in the home they wouldn’t want to go back after staying at home. But they aren’t resistant to go back.’

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good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has implemented changes to some of the paperwork in the office. Staff spoken to said that these changes are working well. Still, the registered manager does not delegate tasks to staff, such as targeted discussions with the children about their plans, welfare and risk. This means that staff are not aware of the importance of documenting or carrying out these sessions.

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good

Staff are supported to reflect on their practices through regular supervision sessions and team meetings. This ensures that staff are learning about new approaches to children’s behaviour and increases their opportunities to share good practice. All staff spoken to say that they feel supported by the manager and find supervision sessions useful.

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good

Staff are up to date with their mandatory training. They have access to e-learning where they can request training that is suitable to their role. This enhances their knowledge to help provide better outcomes for the children.

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good

The registered manager is aware of the home’s strengths and areas of development. She has a development plan in place to enhance the home’s performance. Although shortfalls have been identified during this inspection, new monitoring systems in place are helping the registered manager and the deputy manager to have a better oversight of the home. Inspection report children's home: 1254316 5 The inspector concluded from this inspection that progress had been made in relation to the compliance notice under regulation 32. Agency workers now provide staff at the home with their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate before a shift. Should they not provide evidence of an up-to-date DBS certificate, they will not enter the home and care for the children. Improved recruitment practice means that this compliance notice has been suitably addressed. Inspection report 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, the 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 11 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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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 each child is registered as a patient with a general medical practitioner and a registered dental practitioner. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(b)) 11 September 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)) 11 September 2022 Inspection report children's home: 1254316 7 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

promotes their welfare. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)) 11 September 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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)) 11 September 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that children’s homes comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.). However, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6)

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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 children's home: 1254316 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rite Directions Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1254316 9 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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