Children's home run by Kingston upon Hull City Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 1 Registered provider: Kingston upon Hull City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and runs this home. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties or learning disabilities. There are currently two children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The suitably qualified manager registered with Ofsted in August 2019. She holds the registration of this and another children’s home in the local area.

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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 outstanding

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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: 27 February 2023

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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: 2589771 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2023 Full Good 09/11/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In this home, children make good progress from their individual starting points. This is due to the quality and consistency of care they receive, which is provided by staff who are heavily invested in them. One child has moved on from the home to live with a family member. This was successful due to the support of staff, who equipped the family member with the skills, knowledge and confidence to meet the child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive, warm and trusting relationships with staff. One child said that he likes living in the home and that the staff are ‘really nice’. When a new child comes to live at the home, this is thoroughly assessed and considered in detail. There has recently been an admission to the home that was not successful and was a negative experience for both children. This could not have been foreseen, and the staff worked hard to support both children to manage their upset.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. The staff advocate for this and will work with other professionals so that this can happen in a safe way. Staff want the children to know that their families and friends are important, and they welcome them warmly. This was reiterated by one family member who said, ‘The staff make me feel welcome when I visit, and I can see how happy my child is living there.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can participate in a wide range of activities inside and outside the home. Memory books are made for each child, which capture what they have been doing, so that when it is time to move on, they can take them away with them to cherish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are in education. However, one child does not attend full time, as a suitable placement has not been identified. The registered manager attends regular school meetings and has appropriately challenged education professionals about this deficit in the child’s access to a full curriculum. The other child has successfully moved to secondary school and has good attendance.

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

Children feel safe and happy in this home. One child stated that they feel well looked after. One parent said that they know that their child is happy living in the home. A professional said, ‘[Name of child] is loved and cared for by the staff in the home. I really do not have any worries.’

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

Staff identify risks and manage them appropriately. The children have thorough, individualised risk assessments that are regularly updated. The staff complete one- to-one work with the children so that they understand risks. Staff provide them with the information and tools they need so they can be more aware of risks, and children are encouraged to make safe choices. Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 4 Staff are very clear that they only ever use physical intervention as a last resort. They skilfully use de-escalation techniques to manage any unwanted behaviours, which means the use of physical intervention is rare. When it has been used, this has been in line with the risk assessment for the child. Incidents are recorded in detail, with both the child and staff having a reflective discussion after the incident has happened to identify whether a repeat occurrence can be avoided.

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

The home uses consequences as a way to manage difficult behaviour, and they record when any measures have been used. However, the reason why a particular consequence has been used and the details of any work completed afterwards are not clear. Consequences are not always restorative, and children do not fully understand the reasons for their use. Explaining this will help children understand the impact of their behaviour.

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

Children do not go missing from this home. However, staff know what steps to take should a child go missing, and are fully aware of the protocols should there be a missing-from-home incident.

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

The home has an up-to-date fire risk assessment and conducts regular fire safety testing. However, during the inspection, fire doors were seen to be propped open, and several fire doors would not close properly. This was discussed with the registered manager, who has taken steps to address this to ensure that fire safety procedures are followed by everyone.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is very well respected by staff, professionals, families and the children. Her views are valued, and the staff are very positive about the leadership she provides. She is heavily invested in the children in her care and in the staff that she manages. She wants the children to feel loved and cared for, and this resonates with the staff, who share her ethos for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has an ambitious vision for the home. She wants this, and the other home she is registered to manage, to function seamlessly alongside one another. This means a shared staff team, shared values and consistency for the children across both homes. She is currently implementing this model, and the staff support this as they believe it will be a positive development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager advocates strongly for the children in her care. She is steadfast in challenging professionals if she feels this is needed, and she challenges senior managers when appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has effective and positive working relationships with the professionals involved in the children’s lives. She also has good relationships with people important to the children, such as their friends and families. One family Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 5 member complimented the registered manager by saying, ‘I was impressed by how much she had gotten to know [name of child] in such a short space of time’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager does identify the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She has a clear plan to help her address any shortfalls and has a strong senior team that she relies on to support her. She takes action with staff where needed when poor practice is identified, and she escalates this appropriately when needed. She is very clear with the staff about her expectations, which drives the high standards in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is keen to ensure that the staff have regular training, which includes bespoke packages, so they can meet the needs of the children. She enlists the support of a clinician to develop additional workshops or commissions other professionals to come to team meetings and speak to staff about relevant topics. This is important so that the staff can keep abreast of changes in policy and practice and so that they can offer the right support to the children in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, all staff should know the missing-from-home procedures for each individual child. In addition, these procedures should be updated and reviewed as appropriate. 3 December 2023

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home— 3 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 7 the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, all fire doors should be able to close securely in the frame. Fire doors must also not be left propped open.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences imposed by staff are restorative and consistent. There should be proportionate and appropriate reasons why consequences are imposed that help the child recognise the impact of their behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46 paragraph 9.38)

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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: 2589771 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider : Kingston upon Hull City Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2589771 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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