Children's Home run by Kite Children's Services Limited in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2770973 1 Registered provider: Kite Children’s Services Ltd

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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 private provider. The home provides care for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It provides care for up to one child.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection after registration.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, no children were living in the home. No children were spoken to as part of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be 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.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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Enforcement action since last inspection: none

Inspection report for children’s home: 2770973 2

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improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good enough help and care for children so that they receive positive experiences and make good progress. During the admission process, the home did not gather all relevant information relating to the child, which unfortunately led to a discharge from the home before the six-month plan from the local authority had ended.

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improvement to be good

The difficulty of staff supporting the child in making progress due to their complex needs at the time was recognised in the evidence gathered. This view was also shared by family and professionals who were spoken to.

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improvement to be good

There was a comprehensive transition into the home for the child, with multiple occasions when the child met with the staff to build on their relationship. This supported the child to feel secure and supported during this time.

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improvement to be good

Key-working sessions were regularly completed with the child, which showed positive levels of engagement. The sessions were structured and recorded in a useful way, which meant the child’s voice was heard throughout, alongside actions for staff following the session to enable the child’s wishes and feelings to be heard. Activities have been noted in weekly logs, which show the child engaging in a range of activities of their choosing to promote their well-being, health and socialisation skills.

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improvement to be good

One family member spoken to praised the staff and was extremely grateful for their support, not just for the child but for the family member also. Professionals who were spoken to shared positive feedback regarding the staff. This demonstrates good working relationships with others that, in turn, benefited the child.

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improvement to be good

The child’s risks were identified in their plans and assessments. However, there were numerous incidents where staff did not follow the plans to manage these risks. Self- harming risks were not always identified and room searches did not happen, despite the documented risks.

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improvement to be good

When the child went missing from the home, there were often inconsistencies in the approach from staff in responding to this. The child’s risk assessment and Philomena protocol were not followed accurately, which led to the child potentially being exposed to a risk of harm for longer periods.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management plans and risk assessments are not robust enough to provide staff with clear direction on how to respond in the event of a crisis. Inspection report for children’s home: 2770973 3 Concerns were raised by professionals about the content the child was viewing online and how this may be encouraging the child’s behaviours. However, there was no evidence of discussions or actions taken to protect the child from viewing harmful online content, despite this being recognised as a worry.

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improvement to be good

There is evidence that despite the difficulty in managing the child’s behaviours, staff continued to be tenacious in their support for the child. The staff worked on building good relationships with the child, and this offered the child some reassurance and stability.

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improvement to be good

Support is available to the staff team from a clinical specialist. This assisted in supporting the child using a trauma-informed approach and to recognise the impact of previous experiences on current relationships.

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

Supervisions are not completed in a timely manner and, at times, are not sufficient in their quality. This may impact staff’s opportunities to discuss and reflect with the management team regarding any support needs for themselves or the child, especially during a period without a registered manager.

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

Staff have not yet undergone a probationary period since being employed by the home for many months. This is in contradiction to the workforce development plan, which requires all staff to be qualified to level three or four within six months of commencement of post.

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

There have been some incidents of significant safeguarding concerns not being reported to the regulator, or a delay in reporting. In the home’s recordings for significant events, it is unclear whether the regulator has been notified, as it states ‘not applicable’. This was discussed with those in the leadership team, who have recognised this is not appropriate recording.

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

While higher management have offered support in the absence of a registered manager, the lack of consistent management is having an impact, particularly on the quality of supervision and case recordings. This may impact the sharing of information regarding the child and lead to inconsistent knowledge surrounding the child’s needs.

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

Senior leadership have stepped in to support the staff at the home and have been consistent in this. The leadership team knows the service and recognises the strengths and shortfalls. Staff feedback is that they find the senior leadership team approachable and have felt supported by the team in the absence of a registered manager.

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

The leadership team has ensured that staff have access to clinical support and also training opportunities that will enable them to meet the needs of any children placed in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: 2770973 4

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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, The 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)) 2 December 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 2 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2770973 5 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff should have access to quality and timely supervision that enables them to discuss children’s needs and staff development.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) ) 2 December 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should make informed professional judgements based on a child’s individual needs about when to allow a child to take a particular risk. Staff should discuss the decision with the child’s placing authority and consider methods to reduce children viewing harmful content online and consider how they can work with agencies to support the child to keep safe online. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 42, paragraph 9.7)  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. The registered person should challenge any placing authority that does not provide up-to- date information or plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: 2770973 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Kite Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Majors Chartered Certified Accountants, The Bloc, 38 Springfield Way, Anlaby, Hull HU10 6RJ

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Inspectors

Ladean Wilson, Social Care Inspector Lisa Finch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2770973 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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