Children's home run by Hartlepool Borough Council in Hartlepool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC472417 1 SC472417 Registered provider: Hartlepool Borough Council Full inspection 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 local authority. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspectors spoke to the four children who were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 10 November 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted judged this home as inadequate at the full inspection on 10 and 11 November 2022. Following the inadequate judgement, Ofsted issued four compliance notices under regulations 6, 11, 12 and 13 to address concerns relating to the protection of children and widespread failings in the leadership and management arrangements of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472417 2 A monitoring visit was carried out on 3 January 2023. This visit confirmed that the provider had taken sufficient action to meet the four compliance notices. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472417 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/11/2022 Full Inadequate 25/08/2021 Full Good 13/08/2019 Full Good 12/02/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC472417 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children living in this home are happy. They identify this as a family home where they feel well cared for. Children’s presence is seen and heard throughout the home. One child said, ‘I love living here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have formed strong relationships with staff, which are built on trust and affection. Staff show a good knowledge and understanding of children’s individual support needs. This has helped the children to make good progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to develop their independence throughout their time living in the home. The implementation of personalised life skills booklets, which measure the children’s progress, better prepare the children for moving on when they turn 18.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from a stable and consistent staff team. The staff have strengthened their understanding of children’s adverse childhood experiences. As a result, children feel more connected and understood by the adults caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress with their education. Staff support the children to access alternative provision to better meet there needs. Incentives are used to encourage children to attend. One child has been supported to complete work from home when they have found accessing college overwhelming. A professional said, ‘Because of the collaborative work and communication from [name of home], children succeed.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff use their own lived experiences to educate children about equality and diversity. The children benefit from new experiences, such as trying foods from around the world and participating in array of celebrations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been significant changes made to the environment, which provides the children with a warm and nurturing home. The home is welcoming and has an abundance of photos on display of the children having fun. As a result, children have a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are provided with a range of activities and new opportunities. Children are encouraged by a dedicated staff team of staff who have high aspirations for the children. As a result, children overcome social anxiety and their confidence grows. One child plays football for a local team and another attends the local gym.

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

Children feel safe living in this home. They can identify adults who they can speak to should they have any worries or concerns. Children are confident that they will be Inspection report for children’s home: SC472417 5 listened to. The children say that there are good levels of supervision. Therefore, children feel more comfortable in their surroundings.

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

When children are unkind to each other, the staff identify and address this immediately. The staff help the children to understand why bullying behaviour is not acceptable. This helps the children to develop socially acceptable behaviours.

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

Supportive discussions take place regularly and focus on the children’s needs. The staff are sensitive to the children’s past trauma and have an empathetic, nurturing approach. This helps the children to feel supported and understood. Staff use a range of tools to provide the children with targeted work to promote their safety. Subsequently, there has been a significant reduction in risk-taking behaviours.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home are rare. When children do go missing, the staff understand and act within their roles and responsibilities. They ensure that children can speak with an independent person and confidently alert the local authority if there are delays. This practice ensures that children are better protected and supported to return home safely.

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

The staff know the children and their risks and vulnerabilities well. Staff know what to do when a child is at immediate risk of harm. Risk assessments are well written and personalised for each child. Children’s plans identify clear steps for the staff to take, which reduces the risk of harm to children. There have been two occasions where the necessary arrangements have not been made. This oversight has left children vulnerable.

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

The home has effective links with strategic agencies. The registered manager and her staff communicate well with other professionals. Information is shared so that the risks to children are further understood. The staff follow this up by carrying out direct intervention work with the children. This helps children to learn and understand the risks to themselves and encourages them to make safer choices.

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

The children receive praise and recognition for positive behaviour, which they are proud of. When there are incidents of concern in the home, the police are regularly consulted with. The rationale for police involvement does not fully consider the specific needs of the children living in the home. This increases the risk of criminalising children in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic about her role. She is proud of the progress children make at the home. The manager has trust and confidence in the staff team. She is well supported by the wider organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is well respected by the staff team, social workers and connected professionals. Social workers say that the manager provides effective and regular updates. This keeps social workers fully informed about the children’s progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472417 6 Children enjoy the company of the manager and often seek her out to spend time with her.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good knowledge of children’s starting points and what they have achieved since living at the home. She is fully involved in children’s lives and is clear about the progress that children are making. The manager is enthusiastic in her efforts to be a trusted person for children. This makes her a good role model for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive regular supervision which considers children’s progress, as well as staff well-being. The manager provides debriefs for staff following challenging incidents. Regular team meetings offer a forum for staff and managers to consider how practice can be improved. Good support for staff helps to create a supportive environment that is better equipped to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed the organisation’s mandatory training. The manager has also sourced bespoke training, which the staff have completed, including a course on foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This helps staff to increase their knowledge and understanding of how to respond to children with these needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal monitoring systems for the home are well established. This oversight makes sure that all aspects of care and the running of the home are maintained to a good standard. This helps the manager to identify shortfalls and make changes to improve and maintain good standards of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use external monitoring and inspection activity to improve the overall experiences for children. The rationale for changes is not always clearly communicated to the children and professionals. A discussion that took place with children was not accurately recorded; this is not helpful for children as it provides mixed messages. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472417 7

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 23 March 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the procedures in the home to reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing children’s behaviour and the criminalisation of behaviours. Children should not be charged with offences resulting from behaviour in 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 managers and staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information should be recorded in a non- stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: SC472417 8

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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: SC472417 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hartlepool Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, Victoria Road, Hartlepool TS24 8AY

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Inspectors

Claire Webster, Social Care Inspector Deb Duffy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC472417 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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