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

This home is operated by a local authority and provides care for up to six children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2020.

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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

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: SC034313 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/09/2021 Full Outstanding 07/11/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/05/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in this home make good progress from their starting points. Some children remain in the home until they move on to live independently. Others are successfully supported to return to their families. Children are encouraged to follow their interests and be active members of the community; for example, one child is working as a volunteer. This helps children to make friends and be a positive influence in their local area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well to move on. One child was able to take part in a trial to prepare them to move on to live independently. Joined-up working between services helped the child to put life skills into practice and experience a positive move. This was effective as they were supported by familiar and trusted staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to improve their health and well-being. The home has been recognised by the Food Standards Agency for promoting healthy eating, and some children play sports regularly. Children are supported by well-being services to improve their emotional health and reduce substance misuse. One child has made significant progress after receiving support from a specialist service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work sensitively to help children rebuild relationships when they have broken down. Staff are skilled at helping children and families to listen to each other and move forward. Staff recognise that this takes time and progress is different for each child. Families feel welcomed and supported by the staff at the home. One parent said that their child living in the home ‘is a dream come true’ and ‘It is the most fantastic home ever.’ One child said, ‘The staff are pretty much perfect.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint. Some children have difficulties in their relationships at times. The manager and staff listen and help children to treat each other respectfully. All children have been involved in work around this. Children have reflected on this and seek advice from the staff about how best to respond to each other. Children listen to staff, who they trust, and learn how to resolve disagreements with others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is tastefully decorated and is welcoming. Maintenance and repairs are good. However, there is plasterwork on the bedroom corridor that has been awaiting repair for some time. This needs to be completed so that the home is a pleasant environment for children.

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

Children do not go missing from the home, but staff know what to do should this happen. Staff have not had to physically intervene with children to keep everyone safe. Children like to be in the home and in the company of staff. Staff use positive approaches to help children manage difficult feelings that they may experience. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 4 reflect as a team on the reasons for any incident and help children to develop coping strategies.

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

The registered manager and staff are mindful of children’s health needs. These are monitored closely and swift action is taken to seek medical advice and support. Children share any health concerns they may have with staff and are supported to attend appointments with professionals. This helps children to understand how to stay well and be healthy.

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

Staff complete care plans and behaviour support plans, which reflect the current needs of the children. However, it is difficult to tell what information has been updated and when. Staff could improve these further by being specific around time frames in protocols, such as regularity of well-being checks.

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

Door alarms are fitted to bedroom doors. Although they are not activated at present, they still sound when children leave their rooms. There is no current rationale for this and it is therefore an unnecessary infringement on children’s privacy.

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

Fire safety is managed and children take part in regular evacuations. Equipment is regularly serviced and staff have a fire safety induction and training. However, on two occasions in the past two months, a weekly alarm check has been missed. This could lead to a fault with the system being missed and it increases risk to children and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and knows the children well. She understands their needs. In a short period of time, the registered manager and staff have made positive progress in building relationships between children in the home. This helps the children to form trusting relationships and makes the home a calmer environment for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager seeks and welcomes feedback from other professionals. She works closely with them and puts their guidance into practice. Staff understand how children’s plans develop and implement changes when needed. This gives children consistent support from staff, which helps them to build trust and develop independence skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals said that the staff work sensitively to help children restore relationships with their families. One professional said that staff do all they can to help children to regulate and build relationships. Staff are well trained and work together. The registered manager is reflective in their practice and professionals recognise the registered manager’s commitment to improving the lives of children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and training and are qualified for their roles. Staff described the registered manager as supportive, with an open-door policy, and the children seek her out throughout the day. Children have warm relationships with the registered manager and they all commented on how well supported they are. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 5 In the period since the last inspection, the staff’s focus has been on the children’s relationships. The registered manager reviews management records and recognises where improvement can be made. However, this is not yet fully embedded in practice. There is still further progress to be made in the registered manager’s oversight of records, consistency of recording, post-incident reflection and regularity of team meetings. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 6

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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 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

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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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the manager ensuring that records contain clear direction to staff to support continuity of care for the children. Documents should identify the information that has been updated after incidents. The manager should also ensure that they hold regular team meetings. 10 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— 10 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 7 the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the use of bedroom door alarms with no clear rationale or consent for use.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children living there, and provides a homely, domestic environment. The home must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, the home should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic impression. In particular, ensure that weekly fire alarm tests are carried out and that household repairs are completed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 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 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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