Children's Home run by YMCA Robin Hood Group in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2624063 1 Registered provider: YMCA Robin Hood Group 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 run by a charity and provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered since April 2021 and is suitably qualified.

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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: 21 September 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2624063 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/09/2022 Full Good 12/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2624063 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a good home. Staff know the children well and have close relationships with them. One social worker said, ‘Staff have a very good understanding of the needs of [name of child], and are very nurturing and caring.’ The home is fully occupied and three of the children have lived in the home for a long time. The children say that they are happy living in the home and they get along well ‘most of the time’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are offered a variety of ways to express their wishes and feelings and their choices are reflected in their daily care. Children know how to make a complaint. Staff support the children to share their views with the independent visitor during their monthly visit to the home. An advocate also visits the children regularly and will speak on their behalf if needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to improve their health needs. When a medication error happened recently, staff took appropriate action, sought medical advice, and monitored the child appropriately. The registered manager subsequently implemented strategies to support staff and to reduce the likelihood of this happening again.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children access direct therapeutic support that helps them explore any past trauma. Staff understand that this support can sometimes result in the children becoming upset. Therefore, staff and the registered manager maintain effective communication with the therapeutic team, before, during and after these sessions. Staff implement strategies from the therapeutic team to support the children and minimise any upset they may be experiencing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage children to access education in line with their individual needs and plans. Some children sustain long-term placements at school. This minimises changes and helps the children maintain positive relationships with their peers and significant others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence in line with their individual needs and their age. The children are making positive progress in meeting their personal care skills. Some children enjoy cooking, and some are now more confident around attending activities and developing independence skills. The children enjoy accessing a wide range of other activities, such as dance and gymnastics. The children also enjoy attending group structured activities together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are welcomed into the home in a planned and sensitive manner. Staff take photos of events that children enjoy. This means they have positive memories for now and in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624063 4 The staff support the children to have time with their families and loved ones. Children benefit from maintaining such relationships, which staff support when necessary.

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

Children say they feel safe living in the home. A child who recently moved to the home was told by another child, ‘Staff are here to help us and keep us safe.’ This peer support offered the new child reassurance to settle into the home.

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

Staff understand the children’s needs and associated risks well. They use their knowledge and training in therapeutic approaches to de-escalate situations and support children when they experience challenges with their emotional well-being.

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

Staff only use physical interventions when absolutely necessary to protect children and others. Staff offer the children time after incidents so children can share their views and talk about what happened. This support helps children to understand why incidents happen and how they can be avoided in future. This helps them to build trusting relationships with staff.

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

Staff offer the children clear boundaries around safe and acceptable behaviour. The use of key-work sessions provides children regular opportunities to talk things through with staff. Consistent application of consequences and rewards by staff addresses unwanted behaviours and rewards positive behaviours. This also helps the children reflect on their emotions and behaviours. One social worker said, ‘There has been a significant reduction in incidents. [Name of child] says they feel safe living in the home.’

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

Staff take actions to ensure children’s bedrooms and environment are as safe as reasonably possible. Staff undertake room searches sensitively and record these appropriately.

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

Children’s risk assessment and care plans are detailed. They highlight concerning behaviours, triggers and strategies staff should use to support the children and reduce risks. Some recording of assessments and plans do not include the most updated information. This does not provide the staff with the information they need to respond effectively to children’s needs.

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

Staff have an understanding of how to escalate concerns appropriately in line with the home’s safeguarding policies. However, on one occasion when a child made an allegation, staff failed to follow safeguarding procedures and had not informed the registered manager. Once informed, the registered manager notified appropriate professionals and followed procedures. A further incident occurred when the registered manager suggested a period of delay of twenty-four hours before formally notifying the designated officer of allegations relating to staff. The registered manager’s decision was based on patterns of events and wanting to offer the child the opportunity to access one-to-one support. However, these actions were not in line with the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624063 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by a permanent, suitably experienced, and qualified registered manager, who is committed to the home and has aspirations for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has taken actions to address staff vacancies, and the home is now suitably staffed. The registered manager is no longer providing direct care to the children. This will enable the registered manager to fulfil essential management tasks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff talk positively about the support from the registered manager, who has actively challenged some individual practice in the team which fell short of the required level. This has helped to build confidence among the wider staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff have developed positive working relationships with professionals. A social worker said, ‘The home shares information well regarding [name of child], and I have never needed to wait more than 12 hours for an incident report. Logs and records give a clear understanding of [name of child], and it is a lovely home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the children’s care plans and seeks children’s and professionals’ views to inform the quality of care the children experience. However, the registered manager has limited contact with children’s parents and families, which limits the registered manager’s ability to contribute to the reviewing of the quality of care the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has monitoring systems in place, but there are some gaps in management oversight. The registered manager has failed to identify shortfalls in the recording of safeguarding incidents and of a medication error, and some of the children’s records do not have the required updated information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff do not receive supervision in line with the provider’s supervision policy. This does not provide staff with the opportunity to reflect on their practice and their work with children. Gaps in team meetings impact on opportunities for staff to consistently discuss children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff have access to mandatory training. A percentage of staff have outstanding training that is required to secure the appropriate qualification in line with regulatory requirements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624063 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, The 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

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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that any allegations against staff are reported in line with organisational policy. 13 October 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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 13 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2624063 7 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure effective oversight of medication and safeguarding procedures. In addition, the registered person should offer staff consistent opportunities to reflect on and discuss their work with children.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or 13 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2624063 8 works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s records, including assessment and plans, are kept up to date with accurate information and are accessible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that they seek to develop effective relationships with children’s parents and significant others and, where appropriate, seek their views to inform the quality of care provided for the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.8)

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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: 2624063 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: YMCA Robin Hood Group

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malty Cross Ltd, 16 St. James’s Street, Nottingham NG1 6FG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Anthony Gallaher

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Inspectors

Gina Lightfoot, Social Care Inspector Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2624063 10 regulates and 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 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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