Children's home run by Hull City Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2569527 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

This home is owned and run by a local authority. It provides care for one child who may have learning disabilities and experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2019 and is suitably qualified. They are dual registered to manage another children’s home nearby. The home is currently being managed by an interim manager while the registered manager is away.

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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 requires improvement to be 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 is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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good

Date of last inspection: 6 December 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: 2569527 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/12/2022 Full Good 02/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2569527 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have been effective in supporting the child to make progress from the child’s starting point. The child regularly attends school and is making academic progress, whereas they previously had not attended school for some time. Staff have advocated for the child to ensure that they have the right provision to meet their needs. Staff work well with school so that the child feels supported and continues to do well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has loving and trusting relationships with the staff. It is the resilience and consistency of care that has meant that the child has made the level of progress that they have. The staff are heavily invested in the child and have clearly stated that they love the child dearly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff communicate effectively with the child’s family and other professionals. They are actively involved in all areas of the child’s life. Staff ensure that the child’s family is regularly updated and involved in the child’s care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is encouraged to try new things and gets the opportunity to do lots of activities inside and outside the home. Memories of these activities are documented in photo albums and a memory box, which are updated by the child and staff regularly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The downstairs area of the home is locked and secured at night. This means that the child cannot access any of the ground floor during these hours. There is no specific reason for this happening other than a staff member describing it as ‘habit’. This practice restricts the child from having reasonable access to all areas of the home.

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improvement to be good

The home uses two risk assessment documents; they are comprehensive and detailed and identify known risks for the child. However, they contradict one another and there are inconsistencies in the information recorded. This has led to staff not adhering to one risk assessment as they are using the other. This could place the child at risk as it is not clear which document should be followed.

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improvement to be good

Room searches have been used as a way of ensuring the safety of the child. However, on the occasions that they are documented, the reason for carrying them out is not clear. Room searches do not directly correlate to an incident, consent of the child is not always sought, and the child is not spoken to afterwards so they can understand why the room search happened. Inspection report for children’s home: 2569527 4 The child self-harmed and informed staff, but this was not appropriately managed or recorded. There was no follow-up work or room search completed to ensure that the child did not continue to have access to items that they could use to harm themselves. Specialised training relating to self-harm has not been completed by staff, even though this has been an ongoing concern with the child.

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improvement to be good

The child does not go missing from the home. However, not all staff are fully aware of the missing protocol and what they should do if the child was to go missing. The documentation needed to support staff was incomplete and of poor quality.

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improvement to be good

The home has an up-to-date fire risk assessment and has measures in place to test the fire system. However, fire doors were seen to be propped open, several doors would not close properly in their frame, and a means of fire escape was blocked by furniture. In addition, the two fire extinguishers were not accessible as they were locked away in cupboards. This would hinder a safe evacuation should there be a fire in the home.

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good

The registered manager is liked and respected by staff and professionals alike. The home is currently being managed by an interim manager while the registered manager is on a secondment elsewhere in the organisation. The interim manager is also positively thought of by staff and professionals. The registered manager is due to return to the home in early 2024.

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good

The registered manager and interim manager share the same aspirations for the home. They are invested in the quality of care that the child receives, and genuinely care about the child achieving the best outcomes. This ethos is echoed by the staff, who all speak about the child fondly and are genuinely invested in them.

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good

The registered manager was absent from the home for an extended period. During this time and other times when he, or the interim manager, have been present, there has been insufficient oversight in the home. This means that managers do not have sufficient scrutiny and oversight of any incidents in the home, and this could place the child at risk.

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good

Supervision of staff and the registered manager is not always consistent and does not take place in line with the provider’s policy. The alternative arrangements put in place when the registered manager has been absent have not been effective.

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good

The expectation and monitoring of staff qualifications has been ineffective. This means that some staff are working in the home with qualifications that do not meet the requirements set out in the regulations. Inspection report for children’s home: 2569527 5

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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— that staff—

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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

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)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, risk assessments must be up to date and should not include contradictory information.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, staff should follow up any safeguarding concerns effectively. This must be well documented and detail what steps they have taken. 28 December

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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 home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their full potential; and 28 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2569527 6 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to 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

In particular, ensure that the registered manager has systems in place to review all necessary documents and have thorough oversight of the service.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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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 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, supervision should take place at the frequency agreed within the home’s statement of purpose and the provider’s policy.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 28 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child.

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Requirement Due date

Paragraph (2) does not apply to medicine which—

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Requirement Due date

is stored by the child for whom it is provided in such a way that other persons are prevented from using it; and 28 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2569527 7 may be safely self-administered by that child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, records should be updated promptly when medication is given to the child, or it is offered and the child refuses to take it.

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

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 fully into their surrounds and they should not be propped open.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, fire escape routes should not be blocked by furniture, and fire extinguishers should be accessible, should they be required. 28 December

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, areas of the home should not be locked and inaccessible to children unless there is a specific risk 28 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2569527 8 assessment in place that details the reasons for this happening.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that specialised training is completed by staff that would support them to meet the needs of the children in their care. (Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that all staff working in the home have the appropriate qualification to do so. (Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)

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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: 2569527 9

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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: Kingston upon Hull City Council, The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull HU1 2AA

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Inspector

Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2569527 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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