Children's Home run by Kingston upon Hull City Council in Kingston upon Hull

Inspection report for children’s home: SC034495 1 SC034495 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 children’s home is run by a local authority. It provides care for up to seven children with learning disabilities. Four children live in the home, and other children receive short-break care.

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Information about this children’s home

The previous registered manager, who left in January 2024 to manage another of the provider's homes, was present during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 7 February 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC034495 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2023 Full Good 01/03/2022 Full Good 13/11/2019 Full Outstanding 09/10/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC034495 3

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outstanding

Children receive excellent care in this home from proactive leaders and managers and a nurturing and loving staff team. Staff are alert to the important nuances in children’s behaviour which may lead to a change in their physical health or well- being. The staff are extremely sensitive to how each child presents and vigilantly watch over children closely. The staff communicate fluidly with each other to make sure that children’s needs are consistently met to the highest standards. This means that children stay in a loving environment where they feel safe and happy.

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outstanding

Children in this home make significant and sustained progress. Professionals described some children as unrecognisable from their starting points. Staff support children to stabilise their health conditions, promote their emotional well-being, help them feel safe and meet their various needs, including sensory needs and those arising from neurodiversity. The children have an improved quality of life because of this.

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outstanding

Staff go above and beyond to support the children and their families. The staff speak regularly to parents and carers and offer practical support. The staff reflect on family time and are creative in how this can be supported to meet the individual needs of children and families. This protects children’s relationships with those who are important in their lives.

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outstanding

Children are encouraged and supported to share their views. Some children use a limited vocabulary. Therefore, staff incorporate communication systems into daily routines and play effectively. This helps children to grow in confidence in the use of these systems, which improves children’s communication. One child uses recordings on a device that they share with staff to tell them what they do at school. This keeps the child as the focus of the communication and gives them regular opportunities to express their views.

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outstanding

Children take part in a wide range of activities in the community. This gives one child the opportunity to play regularly with a close family member in an activity group. Staff support children to create memory boxes, and there are photos on display around the home of the children enjoying themselves doing activities. Before the children leave the home, staff give them a collection of photo memories to take with them. This helps children to remember their time at the home, and they can use them to share their experiences with others.

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outstanding

Some children in the home have frequently changing health needs that are sometimes life-threatening. This requires very close working between several health Inspection report for children’s home: SC034495 4 professionals, families and the home to keep children safe and well. Leaders and managers share information via a portal with specialist nurses so that all medical incidents are reported immediately to professionals. This keeps professionals up to date with any changes or health concerns. Children’s medication and treatments are responsive to their changing needs. For one child, this has meant a significant improvement in their health.

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outstanding

Leaders and managers are tenacious in speaking up for children, and they have a full and detailed understanding of children’s individual needs. They strongly advocate on behalf of the children and their well-being. When there have been disagreements about a child’s care, leaders and managers have met with professionals and families to resolve any issues. This inclusive approach ensures that all risks are addressed in an open forum with the child’s best interests at the centre of practice.

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outstanding

Each child has a risk assessment that is reviewed after any incident and then discussed with the staff. The risk assessments reflect the individual needs of children and provide guidance to staff to reduce identified risks to children. Staff use these to pre-plan and ensure that children are equipped to have a safe stay at the home.

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outstanding

The children in the home have a wide variety of needs, and some children struggle to manage their emotions and can become distressed. Staff support them in a loving, nurturing and empathetic way. Staff have not needed to physically intervene to keep children safe. Instead, staff are consistent in the way they respond to children. Recently, staff have started working closely with specialists who offer support and advice that is relative to children’s individual and unique needs.

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outstanding

Leaders, managers and the staff team are reflective, and an open culture of communication is promoted. When medication errors occurred, leaders and managers adopted a supportive approach which promoted transparency among the staff. Professional advice was commissioned to improve systems to avoid reoccurrence. This reduces the risk of human error and demonstrates a learning culture in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a clear vision for the home and are organised and effective in their roles. They are child-focused, and their vision is shared by the staff team. They lead with positivity and a solution-focused approach. Staff are inspired, positive and child-focused and go out of their way to help the children and their families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The short-break service provided by the home is relocating to new, purpose-built premises soon. The new manager of the home is working alongside the previous manager to ensure a smooth transition to the newly built premises, so children have support through the change. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034495 5 Leaders and managers have effective monitoring and review systems in place and use these to identify where improvements are needed. The independent visitor raises appropriate actions following monthly visits that contribute to driving up the quality of care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are embedding trauma-informed training in the staff team. Staff are supported by a psychologist who advises them on practice issues. Staff find this support invaluable and said how it has influenced their approaches, which is positive for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is established and feels supported by leaders and managers. Staff receive regular supervision and said they can seek support at any time. Staff are confident to challenge professionals when needed. They spoke positively about recent training and how it has enabled them to develop their practice. Staff are suitably qualified and are provided with safeguarding training. However, not all staff have completed safeguarding training for children with disabilities. This training will help staff understand the specific risks relating to disabled children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034495 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to respond to the health needs of children, help children to manage long-term conditions and, where necessary, meet specific individual health needs arising from a disability, chronic condition or other complex needs, in particular the safeguarding needs of disabled children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)

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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: SC034495 7

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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

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034495 8 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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