Children's Home run by North Yorkshire Council in North Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 1 SC034189 Registered provider: North Yorkshire 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 managed by a local authority using the ‘No Wrong Door’ model. The home provides care for up to six children with social and emotional difficulties. The home can also care for a further two children in separate accommodation for up to 28 days.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, the home was providing care for six children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 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 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

Date of last inspection: 7 November 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/08/2022 Full Inadequate 04/01/2022 Full Good 01/05/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The appointment of a new registered manager has improved all aspects of the home. Children’s overall experiences have improved, and they are making good progress. Children spoke with warmth about the staff, who know them well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children are attending education, employment or training. For those children who have barriers to attending education, staff work hard to seek alternative packages that the children will engage in. Feedback from education professionals is positive. One education professional said that since one child moved into the home their attendance and engagement with schoolwork has increased.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s meetings, monthly consultations and key-work sessions with children are used to seek their feedback. Staff respond appropriately to the children’s requests. This means that children learn that their views are important and they will be listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities that appeal to their individual interests. Staff support children to attend clubs so that the children can pursue their chosen hobbies. The registered manager and the staff ensure that children are able to have holidays both in this country and abroad. Memories are captured by taking photos of these activities, which are then recorded in life-story books. This provides children with opportunities to socialise in their wider community and to broaden their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children know how to make a complaint if they want to raise a concern. The complaint forms are not readily accessible in the home, which means that if children want to make a complaint confidentially, they are unable to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some improvements have been made in the home to make it a much more inviting environment for children to spend time in. Ongoing work is required to further improve the home. The children do not have lockable cabinets in their bedrooms. This means that children cannot store their personal items securely in their bedrooms.

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

Children said that they feel safe living in the home, and they can identify staff that they can speak to if they have any worries. Staff understand the children’s experiences and the triggers for their behaviour and use this knowledge to respond to the children’s needs effectively.

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

Staff understand safeguarding procedures and follow them, which reduces the risks for children. Children’s risk assessments are detailed, easy to understand and are kept up to date. However, one example was identified where a known risk had not Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 4 been considered. While this shortfall has not negatively affected any children, staff do not have all the information available to them when providing care.

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

When children go missing from home, staff follow the missing-from-home procedures. Staff are proactive in trying to contact and find the children. When the children return, they are sensitively welcomed back into the home. Return home interviews are always offered.

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

Before children move into the home, the registered manager completes an ‘impact referral assessment’. This document considers any potential risks for the child moving into the home as well as the impact on those children already living in the home. However, this process did not identify as part of the decision-making that for one child their needs fell outside of the home’s statement of purpose. Staff also did not have the relevant training and experience to care for the child’s specific needs.

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

Recording of physical interventions and consequences is not being completed as required. While the use of the measures is appropriate, staff debriefs are not consistently undertaken and there is a lack of analysis in the management oversight of the documents.

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good

The home is managed by a permanent, suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. Feedback from children and staff about the manager is positive. Staff can identify the progress that has been made since the manager’s appointment. Staff feel supported by the registered manager and are confident to seek advice and support.

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good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The registered manager has developed systems to monitor the effectiveness of the home and the performance of staff. She plans to use these processes to scrutinise the practice of the staff, and to make effective changes when she identifies shortfalls. However, these are yet to be fully embedded in practice.

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good

There is a delay in some safeguarding notifications being received by the regulator. This prevents Ofsted from reviewing the risks promptly and taking appropriate action where required.

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good

The registered manager does not ensure that fire drills are routinely undertaken when children move into the home. For two children living in the home, a fire drill has still to be undertaken with them. This means that staff are not assured of the children’s understanding of what to do in case of a fire in the home.

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good

Safer recruitment processes are not always followed when staff are appointed. This does not provide assurances that staff are suitably vetted and qualified to provide care to children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 5 There continue to be shortfalls in the independent visitor’s report. There is a lack of consultation and inaccuracies in the information recorded. Some reports don’t identify whether the independent visitor believes that the children are effectively safeguarded. This prevents Ofsted from having effective oversight of the home and the experiences of children.

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good

The registered manager has completed a location risk assessment, which identifies potential risks within the local community and actions for staff to take to mitigate these. However, feedback sought from professionals does not then inform the location risk assessment. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 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, 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to risk assessments and ensuring that they contain all known risks. 13 February 2024

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d)) 20 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child— 13 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 7 is instigated; or

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 13 January 2024

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 13 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 8 that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a) (4)(a)(b)) 13 February 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with appropriate furniture, such as a lockable cabinet or drawers to securely store personal items, including any personal information. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 16, paragraph 3.19)  The registered person should ensure that children are aware of the complaints procedure and are able to access the forms and make a complaint without the need to ask staff, in order to protect their privacy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should ensure that records of consequences are kept in accordance with Regulation 35. Any consequences used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the

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Recommendations

wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 9 (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that records of physical intervention are kept in accordance with Regulation 35 and 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 it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when completing the location risk assessment they consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: SC034189 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Yorkshire Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Northallerton DL7 8AD

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Inspectors

Paula Shepherd, Social Care Inspector Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034189 11 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection. 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

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Inspectors

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 .

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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