Children's Home run by Hampshire County Council in Hampshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC033174 1 SC033174 Registered provider: Hampshire 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 operated by a local authority. At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since March 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected, their welfare is not promoted and their care and experiences are poor.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following a monitoring visit on 7 September 2022, compliance notices were issued in respect of regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Following a monitoring visit on 20 October 2022, the compliance notice issued in relation to regulation 13 was deemed to be met. The compliance notice issued in relation to regulation 12 was deemed to be met following a monitoring visit on 23 January 2023.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A restriction of accommodation notice issued following a monitoring visit on 14 December 2022 was reissued following a monitoring visit on 1 March 2023. Inspection report for children's home: SC033174 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/08/2022 Full Good 26/04/2022 Full Inadequate 26/04/2021 Full Good 30/10/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC033174 3

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inadequate

Shortfalls in how well the child is helped and protected and in the effectiveness of leadership and management are having a detrimental impact on the child’s overall experiences and progress.

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inadequate

There are no clear structures and routines in place for the child. The child told inspectors that they are bored and feel isolated. Staff are not proactively encouraging the child to participate in activities which could expand their interests and help them to develop their independence skills.

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inadequate

Not all staff work in line with the model of care described in the home’s statement of purpose. Some staff told inspectors that there are inconsistencies in the way the child is looked after. This makes it difficult for the child to understand boundaries and expectations. Consequently, the child is not benefiting from predictable support or having a positive experience of care.

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inadequate

The child does not always receive warm and nurturing responses from staff. Inspectors witnessed some staff responding to the child in a way which was inflammatory. For example, when the child refused to complete a task, a member of staff became argumentative. This resulted in the child struggling to remain calm and manage their emotions.

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inadequate

Key-work sessions are infrequent, which means that there are limited opportunities for staff to spend time with the child and help them to make progress with their emotional well-being. When key-work sessions do take place, records do not demonstrate that they result in agreed strategies to help the child cope with difficult feelings.

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inadequate

While managers advocate for the child to access education, and there is some evidence of joint working with other professionals, the significant concerns about the child’s care, safety and well-being are significantly impacting on their overall progress and experiences.

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

Written risk assessments, designed to reduce vulnerabilities, are not updated when the child’s risks change. As a result, staff do not have up-to-date knowledge of the child’s current risks and they cannot make sound decisions about their care. In one example, the child was left alone with an item which was unsafe for them, and this resulted in an incident which had the potential to be serious. Inspection report for children's home: SC033174 4 There is no clearly defined plan to ensure that the child is protected from unsafe use of social media and the internet. As a result, the child has been able to use technology to contact unknown and potentially unsafe people.

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

Managers review serious incidents in a timely manner. However, on some occasions, there is unnecessary delay between an incident occurring and consequences being discussed with the child. This approach causes confusion for the child and does not support them to learn what is unacceptable behaviour and why.

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

Processes for managing maintenance tasks are good. As a result, repairs are completed in a timely manner and the physical environment is safe and secure. However, records do not demonstrate that processes for ensuring that staff are familiar with health and safety procedures are followed. For example, not all staff have signed the house risk assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management monitoring and scrutiny of the home are ineffective. This means that shortfalls have not been identified and addressed prior to the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Senior managers have failed to ensure that the new manager had an effective handover from the previous acting manager or a suitable induction, to enable them to be clear about their roles and responsibilities. As a result, during the inspection, key documents were found to be incomplete or could not be located. Examples include staff training records and the workforce development plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not always receive supervision at agreed intervals. When supervision does take place, managers do not reflect on and identify the support and development needs of the staff team. Inspectors were unable to establish whether staff have the training and skills necessary to meet the needs of the child, due to training records being unavailable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Detailed monthly reports by an independent person identify shortfalls and are an essential part of the quality assurance process. However, managers do not take swift and decisive action to address recommendations made by the independent person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not regularly complete a review of the quality of care provided. This means that they do not have a well-rounded view of the experiences of the child and the impact that the care is having on their outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

During the inspection, senior leaders demonstrated a commitment to addressing the shortfalls which were identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

At a case review following this inspection, it was agreed that the restriction of accommodation notice will remain in place. Inspection report for children's home: SC033174 5

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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, The 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 and apply the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 21 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical, and social interests and skills.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys, and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 21 July 2023

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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. 21 July 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC033174 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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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

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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(b))

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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.

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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

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 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

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)(e)(f)(h)) 21 July 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC033174 7 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

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 30 June 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which details the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Inspection report for children's home: SC033174 8  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that records can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)

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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: SC033174 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hampshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hampshire Council, 3rd Floor, Elizabeth II Court North, The Castle, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 8UG

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Inspectors

Jill Sephton-Wright, Social Care Inspector Jules Harrild, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC033174 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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