Children's Home run by Hampshire County Council in Hampshire

Inspection report children's home: 1257065 1 Registered provider: Hampshire County Council

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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 up to five children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children's home

A manager has been in post since September 2023 and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1257065 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/06/2023 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 23/11/2021 Full Outstanding 14/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1257065 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made considerable progress since moving into the home. One child initially needed high levels of staff supervision and was subject to a deprivation of liberty order. Since settling into the home and forming relationships with staff risks for the child have reduced. Staff work with the children to help them understand their plans and to stay safe. As a result, restrictions are safely reduced, and this child is no longer subject to the order.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, the staff team has been inconsistent with a high number of agency staff used. More permanent staff have been recruited and children now benefit from a more stable staff team. Staff know the children well and one child said this 'is the most settled' they have ever been.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are spending more quality time with family and friends. Staff have built good relationships with the children’s families and encourage children to spend time with their families. One parent said that staff have 'brought our relationship back together'.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s education. All the children have been out of education for some time prior to living in the home, they are now engaging with education. One child is going to school part time. Other children are having home tutoring and are planning to return to education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff plan children’s moves into the home well and their needs are thoroughly considered before moving in. One child moved into the home in an emergency. Leaders worked quickly to understand the child’s needs and identify how they would meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children understand the risks from smoking, electronic cigarettes and using illegal substances. Staff use rewards and incentives to encourage children to give up. They will challenge children when they use illegal substances and use room searches to reduce risks. Staff refer to specialist services to help children understand the risks of illegal substances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is not well maintained. Children’s bathrooms are visibly dirty and have not been properly cleaned by staff. The furniture in the home is showing wear and tear and in need of replacement. In the children’s meetings. Children have requested new furniture in the home however, this has not been replaced.

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

Inspection report children's home: 1257065 4 Staff know the risks for children. These are carefully considered in risk assessments and care plans. Staff effectively work with specialist services and partner agencies to reduce risks to children from criminal and sexual exploitation.

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

Children have often been missing from home. Staff respond well and communicate promptly with partner agencies, and escalate concerns effectively when children are at risk. Plans for children are effective and missing from home incidents are reducing significantly for children.

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

Managers handle allegations against staff well. When children raise concerns, immediate action is taken, and concerns are thoroughly investigated. When managers find poor practice, they support staff to improve. Managers appropriately consult with the local authority designated officer [LADO] and follow the advice provided. When there was a concern about an agency staff the manager shared concerns with the agency and had oversight of the agency’s investigation.

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

Staff use incentives and consequences to help children to understand rules. Children are involved in the development of these strategies. Consequences are used with a restorative purpose and accompanied with conversations. Staff recently used these strategies during an incident between the children where one child’s property was damaged. Children are developing an understanding of accountability and how to repair relationships.

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

Staff take a positive approach to behaviours. Plans for children are centred around understanding the child’s history and behaviours. Staff use physical intervention in line with children's plans. On one occasion the manager’s review of the incident was delayed which meant information was not shared with the LADO promptly.

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

Managers ensure that new staff are suitably vetted. They follow robust safe recruitment practices. Managers ensure agency staff are vetted and have appropriate training before working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The management of the home has changed since the last inspection. The new manager has applied to register with Ofsted. The manager alongside the deputy manager provides stable leadership to the staff. A member of staff described the manager as having a calming presence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have high expectations for the children. They focus on helping the children engage with their education and reducing risks. Managers are highly aware of the progress made by the children in the home and know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff feel well supported. Managers support staff through regular supervision focused on their welfare and development. Staff are well trained to carry out their roles. New staff are inducted well into the home to help them understand their role. Inspection report children's home: 1257065 5 The manager’s oversight of health and safety is ineffective. The formal assessment of fire safety completed by a competent person is significantly out of date. One of the children has known risks with experimenting with fire. The impact of this lapse is reduced due to staff completing regular checks on fire detection and firefighting equipment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have not recorded when checks have been carried out on children’s rooms and electronic devices. These checks are linked to the children’s safety plans to reduce risks. As a result, managers are unable to monitor if these plans are being frequently followed by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have sought to learn lessons from incidents. On one occasion managers have not changed practice based on lessons learnt. They identified that children need to be prepared when new staff work in the home. This has not happened with more recent staff joining the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not met all the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. Children’s progress with independence skills has not been tracked and life story work has not yet been completed with children. Inspection report children's home: 1257065 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, 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

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose; demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that lessons learnt from incidents are acted on and children are prepared for new staff working in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home environment is welcoming and well maintained.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home has an up-to-date fire risk assessment. 28 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 28 June 2024 Inspection report children's home: 1257065 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff— help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult; (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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")— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b)(3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 28 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, keep children's records up to date, including details of when safety checks are completed 28 June 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff know the importance of children understanding who they are and where they come from, and help children to understand their history by undertaking life-story work or other direct work. Staff in children's homes should play a full role in work of this kind. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 16, paragraph 3.14)

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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 Inspection report children's home: 1257065 8 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 children's home: 1257065 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Hampshire Council, 3rd Floor, Elizabeth II Court North, The Castle, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 8UG

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Inspectors

Mark Dawkins, social care inspector Sharron Dormand, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 1257065 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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