Children's Home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Hertfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC379199 1 SC379199 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 local authority home offers care for up to seven children who have been assessed as unable to live with their families and require a period of positive residential care.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since March 2023 and registered with Ofsted in November 2023.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC379199 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/06/2022 Full Good 28/07/2021 Full Good 28/05/2019 Full Good 23/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC379199 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home and four have moved out. At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff have shown significant commitment to children with complex needs and behaviour that challenges. Despite difficult circumstances, risks and challenges to the staff team, staff have been committed to maintaining relationships and offering consistency to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting and positive relationships with staff. Staff talk to children with warmth and humour. The manager and staff provide children with individualised care. Children’s plans are understood and followed by staff. The manager advocates on behalf of children to ensure that their needs are fully met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have individual and creative education plans, and they attend school and learning provisions regularly. Managers have worked with other professionals to achieve this in a manner which meets children’s individual needs. This ensures that children can continue making progress in their education and learning. For one child, this has meant that after a long period of being out of education, they have begun to attend school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in other areas they have previously found difficult, such as understanding the personal space of others. However, this progress is not routinely captured in records. As a result, there is a missed opportunity to evidence children’s emotional growth and the work that staff do with them. This is important information that could be beneficial for the children in the future.

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

Staff are skilled at working with children who have complex needs. Staff understand children and are provided with clear instructions on what works best to support them when they are in crisis. Staff show perseverance, patience and insight.

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

Staff respond appropriately when children go missing from the home. Staff follow missing-from-home protocols and contact the police to report children missing. Managers work with the police and other partners to ensure multi-agency working to reduce missing-from-home episodes.

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

Safeguarding concerns are managed well. All staff spoken with have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and the whistle-blowing policy. Concerns are reported promptly and appropriately. Regular health and safety checks are carried out, and children take part in fire drills. Inspection report for children’s home: SC379199 4 When physical intervention is used, it is proportionate and well managed. Staff use de-escalation techniques to reduce risk where possible. Staff support children to discuss incidents and reflect on their feelings. This approach aims to reduce restraints and promote children’s well-being. However, some staff are not up to date with their training. This means that some staff have not had the opportunity to formally revisit and refresh their skills. This increases the potential for errors in the future.

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

Consequences are not used often and when they are, they are restorative in nature. However, records show that children have not always been spoken to about the consequences that they have been given and the manager has not consistently monitored records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has recently registered with Ofsted. The previous registered manager left their role in early 2023 and an interim manager left during their probationary period. The newly registered manager is supported by a suitably qualified and experienced staff team. Although there have been changes in the leadership and management team, the staff team has remained consistent in children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is dedicated and has high aspirations for the children and the team. Staff feel listened to, cared for and supported by leaders and the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings provide effective support for staff and are used as a forum to discuss individual children. These meetings give the staff team the opportunity to share ideas and feelings in a safe space.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works in partnership with a range of professionals. Feedback from professionals is extremely positive. They are happy with the care and support that children are receiving and say that children have made good progress from their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. However, supervision sessions do not include reflective discussions about how children’s behaviour can affect the way staff respond to children. This is a missed opportunity to support staff to understand more about children’s behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes an in-depth quality assurance report. However, this was late being sent to Ofsted. This affects the regulator’s oversight of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC379199 5

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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, The 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint, in relation to the children in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequence of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all records are evaluated and monitored by the manager and show evidence of speaking with children about consequences imposed. 1 January 2024

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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

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)) 1 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC379199 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision includes discussion and reflection on how children’s behaviour affects their own feelings and responses to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)  The registered person should ensure that all staff are adequately trained in the principles of restraint and any restraint techniques appropriate to the needs of the children the home is set up to provide care for, as defined in the home’s statement of purpose. In particular, ensure that refresher training is provided within the agreed timescales for all staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.57)  The registered person should ensure that information about the progress the child is making is always recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to

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Recommendations

the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC379199 7

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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: SC379199 8 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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