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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2665502 1 Registered provider: Kingston upon Hull City 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 run by a local authority. It offers care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2022.

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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 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 for children’s home: 2665502 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2665502 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are warm and caring and build trusted relationships with children. Children’s views are sought and encouraged. There are clear and consistent boundaries in place that help children to develop a sense of permanence and belonging. Staff listen to children when they want to negotiate for things, such as later bedtimes and additional independent free time. Two children were spoken with during the inspection. One child said, ‘I can tell the staff truly care, and they are like a family to me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are learning and making progress with their education. Staff work closely with schools and other professionals. Staff are ambitious for children, and when necessary, they advocate for children to help to improve their access to education and support their attainment. The achievements of children are celebrated. One child, who enjoys art, painted a picture that staff arranged to be transferred onto a mug for the child to keep.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are also making progress with their ability to manage their own emotional and mental well-being. Regular meetings between staff and a psychologist who is allocated to the home enhance the quality-of-care children receive. Staff work with the psychologist to meet the children’s needs. They understand how previous experiences may have affected the child’s development. This knowledge is reflected in the children’s care plans and, alongside a well-understood model of care, ensures that children receive effective and skilled support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a range of activities, including holidays and days out. They are also helped to develop appropriate skills and friendships outside the home. As children become older and more independent, they can cook their own meals and shop for their food, which they enjoy. When children move out of the home, staff encourage friendships to continue and help children to keep in touch and meet up for trips out and meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions are well managed, both in and out of the home. The manager ensures the staff have the right knowledge and skills to meet the new child’s needs. The impact of children’s moves into the home is assessed. When children fall out with each other, staff talk with children and help them to repair relationships. When this is difficult, supportive plans are put in place to reduce any negative affect on children.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the needs of the children, including how past experiences have affected them. The home’s psychologist has input into regularly reviewed risk assessments that reflect known individual risks to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2665502 4 There are plans in place to reduce harm, including when children go missing from home. Missing-from-home plans are comprehensive and understood by staff. Staff are confident that they can support children and keep them safe. The plans are regularly updated. Staff look for children when they are missing. They work closely with the police and other support agencies to ensure that children return to a warm and safe home. Children are offered the opportunity to talk about their experience following any missing-from-home incident. The team works very closely with professionals who try to reduce the number of times children go missing from home.

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

Children rarely have to be held to ensure their own safety. If physical intervention techniques are used on children, records show the steps taken by staff to try and avoid the intervention. There is good management oversight and ongoing support to keep children safe. This is contributing to a reduction in incidents and the feeling of security that children display in their interactions with staff. One child said, ‘I feel safe; staff take the time to understand how we feel.’

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

At times, children decline to engage in meetings with professionals who could help them to understand their feelings and choices. When this happens, relevant people are invited into the home for informal chats with children so they can get to know them. A worker who supports children to understand the dangers of drug misuse visits the home to answer any questions that the children have. Their non- pressurised approach has led to two children agreeing to referrals for extra support. This will help children to understand themselves better and be increasingly safe.

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

Regular key-work discussions and one-to-one support from staff deliver positive and consistent messages to children. Children are developing the skills to keep themselves safe. When risks are highlighted by the staff, it may be necessary to complete a search of a child’s bedroom. Bedroom searches at the home are recorded, but the reason for the search is not documented. Records do not evidence if the child has been informed of the search or if their permission has been sought.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is held in high regard by the children and her staff. Staff describe the manager as professional, supportive, and approachable. She is a positive role model for the staff and promotes an open culture of tolerance and respect. She is ambitious for the children in her care. One child said the manager was good at listening and resolving problems.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are regular staff meetings that are well attended. Children are the focus of the meeting. The meetings help staff to understand their role and responsibilities. Staff also benefit from ‘workshops.’ These are bespoke sessions on relevant topics aimed to increase the staff’s knowledge and skills. Meetings are attended by outside agencies and professionals, including the psychologist, the vulnerable children’s worker, and the substance misuse worker. Inspection report for children’s home: 2665502 5 Professional feedback is positive. They recognise skilled staff who build a rapport with children and their parents, when appropriate. Professionals discuss good communication, collaborative working, the sharing of ideas and a good understanding of the children. The manager is described as open and honest. Children benefit from the close and effective relationships between professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is warm, homely, and welcoming, with good-quality furnishings. It has the look and feel of a family home. The manager has plans for continued maintenance and redecoration throughout the home. The children’s bedrooms have recently been redecorated to the child’s own taste and style.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains oversight of the home and completes audits to ensure that quality is maintained. There are monthly visits to the home by an independent person. The manager has developed additional ways of obtaining feedback via surveys from the children, and these are responded to. However, feedback from parents and significant people in the lives of children is not sought. This prevents the manager from using the views of others to improve the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have the necessary skills and abilities to meet children’s needs. Staff training is comprehensive and tailored to the needs of the children. This contributes to keeping children safe. Training is reviewed in supervision sessions. However, staff are not consistently offered supportive supervision sessions throughout the year. This would allow them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Two staff have not received their annual appraisal. The manager was aware and had plans in place to improve this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2665502 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a child’s bedroom is not generally entered without their permission. Usually, rooms should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary when there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. The registered person should ensure that when searches have taken place, the reason for the search, if the child has been informed or if their permission was sought are documented. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring, including under regulations 44 and 45, to ensure continuous improvement. This includes ensuring that feedback from parents and significant people in the lives of children

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Recommendations

is sought and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Staff should be consistently offered the opportunity for supervisions and appraisals in line with the provider’s expectations. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2665502 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

Jo Cansfield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2665502 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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