Children's Home run by Hampshire County Council in Hampshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1257065 1 Registered provider: Hampshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and run by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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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: 23 November 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1257065 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/11/2021 Full Outstanding 14/01/2020 Full Good 20/03/2019 Full Outstanding 21/12/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1257065 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they enjoy living in this home. It has a welcoming and homely atmosphere. Photos and personal items are on display throughout the home, including in each child’s bedroom, which is decorated to a theme or colour of their choice. This gives children a sense of belonging and security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in most areas. Some children are maintaining the progress they made previously and continue to do well, for example in education. However, some children are not in education. Despite the engagement of relevant professionals, one child has not received any formal education for some months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The daily routine and structure for some children do not provide the opportunity to learn new skills. As a result, one child stated that they are bored. The activities that are offered are not valued by children and are not education based. Therefore, some children are not building on the necessary practical or social skills to support them in later life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Committed staff continue to promote consistent boundaries, expectations and responses that benefit the children in many areas. Staff actively seek to have significant conversations with children to help them understand their behaviour and manage conflict. This also encourages children to make positive choices and develop effective strategies to manage their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The relationships between the children in the home are often challenging for staff. Nonetheless, the staff work collectively and provide a joint response to the children. As a result, children’s behaviour is consistently managed by confident and informed staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All staff support children in line with their care planning. Effective communication enables professionals to remain up to date with the progress made by children. Likewise, when there are concerns, communication allows for swift and prompt action to review the support that is in place. This ensures that children receive a coordinated response.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions of children leaving the home are purposeful. However, not all professionals are involved in the process in a timely way. This prevents the children from experiencing a cohesive and informed transition. The manager and staff consider the impact of moving new children into the home on the children who already live there. As a result, children experience positive new relationships and ongoing stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and children have positive relationships. These were seen during the inspection. However, some children have not had the opportunity to explore their history and family relationships with their allocated adult. For some children, this Inspection report for children’s home: 1257065 4 means they do not understand their heritage, early traumatic life events and reasons for being a child in care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Proactive and committed staff ensure that all children receive health and well-being intervention when necessary. Children are supported to attend appointments, including dental and optician appointments. This promotes good self-care.

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

Staff and managers promote the safety and well-being of children. They encourage children to take age-appropriate risks, for example travelling independently to college or to see their friends and family. Consequently, children have made good progress towards independence and their transition to adulthood.

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

Missing-from-home episodes are rare. When children are late returning home, staff take effective and prompt action to contact children and encourage their return. All staff follow the risk assessment strategies in place to reduce the risk of harm to the children.

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

Children’s risk assessments are clear and concise. Staff understand the risks posed and the dynamics between children living in the home. For example, they know children’s triggers and when to use the de-escalation techniques that all staff practise. However, some information is out of date. This could be misleading for another professional reviewing this information or for the child later in life when reading their own records.

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

Committed and empathetic staff help children understand their behaviour. The recording of this is detailed and productive.

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

Health and safety practices, including for fire safety, are good. Children take part in fire evacuations in line with the home’s fire policy when a child moves into the home. Therefore, children live in a safe environment and know what to do in the event of a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from a committed, pragmatic and knowledgeable registered manager. The staff team is dependable, enthusiastic and reliable. This offers consistency, routine and stability to the children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual and other senior managers are visible within the home. They know the children and maintain ongoing dialogue with the registered manager and staff to remain up to date with care planning and decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff invest in regular team meetings. This ensures that all staff are aware of ongoing incidents, share information and review children’s care planning regularly. Inspection report for children’s home: 1257065 5 Most staff have completed the relevant and necessary training. Specialised training has been accessed to meet the needs of one child. Therefore, staff can manage the care and behaviour of children in an informed and educated way. When there are gaps in training for some members of staff, the management oversight is well managed, recorded and supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive practice-related supervision. However, the systems and theories that underpin the reflection are not always used. As a result, this impacts the quality of supervision. Nonetheless, staff can discuss their development, responsibilities and learning. This offers some reflection and was discussed with one member of staff during the inspection. They said that supervision gives them the space for discussion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When there is a significant incident involving a child, the registered manager informs the relevant professionals. However, on one occasion, they failed to notify Ofsted of a serious incident. This means that the regulator is not able to have full oversight of incidents in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person offers an added layer of scrutiny. However, they do not always contact parents and professionals for their views and opinions. This means that the views of relevant people who support children living in the home are not consistently gathered. Inspection report for children’s home: 1257065 6

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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, the 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iv)) 30 June 2023

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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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

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(b)) 30 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1257065 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff know the importance of children understanding who they are and where they come from, and help children to understand their history by undertaking life-story work or other direct work. Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)  The registered person should notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. In particular, the registered person should report all serious incidents to the appropriate professionals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, they should ensure that all information is up to date and relevant to the current risk management and care planning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 1257065 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hampshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3rd Floor, Elizabeth II Court North, The Castle, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 8UG

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Inspector

Jill Sephton-Wright, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1257065 9 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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