Children's home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Dacorum

Inspection report for children’s home: SC400301 1 SC400301 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 five children aged between 11 and 18 who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 28 May 2021.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC400301 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/10/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Good 20/11/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/05/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC400301 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home. They have all lived at the home for a significant length of time. Children are making good progress due to the care that they receive. One child said, ‘It is the best place I have ever lived, and I’ve lived in lots.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good rapport with the children. They are invested and committed to giving children the best care and protecting their welfare. Children have influence in the home and staff listen to their views and opinions. This helps the children to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to build their independence. One child plans and shops for their own meals, using an agreed budget. Another child has secured a part-time job over the summer holidays. This ensures that children are equipped with essential skills needed for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access a range of activities and meaningful experiences. They have been to Greece and Iceland, which has given them their first experience of travelling by air. Staff capture photos of the children for them to keep when they move from the home. These are collated in memory books, which helps children to understand their childhood journey.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make academic progress. Children who have previously not attended education are now attending a provision regularly. This has improved their self-esteem. Timetables focus on individual strengths and interests, such as art. There are good professional links with the headteacher of the virtual school. Staff are creative in supporting children to attain qualifications. Staff attended invigilator training to allow a child to take his exams at the home. This helps children to achieve their personal goals and aspirations for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is bright and spacious. Children benefit from good-quality accommodation that has ample room for communal living. They enjoy a pleasant garden and looking after two pet rabbits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child remains in her bedroom all day, and her care plan does not provide staff with guidance on how to encourage her out. The preferred pronouns in one child’s plans are not clear. Placement plans are not up to date and are not adequately reviewed. Overall, this means that staff are not always clear on how to work with children on a day-to-day basis.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do not smoke or vape. However, at times, there is an odour of staff smoking and vaping outside, close to open windows. This fails to provide children with healthy adult role models. Inspection report for children’s home: SC400301 4

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

Children see the staff as trustworthy and can rely on them to keep them safe. One social worker said that a child’s risks have ‘reduced significantly’ because the safety plan is working. Children’s unsafe behaviours, such as self-harm, suicide ideation and going missing from home, have decreased.

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

The staff have supported the children to live peacefully as a group. Any issues between children are understood by staff and dealt with sensibly. Children have accepted one another’s differences and treat each other with respect.

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

The staff use successful strategies to help children manage behaviours. There is a recently introduced model of care which supports the staff to better understand children’s behaviours and adapt their responses to meet their needs. Staff use strategies to a positive effect, such as putting parental control measures on a child’s mobile phone.

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

Staff speak to children when they return to the home following missing-from-home episodes. This helps the staff to understand why children went missing and to review their planned responses.

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

There is a targeted, multi-agency approach towards missing-from-home episodes and child sexual exploitation. Relevant network meetings take place; however, outcomes from these meetings are not included in risk assessments. These documents are not up to date or responsive to children’s needs. They do not demonstrate the manager’s oversight and monitoring of the actions staff must take to keep children safe.

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good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified. There are several shortfalls in relation to effective management oversight and organisation. Despite this, the quality of care provided to children remains good.

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good

The leadership team has not addressed a requirement from the previous inspection. There continues to be gaps in the home’s records. There is no clear evidence of the actions taken and the outcomes from investigations into allegations about staff, disclosures from children and complaints. This reduces transparency and openness.

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good

A number of agency staff are used. Although they are known to the children, the home does not have enough permanent staff to provide good continuity of care and support.

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good

Staff do not have regular supervision sessions. Agency staff have not received any supervision sessions. Supervision sessions fail to include discussions about the Inspection report for children’s home: SC400301 5 children’s risks. This means that there is no oversight of staff’s knowledge or practice in response to children when they need to be kept safe.

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good

The staff induction format is limited, and there is no evidence of staff’s learning or competency. Appraisals have not taken place, which does not give staff the opportunity to plan their individual development.

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good

The manager’s review of the quality of care has not been sent to Ofsted. This reduces Ofsted’s oversight and understanding of the care provided.

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good

The manager is child centred and able to articulate the needs of the children very well. Feedback from parents and professionals about the management team is highly complimentary. Staff say that the manager is approachable and supportive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC400301 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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 November

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)(e)) 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC400301 7 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

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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s risk assessments reflect their current behaviours and include clear strategies to minimise these. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s care plans meet the child’s needs, are up to date and reviewed . 30 September

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(b)(c)) 30 October 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

The registered person must— 30 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC400301 8 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))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and well- being needs are met. Staff should work to make the home an environment that supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health, in line with the approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)

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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: SC400301 9

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Hannah Phillips, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC400301 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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