Children's Home run by Hampshire County Council in Hampshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1255823 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

The home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children who experience social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2017 and is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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 outstanding

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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: 1255823 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2023 Full Good 14/06/2022 Full Good 25/08/2021 Full Good 04/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1255823 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children have made good progress since moving to the home and have a strong sense of permanence. The progress for one child has been more limited, but staff have demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting their growth and development, and everything is in place for this to happen.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made positive progress in their education, and staff have provided excellent support to reduce the barriers for children’s educational attainment. For example, they have provided direct, on-site practical and emotional support for two children, and supported another child to complete their exams despite significant health challenges.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built trusting relationships with preferred staff and routinely seek support from staff to overcome barriers and difficulties in their lives. Staff are attuned to children’s communication needs and maintain good boundaries when talking with children about more sensitive topics. Staff use these opportunities to develop children’s understanding of diversity and difference.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel confident that staff will listen to them and advocate on their behalf. Staff demonstrate that they are ambitious for children, and actively encourage children to take advantage of the opportunities and experiences provided for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop their self-autonomy and build important life skills. Staff ensure that there is a natural progression to this, in accordance with children’s individual plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children’s health needs are well supported, and staff ensure that children receive the care that they require. For one child, the leadership team has implemented a more structured approach to how staff support them and record the actions they have carried out. The impact of this is that staff have increased confidence in the care and support they provide to this child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have moved into the home have been welcomed in a sensitive manner and staff have helped children to settle. Despite this, when one child moved on from the home, some key staff were not involved in this transition, and they felt that wider decision-making from senior managers undermined the relationship they had built with this child. Leaders and managers have already recognised that there are lessons to be learned from this.

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

Children feel safe and well cared for. Children have built good relationships with familiar staff, who ensure that children are kept safe from harm. Inspection report for children’s home: 1255823 4 Staff have undertaken important work to help one child understand the concerns about their safety when they are missing from the home. Consequently, there has been a significant reduction in the frequency of missing episodes for this child since the last inspection. The child stated, ‘I am not that person anymore.’

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

There is a strong focus on listening to children’s wishes and feelings and ensuring that they are heard. Staff demonstrate good insight into children’s individual needs and use a range of well-informed strategies and instinctive actions to support children. For example, staff use their professional judgement and curiosity to create opportunities to communicate with children about emerging concerns, or when they feel children may need support.

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

Staff support children to reflect following difficult incidents, and there is a strong restorative culture in which staff recognise that children’s behaviour may be triggered by past events. Staff encourage children to find solutions to some of the challenges that they face, and have a non-judgemental approach. This increases children’s sense of stability and helps to build positive relationships between children and staff.

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

The home environment is a safe and positive place for children. Children have been supported to personalise their bedrooms. However, managers have recently made the decision to add window restrictors to all children’s bedrooms, without giving full consideration to each child’s presenting needs.

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

The vast majority of safeguarding incidents have been managed well, and staff are clear about the actions that they must take to keep children safe. While leaders and managers have ensured that all necessary incidents have been notified to the relevant authorities, several notifications to Ofsted have not been completed in a timely manner and this has delayed regulatory oversight. This has not impacted negatively on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by a child-focused and dedicated leader who is committed to providing the best outcomes for children. The home manager demonstrates an excellent understanding of the home’s ethos and is a strong role model, enabling staff to support children in a restorative and empathetic manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team has created an inspiring culture in which staff feel empowered to have a positive impact on children’s lives. Staff are fully invested in the therapeutic model used in the home and recognise how this enhances their care of children. One member of staff reported, ‘We are trailblazers for emotional warmth, and model this in our care of children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have delegated some responsibilities to staff for monitoring children’s progress, such as educational outcomes, health and well-being. Staff thrive in the opportunities this provides. For example, some staff use relevant research to help them understand different approaches to supporting children and share this with the Inspection report for children’s home: 1255823 5 wider staff team. This increases the confidence, knowledge and skills of the staff team to meet children’s presenting needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team has demonstrated exceptional planning and insight when supporting new children to move into the home and in ensuring that their needs are well matched alongside other children. Effective planning by the management team ensures that they acquire as much information as possible before making decisions about which children move into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home manager has a clear monitoring system in place for understanding the progress that children make. This demonstrates excellent oversight and directly evidences the benefits for children of the therapeutic approach used in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff morale is high, and staff value the support that they receive from leaders and managers. While staff benefit from a wide range of training and e-learning opportunities, some staff have not completed all mandatory training in accordance with the home’s policies. New staff to the home are suitably vetted and benefit from a comprehensive induction programme. Inspection report for children’s home: 1255823 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms are respected as their private place, and any adaptions to these are sensitive and carefully consider each child’s presenting needs and risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure as far as possible that key staff are included in the transitions of children moving on from the home. Children’s wishes and feelings about maintaining contact with staff should also be carefully considered in accordance with their individual plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 57, paragraph 11.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all serious events are notified as soon as possible, and that any internal monitoring does not delay information being shared. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. Specifically, all staff must complete regular training in accordance with the home’s policies. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 1255823 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hampshire County Council

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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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Inspector

Ashley Edwards, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1255823 8 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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