Children's home run by Hartlepool Borough Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2710606 1 Registered provider: Hartlepool Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a local authority.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted on 15 December 2022. This is the home’s first full inspection since registration.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2710606 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a homely and nurturing environment. Staff are attuned to the children’s individual needs and provide care that is meaningful and helpful. As a result, children have built trusting and secure relationships with the staff.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional well-being is at the centre of the care that they receive. Staff use the expertise of the clinical therapist to ensure that children are receiving support. This helps children to make progress and understand their emotions and past experiences.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children help to plan their own care. Their views are regularly sought by the staff and, where possible, plans are developed to accommodate the children’s requests. When their requests cannot be met, staff explain why and help children to understand their decisions, for example when computer games or social media platforms are not allowed due to children’s ages.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend school regularly and, consequently, they are making good progress in their education. Staff work collaboratively with school to resolve any problems or concerns quickly. One child’s behaviour at school has improved so much that they are now able to attend a residential trip.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to invite their friends to their home for tea and activities. Clubs and group activities in the local community provide opportunities for children to develop friendships and explore new interests. This helps children to learn new skills and develop their confidence.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the value of relationships with children’s families. When children are ready, the staff support them to visit their families and develop positive relationships. Staff recognise that this can be difficult for some children and additional support is provided to help children understand their feelings.

p.2

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

Children’s vulnerabilities are understood by the staff, who balance keeping children safe with positive risk-taking to promote age-appropriate independence. Staff teach children about risks such as online safety and stranger danger. This helps children to develop a greater understanding about making safer choices.

p.2

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

Staff have a good knowledge of the home’s safeguarding procedures and the actions that they would take following a safeguarding concern. There are positive working relationships between the staff and other agencies. This also provides opportunities for additional learning through bespoke training sessions. For example, the home is part of a child safety strategy group led by the police. Inspection report for children’s home: 2710606 3 Children and staff benefit from clinical consultations and supervision delivered by play therapists. This helps children to explore their emotions and feelings during direct sessions. This provides staff with opportunities to learn about the children’s needs and seek advice when new needs emerge.

p.2

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

Positive behaviour is promoted by staff in a way that is meaningful to children. For example, the staff write notes and put them in the children’s positivity jars. The notes can be about nice things the children have done or their achievements. There is also a rewards system where children can collect points to gain a prize. This helps children to build their self-esteem.

p.3

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

Staff occasionally hold children when they become upset to keep them safe from harm. Records of holds do not always contain enough detail about the hold used. Furthermore, the manager’s review does not evidence robust evaluation of the effectiveness of some holds. This could impact on the manager’s ability to recognise patterns or themes, and result in opportunities to review practice being missed.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed positive relationships with her new staff team and other professionals who support the children. As a result, children’s care planning is collaborative and effective in promoting positive outcomes.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager balances her administrative duties with time spent with the children. She has a good understanding of the children’s needs, wishes, views and feelings and uses this to advocate on children’s behalf. This has helped children to develop a trusting relationship with the manager.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. She uses an effective monitoring system to assess the quality of care that children receive and the progress that children are making. When shortfalls arise, the manager responds quickly to reduce the impact on children.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides a range of training opportunities to ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to meet the children needs. She uses a ‘theme of the month’ to develop the team’s understanding in areas such as safeguarding, positive relationships and health. This helps staff to consolidate their learning from training and better meet the needs of the children.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by the staff. They are reflective in nature and provide a platform to explore and review children’s progress. There is a strong focus on providing consistency in the care and support that children receive.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have monthly supervision with their line manager. Supervisions vary in quality and they do not consistently offer an opportunity for the staff to reflect on their practice. This is a missed opportunity for staff development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2710606 4

p.3

Recommendations

 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 all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are fully recorded and include a detailed description of the hold and any actions taken by the staff to avoid the hold. Records of restraint should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the

p.4

Recommendations

Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

p.4

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: 2710606 5

p.4

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hartlepool Borough Council

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, Victoria Road, Hartlepool TS24 8AY

p.5

Inspector

Beth Forster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2710606 6 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.

p.5

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.6

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.6

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.6