Children's Home run by Hennessy Living Group Limited in Hartlepool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 1 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

A private company operates and manages this home. The home provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector observed the children and spoke with them.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 9 February 2022.

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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 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: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 3

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improvement to be good

Children have mixed experiences living in this home. Some children have made progress and built good relationships. However, other children have experienced disruption, loss and rejection.

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improvement to be good

Five out of six children who have left the home experienced an unplanned ending to their placement. The staff could not manage the complex needs of the children as a group. Some children said that the staff were powerless and ‘couldn’t do much’ to change the situation. These have been negative experiences for children and left them facing a move of home and instability in their lives.

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress is regularly reviewed. Children’s targets are well documented and monitored by the manager and staff. However, not all targets are personalised for individual children. The manager has recognised this shortfall and has introduced a new system to improve this area of practice.

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improvement to be good

The home is well maintained and has a homely atmosphere. Children like their bedrooms and one child described their bedroom as a ‘chilled out’ space. One of the five bedrooms is being refurbished. The walls are damaged and there are no curtains for privacy, so the room is unsuitable for a child. However, the inspector found that the room had been allocated to a child for an emergency overnight stay. The manager acknowledged this shortfall, and she has a plan with the provider’s maintenance team to address this.

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improvement to be good

Closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) monitor children entering and leaving the home. There are also deactivated cameras in some communal areas. However, the provider does not have the necessary consent from each child’s placing authority for external surveillance. In addition, children are not consulted on the use of CCTV, and they do not know for certain which cameras are in operation and which are switched off. This can affect children’s perceived rights to privacy as they are uncertain whether they are being recorded or not.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care planning requires improvement. When considering children who move into the home, the manager does not fully assess all the children’s needs and the effect that children could have on one another. In one case, the child’s needs did not accurately match the type of care the home provides.

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improvement to be good

Despite shortfalls in children’s impact risk assessments, children are prepared well for moving into the home. The staff provide written information and, where appropriate, introductory visits take place. Children receive a warm welcome from staff when they move into the home. One professional described the staff as ‘down to earth’. Children are encouraged to get to know the staff at the home and the Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 4 other children already living there. This helps children to feel less anxious when settling in.

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improvement to be good

The staff promote the children’s physical and emotional health by ensuring that they are promptly registered with health services. In addition, staff ensure that the children are supported to attend health appointments, and, when necessary, access expert services, such as drug misuse and children’s mental health services.

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improvement to be good

Some children have made good progress in education and have significantly improved their attendance at school. Some have completed exams and are looking forward to future educational achievements. When children experience barriers to learning, staff liaise with education professionals and work together to overcome any issues. This helps to improve children’s academic attainment and improve their outcomes for the future.

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improvement to be good

The staff and manager have a good understanding of the children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. The staff provide the children with advice to help reduce risks. One child said, ‘They [the staff] never gave up on me.’ Another child said, ‘They [the staff] help us to figure out problems.’

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improvement to be good

An increase in serious incidents has resulted in greater police attendance at the home. Police have been called when staff have been unable to de-escalate incidents and manage children’s behaviour. This has resulted in children being arrested and an increase in the risk of children being criminalised.

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improvement to be good

The staff use physical restraint on children when there is a risk of the child or others being hurt. The staff complete a written record of the restraint, which includes details of their actions and the rationale for holding the child. However, in two examples, the quality of managers’ oversight was poor and did not analyse whether the restraint was proportionate and necessary.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from the home, the staff follow procedures and take appropriate action to locate the missing child. This includes involving relevant professionals. However, when children are found and return to the home, they do not always receive an interview with an independent person. This prevents staff from gathering information that may help reduce future incidents of children going missing.

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improvement to be good

Complaints and allegations against staff are fully investigated. The manager follows procedures and takes effective action to address poor practice. She uses the outcomes from investigations to identify lessons learned and improve staff practice.

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improvement to be good

New staff have been appointed. The provider’s safer recruitment policy is followed, and the manager ensures that new staff are appropriately vetted to provide assurances that they are suitable to work with children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has reflected on recent incidents and the negative impact that these have had on some children’s lives. She demonstrates high aspirations for the children and a vision for the home that is focused on continued improvement. With the staff’s involvement, she is implementing plans to improve the children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager plays an active role in the home. She spends time with the children and knows them well. This helps the children to have a good relationship with the manager and to trust her advice and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work proactively with other agencies, neighbours and members of the local community. Professionals speak positively about the home and are complimentary about the quality of communication from staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff take pride in their work and want to deliver good care to the children. Most staff feel well supported to carry out their role and they benefit from regular advice from managers and practice-related supervision. Staff who are in their probationary period of employment receive additional supervision and support from colleagues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff training is up to date; however, one member of staff has not completed the provider’s mandatory training. The manager is aware of the gaps in staff skills and knowledge and she has recently commissioned new training courses for staff. However, there has been a delay in this training being progressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of record-keeping in the home varies. Sometimes, the staff do not fully complete forms and sections are frequently left blank. In addition, the staff do not ensure that all visitors sign the visitors’ log. This leaves doubt as to how well events in the home are accurately documented.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. She uses effective monitoring systems and feedback from others to review the quality of care provided to children and to develop plans for improvement. The home’s development plan shows which areas of practice need to change; however, it does not include how these development needs will be met or the expected timescales. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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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.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that children moving into and leaving the home have a positive experience.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that care is provided for the children in accordance with the home’s conditions of registration.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to ensuring that children’s targets are personalised and reviews of targets influence the children’s care. 18 November

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)) 18 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance; 18 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 7 so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1) (b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4.

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that the home is a homely, nurturing and supportive environment. In particular, ensure that conditions in the home 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 when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should agree with their local police force, procedures and guidance on police involvement with the home to reduce unnecessary police

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Recommendations

involvement in managing behaviour and criminalisation of behaviours. Children should not be charged with offences resulting from behaviour within a children’s home that would not similarly lead to police involvement if it occurred in a family home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.40)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 8 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that the review of care report clearly identifies any actions required for the next 6 months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: 2613032 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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Inspector

Catherine Heron, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 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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