Children's home run by Hull City Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2598205 1 Registered provider: Hull City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority. It provides care for one child who may have emotional, social or learning difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered in July 2020 but is not currently working at the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there was a child living in the home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2598205 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2598205 3

p.2

improvement to be good

There is one child who lives in this home at any given time. The children who have lived here since the last inspection have had very different experiences. The care of one child was ineffective and they failed to make progress. Other children have settled and thrived in the home.

p.3

improvement to be good

When some children have been affected by significant risks and vulnerabilities, staff have failed to safely help them to access activities and attend education. This has resulted in a lack of social relationships and experiences for these children and has prevented their educational progress.

p.3

improvement to be good

Not all relationships between staff and children have been positive. Some staff have been influenced by negative experiences they have experienced when caring for some children. This is reflected in some of the language and descriptors used by some staff. This demonstrates a lack of insight from staff into the circumstances for some children’s behaviours. Several members of the established staff team have left, which leaves a relatively inexperienced staff team to provide care.

p.3

improvement to be good

The home has CCTV fitted externally as a security measure but there is no policy in place for its review and use. This means that monitoring of the premises is not linked to the changing needs of the different children.

p.3

improvement to be good

In trying to promote one child’s well-being and make the premises safe and secure, the home lost its nurturing and homely feel. After that child moved out, this was reinstated and the home now feels warm and cosy. The bedroom has been personalised to reflect the interests of children, and lots of craft materials, books and games are provided. This helps children to settle and supports children to learn through play.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff have the skills to build strong relationships with children, which is seen in the care of some of the children. These children benefit from consistent morning and bedtime routines, which gives them structure and helps to make them feel safe and secure. School staff describe effective collaboration with staff in the home, which promotes consistency for the children.

p.3

improvement to be good

Where it is appropriate to do so, children take up hobbies. One child took up dancing, which has helped them to make new friends while having fun. Visits to family and friends are supported by staff. This maintains relationships which are important to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2598205 4

p.3

improvement to be good

Risks which affect children are understood by staff but actions to mitigate them are not always implemented. When incidents happen due to children’s unwanted behaviours, staff fail to learn from such incidents and respond with ineffective actions. There is also a lack of reflection and management oversight of such incidents.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff fail to notice when children’s behaviours escalate. As a result, they do not respond with sufficient urgency. This means that support for children does not increase at times that it needs to. This does not promote children’s safety. There are also gaps in children’s care plans, which does not support staff to be consistent in their approaches to caring for children.

p.4

improvement to be good

Physical interventions to keep people safe are used as a last resort but there have been a comparatively high number since the last inspection. Not all physical interventions are carried out by staff who are trained to use them and some holds used are not taught to staff. The lack of management direction and oversight means that incidents are not used as opportunities to learn and reduce repetition.

p.4

improvement to be good

A high number of safeguarding incidents have occurred, some of which have not been notified to the regulator. This limits Ofsted’s ability to check that appropriate action is taken when there are concerns around safeguarding children.

p.4

improvement to be good

When children tell staff that they have suffered harm, staff help them to work with the police. This means that children feel listened to and believed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff describe supporting children who display challenging behaviours as ‘firefighting’. Staff say that they have little time for reflection with their manager about their practice. Managers demonstrate insufficient oversight of the care provided by staff to children in their care. This means that there is a lack of strategic direction and guidance.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Following the last inspection, a requirement was raised in respect of staff supervision and appraisals. This requirement is restated because staff are still not provided with frequent opportunities to discuss and reflect on their practice with an appropriate person. This limits the ability of leaders and managers to check on staff’s well-being and their performance. Staff say that their team morale has been impacted by the challenges in the home and therefore the lack of supervision provided becomes more significant.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are occasions where staff say the police and health services do not provide the right support in a timely way. The manager questions this, but their actions have not led to any significant changes. This does not support children to make progress or improve their safety. Inspection report for children’s home: 2598205 5 The registered manager is currently away from post carrying out alternative duties. Staff say that they feel unsupported and comment on the lack of presence of any leadership in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

An interim manager has commenced in the role recently. The new manager has a plan to address shortfalls and support the development of the staff group. Management monitoring systems have been put in place to present information and data in a way that can be used to improve the quality of care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2598205 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.6

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)) 14 May 2023

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.6

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

p.6

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated’ 14 May 2023

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— 14 May 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2598205 7 include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

p.7

Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

p.7

Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

p.7

Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

p.7

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 14 May 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2598205 8 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 14 May 2023

p.8

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff know that the child’s 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 in the day-to-day life of the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.15)  The registered person should make sure that there is a written policy which describes how any CCTV or other monitoring equipment used by the home will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. The home must obtain written consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority at the time of placement. The use of CCTV is regulated by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and the

p.8

Recommendations

Surveillance Camera Code of Conduct (Home Office 2013). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)

p.8

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: 2598205 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kingston upon Hull City Council, The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull HU1 2AA

p.9

Inspector

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2598205 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10