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

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 1 SC035543

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Registered provider: East Riding of Yorkshire Council

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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 to their families or to move into foster care.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager was registered on 16 November 2022 and holds the required qualification. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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The care of children

Children have trusted relationships with staff. Children share any worries and concerns they have with staff, and the staff respond appropriately. Staff show genuine care and fondness for the children and advocate on their behalf to achieve the best outcomes for them. The staff help children develop a sense of identity and individuality by supporting hobbies and interests, and they work together with the children to personalise children’s bedrooms and other areas of the home.

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The care of children

Children’s attendance at school has improved. This daily routine impacts positively on children’s well-being and provides structure to their days. Some children say they really enjoy their time in education and are making good progress.

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The care of children

The staff work with others to ensure that the children’s wider needs are met. Where specific vulnerabilities are identified, referrals for specialist workers are made who then support the children. This is often around emotional and mental well-being, and to support children in relation to their culture or heritage. Staff are sensitive to children’s emotional needs and provide nurturing care, including at times of crisis.

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The care of children

Children’s views are regularly sought and responded to. This includes around where the child wishes to live in the longer term. Children’s views and opinions are central to decision-making. Any changes to children’s care plans happen at the child’s pace and with input from children. This means children feel listened to.

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The safety of children

Since the last inspection, there has been bespoke training related to the needs of the children currently living in the home. Topics include bullying, effective room searches, behaviour management and reflective practice. This means staff are now better skilled to respond to incidents.

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The safety of children

Children have individualised plans to manage their behaviours at times of conflict or dysregulation. Staff know these plans and implement them. However, incident records still occasionally fall short in terms of detail and evaluation, which misses opportunities to learn from them. The manager has taken steps to mentor staff around recording, and improvements are ongoing.

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The safety of children

Children’s risks and vulnerabilities are well understood. Staff work with professionals, including psychologists and youth offending workers, to help children reduce risks. The staff use a combination of incentives and focused conversations to encourage engagement and promote positive change for the children. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 3 The dynamic between two of the children has been complex and violent incidents between them have continued since the last inspection. More effective strategies have now been introduced to manage the children’s relationship, but these are not yet embedded or fully tested.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers use multiple opportunities to monitor and quality assure the care in the home. Individual supervision sessions, daily emails, team meetings and group clinical discussions all help managers promote consistent practice throughout the staff team. New arrangements at handovers have been introduced to help staff prioritise actions for the day. This helps in care plans being effectively delivered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The training recently provided is tailored to the children’s needs. The manager has also participated in these training opportunities, which provides clear visible leadership to the staff. The manager has recently started to re-establish drop-in sessions to help children stop substance misuse. This demonstrates that the manager is responsive to emerging concerns in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff work effectively, taking into account the vulnerability of asylum-seeking children. The manager has led the way in helping these children to settle and develop a sense of belonging.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection have been partly met. Shortfalls remain in managing the relationships between the children, and in providing regular supervision to staff. Improvements are also required around the effectiveness of consequences, the quality of recording following significant incidents, and conversations between children and their key worker.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager has had a period away from the home since the last inspection. This period of absence was covered on a formal basis by an inexperienced but motivated member of the staff team. This provided consistency for the other staff and the children. Since the manager has returned, he has successfully registered with the regulator. The newly registered manager demonstrates a clear vision of how he wants to improve the quality of care provided in the home moving forward. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/12/2021 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/10/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 5

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

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Requirement Due date

This refers to putting effective systems in place to prevent children fighting and assaulting each other. 31 December

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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)) 31 January 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff know the importance of understanding ‘who we are and where we come from’, as this is recognised in good social work practice, for example through undertaking life story work or Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 6 other direct work. Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. The relevant plan may include a strategy for a particular type of care, treatment or intervention (for example, therapy relating to neglect or abuse). The care staff will need to understand the purpose of any such care and the way in which the past experiences of abuse or neglect may manifest themselves in the day-to-day life of the child. This should be reflected in the quality/nature/recording of link-work sessions, which in turn should relate directly to the child’s plans and vulnerabilities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14-3.15)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny (including staff debriefs and children’s views being fully reflected and recorded), to ensure that their use is fair and the principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46 , paragraph 9.36)  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) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 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 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC035543 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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