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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 1 Registered provider: Kingston upon Hull City Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a local authority. It offers care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since February 2024, and they are not registered with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the last full inspection, serious shortfalls were identified relating to the safety and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. This resulted in an inadequate judgement. A compliance notice under regulation 13, the leadership and management standard, was issued. A monitoring visit took place on Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 2 22 May 2024, during which progress was seen to have been made. Following the monitoring visit, some steps that were set out in the compliance notice were not met, and these were reissued as additional requirements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 3

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/04/2024 Full Inadequate 08/08/2023 Full Good 31/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/07/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 4

p.3

improvement to be good

The registered manager was not present during the inspection.

p.4

improvement to be good

Although there have been improvements since the last inspection, shortfalls remain in the help and protection of the child and in the leadership and management of the home. These shortfalls have directly affected the child’s overall experiences.

p.4

improvement to be good

The child is spending more time engaged in activities, but their engagement can be inconsistent and unstructured. An activity planner is in place, with plans being adapted to suit the child’s wishes. Staff encourage the child to complete some physical activity as they choose to spend a lot of time in the home.

p.4

improvement to be good

The child has positive relationships with some staff and the manager. These relationships have been observed, and although the child did not wish to speak with the inspector, they have articulated their views. Staff regularly gather the wishes and feelings of the child through one-to-one conversations and weekly meetings. The child is aware that they can speak to an independent advocate should they wish to.

p.4

improvement to be good

The staff benefit from input from a therapeutic clinician. These discussions enhance the staff’s level of understanding of being trauma-informed when delivering care. They can also discuss any aspect of the care of the child and gain clinical advice and guidance. The case reflection meetings provided by the clinician are well attended, and the team finds them valuable.

p.4

improvement to be good

There is still no appropriate education package in place that meets the needs of the child. The child has been saying for months that they wish to be in a school setting and to not be educated at home. The manager has challenged education professionals, but this could be escalated further to try and gain an appropriate education offer for the child. Staff are trying to complete educational activities with the child; however, they remain socially isolated, with very few positive relationships with peers their own age. The child is missing out on the learning and socialisation that attending school would give them.

p.4

improvement to be good

Long-term planning for the child is currently unclear. There are a number of health diagnoses and legal implications that are impacting on the creation of future plans. The manager and staff need to ensure that they are advocating for the child so that there is no drift or delay in appropriate long-term planning and support being implemented. Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 5

p.4

improvement to be good

High-risk incidents have reduced recently. Staff have a good understanding of the risks to the child, and they are guided by detailed risk assessments. The relationships that staff have with the child and the child maturing in her levels of emotional literacy have also seen the duration of incidents shorten.

p.5

improvement to be good

Staff are able to have difficult and supportive conversations with the child. This is seeing an increase in the child divulging to staff and feeling safe enough to talk about distressing subjects. Staff keep detailed recordings of these conversations so they can be revisited and learning can take place. Staff feel this is one of the main reasons why the level of incidents has reduced, as the child is more trusting of staff and feels that staff actively listen to them.

p.5

improvement to be good

Missing-from-home incidents have reduced. Staff know what to do should the child go missing, and information about the missing-from-home incident is shared with other professionals. However, staff do need to ensure that information is recorded and processed in a timely way so that it can be appropriately shared across the wider professional group.

p.5

improvement to be good

All staff are trained in the same physical intervention and de-escalation techniques. This allows for consistency of care and reduces the risks of an inappropriate hold being used on the child. The number of incidents that have required physical intervention has reduced. However, during one incident, the child was told they would be held to reduce risk, but staff did not follow through, which provided the child the opportunity to self-harm.

p.5

improvement to be good

The risk assessments provide the staff with strategies that have been developed to manage the child’s presenting risk. These documents are lengthy and comprehensive. However, when the risk assessments are not routinely updated with pertinent information, it affects the accuracy of the guidance for staff. Failure to promptly update the risk assessments could result in the staff being misinformed and contribute to harm coming to the child.

p.5

good

The manager wants to be the registered manager and has submitted his application to Ofsted. The staff are reporting that since he came into post, the management support is better. The manager is described as ‘really trying to improve the home’, and he appears committed to ensuring the child receives a consistent high level of care.

p.5

good

The registered manager was not present during the inspection. However, it is clear from the written records and from discussions with senior staff that he has a clear vision for the home. He has quickly identified the strengths and weaknesses of the Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 6 team and is working with the staff to improve areas where shortfalls have been identified.

p.5

good

Management oversight and scrutiny have improved. However, there are still inconsistencies across several areas. There are several documents, including the statement of purpose of the home, that require updating, and some documents have had no management oversight. The notifiable incidents record that the provider sends to Ofsted inconsistent in its quality. This affects the inspectorate’s oversight and review of these significant incidents.

p.6

good

An allegation has been made by the child against a member of staff. The manager has not fully complied with the home’s safeguarding policy when investigating the allegation. Action was taken to investigate, but there is no written record of discussions with the child or of the steps taken by the manager to investigate the allegation. The child was not placed at any safeguarding risk because of this shortfall.

p.6

good

The manager and one other member of staff have not completed the required qualification within the permitted timeframe. Plans are in place for staff to complete the qualification. Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 7

p.6

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.

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

p.7

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)(f)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that leaders and managers have effective monitoring and reviewing systems in place to ensure that any shortfalls can be identified and responded to appropriately.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must have full oversight of written documentation within the home. They must ensure this is accurate and consistent across the service. 16 September

p.7

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

that staff— 16 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 8 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;

p.7

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.8

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.8

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.8

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that shortfalls in risk assessments are identified and mitigated against.

p.8

Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments are updated in a timely way to ensure that information is communicated appropriately.

p.8

Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that all staff are familiar with all risk assessments and child protection policies. They must ensure that staff act in accordance with these policies.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.8

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

p.8

Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement; 16 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 9 raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

p.8

Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii))

p.9

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure they are doing their utmost to advocate for the child to ensure that they receive an education package that meets their needs and, where possible, reflects their wishes and feelings.

p.9

Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

p.9

Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

p.9

Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

p.9

Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

p.9

Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

p.9

Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

p.9

Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

p.9

Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b)) 16 September

p.9

Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 16 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 10 keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

p.9

Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

p.10

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: 2599994 11

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kingston upon Hull City Council

p.11

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull HU1 2AA

p.11

Inspector

Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 12 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.

p.11

Inspector

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 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 .

p.12

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.12

Inspector

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

p.12