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

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 1 SC034313

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Registered provider: Kingston upon Hull City Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a local authority. It offers care for up to six children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022 and is suitably qualified.

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Inspection date: 5 July 2024

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 5 July 2024

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the last inspection, arrangements have been made to support the children who had previously experienced an unplanned move into the home. The children are continuing to settle, with one experiencing significant challenges. The child is having more specialist support, and the staff are proactively managing the presenting risk. Staff are dedicating time to having a better understanding of the children’s needs and to develop their relationships.

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Findings from the inspection

One child is making positive progress with their independence planning and has started to spend time away from the home. They have a group of professionals working with them to support this plan, and this is progressing well. The child has said that when they move on from the home they will be sad to leave the staff. This indicates that positive relationships have been created.

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Findings from the inspection

The frequency of staff supervision sessions has improved. Supervisions are documented appropriately and include reflective discussions with staff about their practice. Minutes are produced and shared with staff in a timely way. However, the recording of staff training remains inaccurate. This needs to be addressed so that training records clearly reflect those staff who have and have not completed the required training.

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Findings from the inspection

There has been some improvement in the presentation of the home. The downstairs rooms have been decorated and the stair carpet has been replaced. Nevertheless, there is still work to do upstairs and in the children’s bedrooms. Although there are plans in place to address this, it has not progressed in a timely way. Planned work is scheduled to begin on the industrial fencing in the garden and this will help to eliminate the safety risk that this poses to the children.

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Findings from the inspection

Children still cannot access all areas of the home. Two of the bathrooms are locked and are designated solely for staff use and storage. This restrictive practice was evident at the last inspection and no steps have been taken to rectify this.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the last full inspection, further examples of stigmatising and blaming language relating to children have been found in written documentation. Since the last inspection, the manager has not implemented any specific learning or practice development for staff to address this shortfall. This means that children continue to have inappropriate records written about them.

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Findings from the inspection

The management oversight of the home continues to be inconsistent. Documents are not fully completed and do not have a visible management footprint. This is evident across several documents, including the risk assessments for the children and the children’s guide. Improvement of this oversight has not been actioned Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 3 swiftly and this means that staff and children do not have access to accurate documents that have been thoroughly overseen by the manager. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/04/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/06/2023 Full Good 22/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/09/2021 Full Outstanding Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)(iv)(vi)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home is in a good state of repair so that it is homely and welcoming for the children. 5 August 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 6 In addition, the registered person must ensure that children are treated with dignity and respect. This means they are included and informed when decisions are made about them or actions are taken to promote their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should ensure that all staff speak about children in a positive and non-blaming way.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments contain all known risks and that they are understood by staff so they can provide safe and appropriate care for the children.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should ensure that when consequences are used to manage behaviour, they are restorative and regularly reviewed to ensure their effectiveness.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 5 August 2024

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 5 August 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

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, the registered person must ensure that they have sufficient oversight of all important documents in the home, including those given to children to help them understand their rights.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should have sufficient oversight of staff training to recognise when this is no longer in date and ensure it is completed in line with the home’s policies.

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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, all rooms should be open and children should be able to access them unless there is a risk assessment that states why they are inaccessible. 5 August 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 8

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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

Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC034313 9 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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