Children's Home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Hertfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 1 SC444176 Registered provider: Hertfordshire 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 run by a local authority and provides care for up to four children. It aims to provide high-quality care that makes children feel safe and enables them to reach their full potential.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since June 2022. The new manager has been in post since June 2022 and is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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: 29 November 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/09/2022 Full Inadequate 15/02/2022 Full Good 27/07/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. Staff are committed to ensuring that children receive good-quality care and providing them with positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have a positive experience of moving to and from the home. One child, who has recently moved to the home, was able to visit and meet with staff and another child in advance of the move. This enabled them to ask questions and make the choice to move in. Another child has recently moved on to a semi-independence home. Staff worked with the child and other professionals to devise a clear plan to help them. This included helping the child to learn public transport routes from their new home to see their family. This demonstrated an awareness from staff of how important this issue was to the child and a desire to help them to overcome challenges around it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care is well planned. Detailed assessments of children’s needs are undertaken by managers. These are aided by the input of therapeutic staff attached to the home. These assessments clearly outline children’s needs and how staff can ensure that they are met. Staff go through these assessments with children so that they can give their views and contribute to their care planning. The assessments inform children’s support plans, which are clear and contain achievable targets. Staff identify actions to help children to reach these targets, and work with children to help achieve them. Staff have a good understanding of the progress that children are making and areas in which they need additional help.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s education. When one child moved in to the home, it was agreed that staff would drive them a significant distance to ensure that they can remain in a provision where they are settled and achieving. Another child has been helped by staff to consider post-year 11 options in line with their wishes and talents. This is helping the child to identify a provision that will be suited to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively seek and respond to children’s views. Frequent key-work sessions cover a wide range of topics. These are sometimes quite challenging topics to discuss with children, but staff are skilled at holding such conversations. Children engage well in these sessions, demonstrating the trusting relationships that they have built with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A significant amount of work has taken place to the home’s environment. It is homely, welcoming and child friendly. Children have been involved in the plans for this work, ensuring that their views about their home have been considered and responded to. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 4

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

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding and risks to children. Detailed risk assessments provide clear strategies for staff to manage risks. There have been no incidents of children being reported missing from the home and no use of restraint since the last inspection. This demonstrates that children are settled, and staff can support them effectively at times of distress.

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

When behavioural incidents occur, staff respond to children in ways that help them to calm. Following incidents, staff talk to children and help them to think about how they can manage such situations differently, as well as how staff can help them at these times. Managers have good oversight of incidents, and good-quality reflective work takes place after most incidents. This includes identifying when staff could have responded to children more effectively and addressing this in supportive ways with staff. However, after one incident, staff reported a child’s behaviour to the police. This, or the rationale for the decision, was not recorded on the incident form. The manager did not discuss the police call out with staff in the debrief that followed the incident. This failed to ensure that consideration was given to how appropriate this response was.

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

When there have been concerns in relation to the possibility of children self- harming, staff have responded to this effectively. They have taken immediate actions to keep children safe. Following incidents, information is promptly shared with other professionals. Staff have advocated for children to receive additional help with their mental health.

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

Clear consideration is given to the risks to children when undertaking assessments for children to move to the home. This includes considering behaviours and risks for children already living at the home and the child moving in. Managers consult staff in relation to this, ensuring that their knowledge of children’s needs and risks is used to consider whether the matching of children is appropriate.

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

One allegation has been made against a staff member. Managers responded to this promptly, sharing information with the child’s social worker and making a referral to the local authority designated officer. Work was undertaken with the staff member to ensure that expectations of professional boundaries are clear.

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

A variety of checks are undertaken when staff are recruited. However, on one occasion, a gap in one staff member’s employment was not identified by managers. This meant that no reason for this gap was obtained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to applying for registration with Ofsted, but this has been delayed due to circumstances beyond their control. They have kept Ofsted updated in relation to the delays. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 5 The manager is highly child focused and has a good understanding of the progress that children make and the strengths and areas of development for the staff team. The manager has addressed shortfalls identified at the last inspection. This has resulted in improved levels of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a broad range of training opportunities. This includes significant training in relation to trauma-informed practice. This helps to ensure that they have a good understanding of children’s previous experiences and how they affect them. Staff are positive about the training that they have undertaken and can identify how it has helped them to improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by managers. Staff said that this has increased since the current management team has been in post. Regular supervisions include detailed discussion of children’s needs and how staff are meeting these. Managers are reflective with staff. They encourage staff to think about how they are working with children and any ways that the quality of care can be improved. In addition, group and individual sessions are offered to staff by a residential therapist. This provides staff with support after challenging incidents from someone who can help them to think about these incidents from a different perspective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have good working relationships with other professionals. Social workers said that communication from staff is good and that managers are proactive in following up any issues and concerns. When managers have identified additional support that children need, they have advocated for children to receive this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective monitoring systems. There is good oversight of children’s plans and any incidents, as well as the development needs of staff. However, the manager failed to complete and submit an internal quality of care review. This affects Ofsted’s ability to have effective oversight of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 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

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—

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Requirement Due date

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

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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”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iii)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, if incidents are reported to police, this must be clearly recorded, including the rationale for doing so, and the manager must complete a debrief with staff. 3 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (4)(a)) 3 July 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises risks to them. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 7

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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: SC444176 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hertfordshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford SG13 8DQ

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Inspector

Joe Matkar-Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC444176 9 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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