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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC035499 1 SC035499

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East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a local authority and provides medium- to long-term residential care for up to six children. At the time of the visit, the home’s registration was suspended and there were no children living there.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post has been recruited to, but the applicant has not yet started in post. The area manager has been undertaking day-to-day interim management of the home.

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This monitoring visit

On 3 May 2022, a full inspection identified significant and widespread failings in the leadership and management arrangements at the home. These had an impact on the safety, protection and well-being of the children living at the home. As a result of the identified shortfalls, the home was judged as inadequate in all areas.

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This monitoring visit

At a full inspection on 18 July 2022, serious and widespread concerns were again identified. Staff were failing to keep children safe, and managers were not providing good leadership. As a result, compliance notices were issued in relation to regulation 12 (the protection of children standard), regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard), regulation 14 (the care planning standard) and regulation 35 (behaviour management policies and records). A notice restricting accommodation was also issued.

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This monitoring visit

At a monitoring visit on 14 September 2022, further serious and widespread failings were found in relation to helping and protecting children. As a result, an emergency suspension notice was served. A compliance notice under regulation 12 regarding failures in safeguarding practices was also reissued. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC035499 2 The purpose of this visit was to monitor progress towards addressing the compliance notice under regulation 12.

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This monitoring visit

Following the monitoring visit on 14 September 2022, when the home’s registration was suspended, one child was living in the home. The child moved from the home on 21 September 2022 following a serious incident which resulted in them being admitted to hospital. Following this, the child was formally discharged from the home and moved into unregistered accommodation owned by the provider.

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This monitoring visit

After the child moved out of the home, the provider took action to address the steps in the compliance notice under regulation 12. This included simplifying information provided to staff to keep children safe. New processes were also established which related to the knowledge and practice of visitors to the premises. These measures have not yet been tested as there are no children currently living in the home. However, there is sufficient evidence about changes to procedures which has assured Ofsted that the compliance notice is met.

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This monitoring visit

The current emergency suspension notice remains in place until December 2022. The provider is seeking to make improvements during this time and the premises are currently undergoing a programme of works. Additional support is being provided to staff to build their resilience and skills. The provider has also successfully recruited to the manager’s post and there has been a change of personnel at senior leadership level.

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This monitoring visit

Requirements raised at an earlier inspection on 18 July 2022 were not considered during this visit and will be reviewed in due course.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 18/07/2022 Full Inadequate 03/05/2022 Full Inadequate 25/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/10/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC035499 3

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Statutory requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to escalating concerns when the actions of other agencies may compromise a child’s safety. 6 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to maintaining the home to a level where children feel that they are valued. 6 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who— 6 November 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC035499 4 develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the views of each relevant person are taken into account, so far as reasonably practicable, before making a decision about the care or welfare of a child. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(vi)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to ensuring that the process of reviews is not disrupted during transitions and that this forum is used to ascertain children’s views before decisions are made.

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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

that staff— 6 November 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC035499 5 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. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(xi)(xii)(xiii))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to implementing effective strategies to prevent children hurting each other.

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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 the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission; or

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Requirement Due date

the child requests a review of the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)(i)(ii)(iii)) 6 November 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

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 6 November 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC035499 6

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC035499 7

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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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Inspector

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC035499 8 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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