Children's Home run by Hull City Council in Kingston upon Hull

Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 1 SC034313 Registered provider: Hull City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and manages this home. The home provides care for children whose plan is to live in a medium- to long-term residential setting.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living at this 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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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 14 September 2021

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/09/2021 Full Outstanding 07/11/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/05/2019 Full Good 14/08/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 3

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improvement to be good

Children living at this home have mixed experiences. Children’s relationships with each other are not always positive. Some children reported feeling bullied and unsettled. Records show that staff have spoken to the children about repairing their relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress in education is mixed. Some children are attending school and making progress. However, one child is not accessing post-16 education, employment or training. The child’s plan does not show structure to their day or provide information to guide staff on the action to take to support the child.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy improved health because they attend their routine health appointments. Where a child has an identified health need, staff ensure that a referral is made to a local service. Some children are accessing support from drug and alcohol and sexual health services. This improves the likelihood that children will enjoy better health in the future.

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improvement to be good

Children have built positive relationships with staff, and staff know the children well. Staff have a nurturing approach to the care that they provide. The children said that staff look out for their best interests. One social worker said, ‘Staff are always there for the children; they don’t give up.’ This helps children to feel valued.

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improvement to be good

Records show that staff have open and honest conversations with the children about topics that are specific to the child’s individual risks and needs. Children are encouraged to talk about their feelings. This helps children to build self-esteem and to find strategies to better manage difficult emotions they may experience.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide children with the opportunity to take part in a range of activities and they are helped to enjoy their hobbies and interests. Children have enjoyed bowling, day trips and playing sports. One child enjoys participating at organised events in their role as a qualified first aider.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to share their wishes and views about decisions that are made about the care that they are receiving. Children engage in decision-making about the home. One child attends the ‘Young Voices Influencing Care’ forum. This means that children can share their opinions and influence the care they receive.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments do not always capture all known risks to children. This means that staff do not know all risks or have the information to respond to and manage those Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 4 risks. For example, there are no plans in place to provide staff with guidance on how to respond when a child is intoxicated. This has led to inconsistencies in staff responses and does not protect children from harm.

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improvement to be good

The plans in place for when children go missing do not ensure that children are protected. This is because the decision to search for children is dictated by staffing sufficiency and individual staff discretion to search for children when they go missing at night. This inconsistent approach has led to one child suffering harm.

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improvement to be good

The frequency of children going missing from the home has significantly reduced in recent months. However, one child has been missing in circumstances that are considered serious and placed them at risk of significant harm. Staff do not always follow protocol set out in the child’s plan, and have made unsafe decisions without clear rationale.

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improvement to be good

The steps that staff have taken to respond to and manage incidents between children have not always been effective. This has led to children causing physical harm to each other and to staff. Debriefs with staff and the child involved do not always happen after a serious incident. A lack of reflection about an incident prevents staff and children from learning and this increases the likelihood of further incidents happening.

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improvement to be good

Restraint is not used often at this home. There has been one incident that led to a child being restrained. The recording of the restraint met regulatory requirements and demonstrates that the intervention was necessary and proportionate to protect the child from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has failed to provide effective leadership and management of this home. This is because they have failed to ensure that staff are provided with the information, guidance and training to equip them to make decisions and take action to ensure that children are better protected. Lack of management oversight has meant that shortfalls in records and staff practice have not been addressed and changes have not been made to enable improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has failed to report incidents considered serious to Ofsted. This prevents Ofsted from taking steps to review and monitor action taken to ensure the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all staff have completed training specific to the individual needs of the children. This means that not all staff have the skills and knowledge needed to ensure that children are better protected and receive a good standard of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Internal monitoring systems are ineffective. This has prevented the manager from identifying conflicting or missing information from children’s plans and risk assessments, and shortfalls in records relating to when children go missing. This Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 5 prevents the manager from having full oversight of the risks to individual children and tracking the progress that children make .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not always use opportunities to learn lessons and make improvements. For example, when a child goes missing, the manager ensures that the recording is complete, but these records lack evaluation. This means that there is no exploration of the effectiveness of the child’s plan or what might need to change next time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not sufficiently explored safeguarding incidents to determine risks to children’s safety. This lack of analysis means that opportunities have been missed to ensure that plans are in place to better protect children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Records show that the manager responded to a complaint made by a child. However, on more than one occasion, children have voiced that they feel bullied by other children living at the home. This has also been raised directly to the police. This has not been recorded or responded to as a complaint. There is evidence that the children have been supported to repair the relationship.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has built good relationships with professionals involved in the care of children. There is evidence of a multi-agency approach to ensure that children receive the right support. The manager and staff collaborate with psychologists and mental health professionals to ensure that children’s emotional well-being is a priority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff reported that they feel supported by the manager. They receive regular supervision and team meetings happen regularly. This provides staff with the opportunity to discuss the risks to children and changes to children’s plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has ensured that the home is nicely decorated and furnished to a high standard. The children’s bedrooms are decorated to their preferred choice. The home is warm and welcoming and reflects the children’s personalities throughout. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 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, 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

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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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.

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iii)(iv)(vii)(xi)(xii)(xiii) (2)(b)) 17 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 17 June 2023

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. 17 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child— is instigated; or 17 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 9 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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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: SC034313 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kingston upon Hull City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull HU1 2AA

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Inspector

Rachel Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 11 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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