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

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 1 SC482418

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Registered provider: Hennessy Living Group Limited

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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-breaks arrangements.

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Information about this children’s home

During this inspection, the inspectors observed and spoke with one of the four children who live in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 17 November 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s responsible individual has changed since the last inspection.

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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 inspectors 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: SC482418 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

This inspection was carried out due to Ofsted receiving several regulation 40 safeguarding notifications.

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The care of children

Children make progress in various aspects of their lives. They can now manage their emotions more effectively. This has helped the children to improve their behaviour and their relationships with their peers. One child spoke proudly of their progress and said, ‘Once I was going downhill, but now I’ve turned myself around.’

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The care of children

Children are supported well to have good health. Staff support the children to attend their health appointments, and they follow the children’s healthcare plans. The staff respond well to situations when children require urgent medication, and they advocate strongly for healthcare reviews for children when their health needs change.

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The care of children

Children have positive relationships with the staff, particularly their key workers, who they enjoy spending time with. These relationships help the children to trust the staff and talk to them about their worries. One child described how much they like their key worker and said, ‘She supported me. Everything she says that she will do, she does it.’

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The care of children

All children are supported well, irrespective of the distance, to keep in contact with their family and friends. The staff and manager communicate with the children’s social workers and follow the child’s plans for family time. For some children, family time has progressed to sleepovers and visits to relatives who they have not seen for some time.

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The care of children

Children are supported to access education, which includes helping the children to prepare for the school day, and, where necessary, participate in home tutoring. However, in one example, a child’s educational needs have not been met and the manager did not escalate the matter further. This has had a negative effect on the children’s attainment, which could affect their future outcomes.

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The safety of children

The staff understand the children’s individual risks, vulnerabilities and behaviours. The staff work well with the children to help them learn about safety and risks. For example, incentives are used to encourage children to make good decisions and improve their behaviour. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 3 Incidents of children going missing from care have reduced because of the effective action taken by staff and the manager. The staff respond appropriately. They look for the child and inform the relevant professionals. When the child is found, the manager and staff talk with the child to understand the reasons they went missing. They use the information that they obtain well, which prevents future reoccurrence.

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The safety of children

The interior of the home looks tired, and most rooms require repairs or redecoration. The sensory room is not well maintained, and this is used by the staff for sleep-in duties. Potential hazards, such as a frayed stair carpet and damaged furniture, have not been promptly removed. Although the manager consistently reports these issues, the provider does not take sufficient action. This was raised during the inspection, and the home’s maintenance team was called to immediately address the hazards.

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The safety of children

The manager responded appropriately to a significant incident which involved a child. She took immediate action to implement appropriate strategies to protect the children in the home. The manager carried out an investigation, had a debrief discussion with the staff and consulted with all relevant agencies, including the police. However, the manager did not critically reflect on the findings of the investigation, and she has not identified any learning to improve future practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The management team has changed since the last inspection. A new responsible individual and two deputy managers have been appointed. This additional support has enabled the manager to delegate tasks and have more time to carry out quality audits and reviews.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager is committed to continuous improvement. She regularly revises the systems that are in place to help her to review the children’s care and identify shortfalls in the staff’s practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager and staff have good relationships with partner agencies, and they regularly share information about the children. Feedback from professionals is positive. One social worker said, ‘I can’t speak more highly of the home. [Name of child] hasn’t settled anywhere else but [name of child] has settled in this home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager knows the home’s strengths and weaknesses. She has addressed most of the recommendations that were made at the previous visit. However, the quality of staff supervision records, the manager’s group living assessment and the manager’s six-monthly quality of care review report remain areas for development. Therefore, those recommendations have been restated. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2022 Full Good 06/12/2021 Full Good 12/11/2019 Full Good 17/07/2018 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 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

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)) 11 February 2023

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably; 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

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(b)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home provides staff who sleep in the home overnight with appropriate accommodation and facilities to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to their health. 11 February 2023 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the record from the staff’s supervision session is of good quality. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that they are skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  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 that the quality of care review report includes any actions required for the next six months of delivery in the home and

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Recommendations

how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 7

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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 Michael Dack, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC482418 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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