Children's Home run by Hennessy Living Group Limited in Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2661071 1 Registered provider: Hennessy Living Group Limited 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 private provider. It is registered to care for up to five children who may have emotional and/or social needs, a learning disability and/or mental health issues.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection. Inspectors spoke with both children.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager registered with Ofsted when the home was opened in August 2022.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: 13 December 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 13 and 14 December 2022, a full inspection was carried out and inspectors found several regulatory breaches that impacted on the children’s safety, protection and welfare. In response, Ofsted issued a notice to restrict accommodation, which means that no other children can move into the home and those already living there Inspection report for children’s home: 2661071 2 can remain. In addition, Ofsted issued a compliance notice under regulations 12 and 13.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 24 January 2023, a visit was carried out to monitor the provider’s response to the restriction of accommodation and the response to meeting the steps in the compliance notices. Inspectors found that the provider had taken effective action to meet the steps identified in the compliance notices and had also complied with the restriction of accommodation notice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2661071 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/12/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2661071 4

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences of living in the home are mixed.

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improvement to be good

The staff respond when there are incidents of bullying involving children. The staff help children to understand the impact of bullying and encourage them to have better relationships with each other. However, the staff do not consistently help children to respect the privacy of each other’s bedrooms. This has resulted in some bullying incidents occurring in children’s bedrooms. This leaves children feeling that their bedroom is not a safe and private space.

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improvement to be good

Staff talk with children about healthy living, and they encourage the children to have habits and routines that promote good health. Children are supported to attend medical appointments, and staff persist when children need additional encouragement to manage their heath needs. The staff record the children’s daily routines better. However, this information is not evaluated or used to understand the child’s progress or to identify when the child may require additional support.

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improvement to be good

Children’s education progress varies. When there is a decline in the children’s participation in education, the staff look to understand the barriers to the children’s learning. The staff put measures in place to help motivate and encourage the children to make continued educational progress. Staff encourage the children to complete homework, and they help the children to value their education. One educational professional said, ‘The staff are guiding [name of child] down a better path.’

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improvement to be good

The children speak positively about living in the home. They are supported to follow their own interests and make choices about how they spend their time. The children identify staff who they trust to talk to and enjoy spending time with them on enjoyable activities.

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improvement to be good

Children receive support to spend time with their family. Children look forward to these visits and say that they trust the staff to be available for them and provide emotional support, if needed. However, for one child, family time is dependent on the child’s behaviour. This practice is prohibited and should not occur. The manager has begun to take action to address this.

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improvement to be good

Staff follow the provider’s whistle-blowing policy. However, the manager does not consistently respond to the concerns raised. While the manager carried out an investigation and took effective safeguarding measures to protect one child, no action was taken in another example. The record of this allegation was poor, and the Inspection report for children’s home: 2661071 5 child was not appropriately consulted or supported. This is not aligned with good safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

When children experience emotional distress and use self-harming behaviours, the staff support the children well and act appropriately. The staff provide children with emotional support and liaise with relevant professionals, when appropriate. However, potential risks in the home environment are not routinely assessed. Therefore, measures to reduce the potential risks are vague and not regularly reviewed.

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improvement to be good

Staff recruitment and retention remains a priority for the provider, and new staff have recently been appointed. However, safer recruitment procedures are still not consistently followed. A significant gap in the employment history for one member of staff has not been identified. This lack of exploration means that the provider cannot be assured that all staff are suitable to care for the children. This shortfall is a repeated theme for this provider.

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improvement to be good

Children are rarely held by the staff. This is because the staff help the children to manage their emotions well so behavioural incidents are rare. The staff use de- escalation techniques and follow the children’s plans. Records of these incidents have continued to improve and these now include management oversight.

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improvement to be good

When children are missing from home, the staff take appropriate action to locate the child. Following these incidents, the manager ensures that the children receive a return home interview, where the child can speak to an independent person. This helps the staff and other professionals to understand the reasons why the child was missing so they can take appropriate action to avoid recurrence.

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improvement to be good

Staff talk to the children to help them to understand other people, cultures and diversity. These meaningful discussions help to promote children’s tolerance and acceptance of others.

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good

The quality of management oversight is improving. The quality of the management oversight is improving but there are still aspects that are not effective. At times, the manager demonstrates a lack of professional curiosity, which hinders her ability to consistently manage the home effectively.

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good

Management oversight has increased through the appointment of a second deputy manager. To increase staffing capacity, the registered manager continues to be involved in the day-to-day care of children, which includes overnight care.

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good

Supervision is held more regularly for the manager. This means that there is an increased opportunity to help her reflect on her practice.

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good

The manager does not consistently evaluate the effectiveness of the care provided to the children. Children’s daily records are not always up to date or accurate. Inspection report for children’s home: 2661071 6 Additionally, the children’s records are not always analysed. The manager has not completed the review of care report for this period. Collectively, these shortfalls mean that patterns and areas that require change are not promptly identified or addressed.

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good

Following the inspection, the restriction of accommodation expired and will not be reissued. This means that children can move into the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2661071 7

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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.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

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 the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(d)) 8 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(b) (3)(d)) 8 April 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 8 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2661071 8 promotes their welfare.

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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

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

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

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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

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(v)(b)). In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff consistently help children to respect the privacy of each other’s bedrooms. 8 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that the manager is supported to develop the necessary knowledge and skills for the role. 8 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2661071 9 The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 8 April 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively use internal monitoring (including under regulation 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that children’s access to contact with parents is never used as a punishment or consequence to manage poor behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 2661071 10

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Goundry

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Inspectors

Catherine Heron, Social Care Inspector Paula Kelly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2661071 11 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection. 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

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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