Children's home run by Hennessy Living Group Limited in Kirklees

Inspection report children’s home: SC482418 1 SC482418 Registered provider: Hennessy Living Group 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 may have physical and/or learning disabilities. Two of the children may stay under short-break arrangements.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living in the home at the time of this visit. Some of the children communicate using signs, symbols and the Picture Exchange Communication System.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 6 December 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was carried out on 9 February 2022, to investigate potential breaches of regulations. This was after Ofsted had received information that indicated a potential risk of harm to children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 2 Inspectors found failings in the management of the children’s health and medication needs and with the leadership and management arrangements in the home. In response to these failings, Ofsted issued the provider with three compliance notices under regulations 10, 13 and 23. The compliance notices required the provider to address the failures identified.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was carried out on 31 March 2022 to monitor the action taken by the provider in response to the three compliance notices. The provider had taken effective action and addressed all the steps that had been identified in the compliance notices. This resulted in the compliance notices being lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/12/2021 Full Good 12/11/2019 Full Good 17/07/2018 Full Good 07/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress and benefit from stability provided by the home’s staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy. Inspectors observed children happily playing, listening to music, and bouncing on the trampoline. A child spoke proudly about their recent progress and said, ‘I am a totally different person since moving into the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand and respond effectively to children’s complex health needs. They follow the children’s health plans and ensure that children receive medical care when they are unwell. The staff complete written records to track changes in children’s well-being, and they share their findings with health professionals. This helps to influence children’s healthcare reviews, including changes to their medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make progress in education. The staff have a good insight into the impact that a lack of education has on children’s long-term well-being. Therefore, they help children to initially study from home when needed and motivate them to enjoy learning and to return to school. The manager regularly communicates with placing authorities and advocates on behalf of children who are not attending education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to enjoy a range of stimulating and engaging activities. The staff plan outings according to the children’s interests and needs. An annual holiday was also arranged for the children. This results in children having fun and exploring the world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see people who are important to them. The staff maintain regular contact with children’s families and provide them with photos and updates. This reassures families about their child’s well-being. One parent said that their child has ‘absolutely thrived’. The quality of relationships between children and their families has improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is undergoing refurbishment. Some rooms still require redecoration and repairs, including the children’s sensory room. The manager now has a home maintenance plan, which she uses to monitor the condition of the home. When there are delays in repairs, she alerts senior leaders so that action can be taken.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are individualised. In some examples, key information is not included, such as their night-time routines and behaviour management information. Although the staff know the children well, the lack of detail in plans means that there are some inconsistencies in how the staff support the children’s daily routines. This can be confusing for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 5 Most of the children’s records are up to date and reflect their day-to-day experiences. However, in some examples, information is not accurate, and the words used to describe behaviours are not child friendly.

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

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the children’s individual vulnerabilities and needs, and serious incidents are rare. However, on occasions when an incident does occur, appropriate and effective action is taken. The staff inform relevant professionals and children’s families, where appropriate.

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

Before children move into the home, the manager gathers information about the child and carries out a risk assessment to ensure that the staff can meet the child’s individual needs. However, the risk assessment does not consider the other children who already live in the home and the effect that they could have on each other.

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

Children are supported to have good relationships with each other. The staff monitor children’s interactions and notice when children have disagreements. The staff intervene when there are incidents of bullying and encourage children to be kind to each other. In some examples, the work carried out is not sufficiently restorative to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others.

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

Staff use holds on children when there are concerns that they may hurt themselves or others. In one example found, the manager was involved in the hold and therefore could not carry out management oversight of the incident. In this case, the manager did not ensure that another manager or senior leader scrutinised the hold to ensure that it was necessary and proportionate. This does not give the appropriate oversight of physical interventions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The committed and experienced manager places children’s needs at the centre of her work and she continues to make improvements in the home. At times, this has been challenging without there being an appointed deputy manager in post. The manager is well supported by the newly appointed responsible individual and, together, they are providing good management oversight in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff pressures continue to be an issue in the home. Agency staff are used to provide cover, usually during evening time. Permanent staff have also worked additional hours, which has helped to ensure that there is always sufficient staff working to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff practice is reviewed regularly by the manager. Complaints about staff are investigated. If shortfalls are identified, appropriate action is taken. This includes additional staff training and extensions of probation to assess staff competence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff have been recruited and have recently started working in the home. In two examples, staff’s employment history was not well documented on their Inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 6 recruitment files. The manager appropriately addressed this during the inspection and rectified the files.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak confidently about the quality of leadership in the home and the support that they receive to carry out their work. The manager and staff have regular team meetings and discuss, in detail, the home’s areas of development and the children’s needs and progress. Supervision sessions also enable staff to reflect on practice. At times, the notes from these supervision sessions are repetitive and do not provide a full and individualised account of the discussion held.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses effective monitoring systems, which ensures that she has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. The manager completes a review of care report and identifies objectives for further improvement. However, the plan does not include how the objectives will be met or the timescales for achieving these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals all provided excellent feedback about the manager’s and senior leader’s positive attitude to practice development and improving the quality of children’s care. One professional said, ‘The manager and staff are totally committed to giving the children a good quality of life.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a homely, nurturing and supportive environment. In particular, ensure that the home conditions are of a high standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that the staff help children to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves and other children. Consequences should be restorative in nature. It will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are reviewed by a suitable manager and that the review is recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that children’s plans form the basis of their care and include routines and established boundaries for acceptable behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.1)  The registered person should ensure that, when considering placements for children, they also consider the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure good employment practice, which includes keeping a record of staff’s employment history and an explanation of gaps. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that the record from supervision sessions

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Recommendations

includes content of discussion and the outcome. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s records are clear, objective and kept up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3 and 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the review of care report includes any actions required for the next six months of delivery in the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2) Inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 8

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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: SC482418 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hennessy Living Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rickleton 1B, Bowes Offices, Lambton Park, Chester-le-Street DH3 4AN

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Inspectors

Catherine Heron, Social Care Inspector Jan Edwards, Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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