Children's home run by Hartlepool Borough Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2745434 1 Registered provider: Hartlepool Borough Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection, and the inspector spoke to both children.

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 good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 6 February 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2745434 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2745434 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their starting points. They are supported to build trusting relationships with staff, which helps them to develop a sense of permanence .

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to understand that education is a priority, and children are attending school and making progress. Good daily routines are in place, which help to ensure that children attend school regularly. When barriers emerge, staff work closely with teachers to ensure that children do not fall behind academically. Children’s achievements have been recognised and celebrated, and they are prepared well so that they have every chance to succeed in life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to develop a good working relationship with the important people in children’s lives, and do all they can to facilitate good-quality time together. This includes taking one child and their sibling to enjoy time on holiday together . Children’s friends and family are welcome to visit the home. This helps to keep them in touch with significant people in their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well prepared for moving to or on from the home. Children are welcomed into the home, and most have an opportunity to visit prior to moving in. When children move on from the home, they continue to be supported, which helps to take some of the tension out of what can be a very difficult time for children .

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to capture memories of their time at the home in colourful and beautifully presented memory books. These books serve as a permanent reminder to take with them when they are ready to move on.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are captured in a variety of ways. This includes, but is not limited to, direct work sessions, discussion in team meetings and involvement in decisions about their future. Staff ensure that children have access to an independent advocate to assist with this. This helps to ensure that children’s voices are heard and acted on, where appropriate.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm and well-decorated home with ample space to spend time together or by themselves. Their rooms are well decorated and reflect each of their individual identities. Children’s involvement in the décor of the home helps them to have a sense of belonging .

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good physical health and are being supported by staff to have a healthy diet and regular exercise. However, the inspector found that staff are locking some food away to help them to manage children’s diet. This hinders the children from learning the skills they need to self-regulate and balance what they eat in the future. In addition, it detracts from what is otherwise a family environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745434 4

p.3

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

Staff know the children extremely well and follow each child’s care plan and risk assessment. Children’s risk assessments and safety plans are unique to the needs of each child and updated regularly. The safety and well-being of children is central to staff practice. The staff are well informed of policies and procedures through induction and training. They know how to safeguard children and the procedures to follow in partnership with other agencies. This means that children are consistently and effectively protected.

p.4

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

Staff follow the individualised missing-from-home procedures and look for children when they go missing. Every effort is made to locate the child, and staff actively search known areas and speak with people who the child may be with. This proactive approach reduces the time that children are away from the home, which makes them safer.

p.4

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

Staff are consistent in the way they help children to manage their behaviour. Children are praised and rewarded for their positive behaviour choices and sanctions are rarely used. Children know the rules and understand that sanctions are linked to their behaviour, which helps them to understand the consequences for their action.

p.4

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

Staff are alert to children’s emotions and are skilled in de-escalating situations. This means that children are only ever held as a last resort, and all instances are proportionate and appropriate. Staff work with children to help them understand why they are held and help them find an alternate way of responding to how they feel.

p.4

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

There has been one allegation made since the previous inspection. This has been fully investigated and reported to the appropriate agencies, including the local authority designated officer and Ofsted. Restorative work has been completed with the adult and child, which has helped to repair relationships and better enabled the child to trust those caring for them.

p.4

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

Safe recruitment checks are in place to ensure that staff are appropriately vetted as suitable to work in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a committed and experienced registered manager. Their leadership style has helped to create a stable staff team, with almost no staff turnover. Feedback from staff is positive about the support they receive from the manager and senior leaders. This caring culture cultivates staff to support each other and helps to ensure that the children are cared for by familiar and consistent adults.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use feedback and reflection to learn from practice and improve children’s experiences. When one child moved on from the home, the manager hosted a development day to reflect on what happened and influence decisions about the child’s future. Supervision for staff and the manager takes place regularly and includes reflective discussions about safeguarding children and their own practice and Inspection report for children’s home: 2745434 5 development. This helps to ensure that the manager has good oversight of his team and confidence in their ability to care for children. The manager regularly monitors and reviews the quality of care, which is evident in the level of management oversight and evaluation across the documents reviewed. However, the local authority has an appraisal system and, while the manager has no concerns around staff practice, staff’s annual appraisals do not happen. This is not reflective of the statement of purpose and does not

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

provide a process to ensure that the fitness of staff to meet children’s needs is monitored and reviewed.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have developed strong multi-agency relationships. All professionals spoken to during the inspection spoke highly of the manager and the staff team, identifying good communication and consistent care as particular strengths. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745434 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.6

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

p.6

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c)) 1 January 2025

p.6

Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

p.6

Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

p.6

Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

p.6

Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

p.6

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)(iii)(iv)) 1 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2745434 7

p.6

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: 2745434 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hartlepool Borough Council, Civic Centre, Victoria Road, Hartlepool TS24 8AY

p.8

Inspector

Lisa Gordon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2745434 9 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.8

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9