Children's home run by City of York

Inspection report for children's home: 2608630 1 Registered provider: City of York

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and manages this home. The home offers short breaks for up to eight children who have physical or learning disabilities and are aged five to 17 years.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection of a serious incident concerning a child that had occurred since the last inspection. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the incident were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2608630 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/03/2024 Full Good 21/06/2022 Full Good 02/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2608630 3

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improvement to be good

The experiences of children accessing the service have been affected by shortfalls in help and protection and leadership and management. Since the last inspection, one child has accessed the service using a shared care arrangement. Staff are unable to meet the child’s needs safely, and this has had a consequential impact on other children’s experiences accessing the service.

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences of the service are varied. Staff recognised that some of the children have fewer opportunities to enjoy activities outside the home due to resources used to support the needs of one child. Some children have been restricted from accessing some areas of the home for safeguarding reasons. Other children have been unable to participate in organised activities due to the home transport being used to support another child, as directed by leaders and managers. This means that not all children’s day-to-day experiences are supporting their well-being and giving them positive experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children have good relationships with staff who know them well. Children are encouraged to develop new skills that help to improve their independence. This includes getting washed, dressed, and brushing teeth.

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improvement to be good

Staff are aware of children’s individual communication methods and support needs. They use child-friendly aids to support communication. This empowers children to participate in choosing activities and meals and to express their emotions.

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improvement to be good

Staff maintain good relationships with the parents of the children who are staying in the service. Furthermore, staff take photos of the children’s experiences and duly share them with the children’s parents using an agreed-upon platform. As a result, parents feel reassured about their child’s care. Additionally, photos provide parents with something tangible, enabling families and parents to reminisce with their children.

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improvement to be good

Staff routinely restrict one child’s freedoms due to their complex needs. Restrictions include doors to specific areas of the home where the child stayed being locked despite the child not being subject to a deprivation of liberty order. The child has also been prescribed medication to be taken ‘as and when required’ to help them through periods of anxiety or crisis. However, staff failed to implement these safety strategies, leading to a recent serious incident in which the police detained the child. There is an increased risk of criminalisation for the child. Inspection report for children's home: 2608630 4 The quality of the children’s risk assessments varied. While some risk assessments offer insights into children’s vulnerabilities and behaviour, others have not undergone reviews or updates after serious incidents. This means staff have not been helped to understand all the children’s behaviours and provided with the necessary guidance to support the

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improvement to be good

Despite all except one staff member having completed training in safe medication administration, there have been a high number of medication errors. This indicates a consistent shortfall in meeting the health needs of children. The actions taken to address these errors are ineffective. There are no sufficient steps to address the medication procedure to reduce the frequency of the errors, and there is no plan in place to monitor the staff’s performance to ensure efficiency when recording, handling and administering medication.

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improvement to be good

There is good multi-agency work in place to support and protect the children. The manager and staff work closely with professionals and families to ensure that the children receive appropriate support. Professionals and families have provided positive feedback for the service.

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improvement to be good

Staff are recruited following the safer recruitment process. The manager ensures that robust checks are completed before staff work in the home. This reduces the risks of children being cared for by inappropriate adults.

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

The home is managed by a dedicated, caring, and ambitious manager who advocates well for the children. The manager is supported by a dedicated deputy manager and the responsible individual, who work together to support the staff and children.

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

The quality of staff training is not yet consistent. Some staff are in the process of completing additional communication method training. This means that staff are equipped with specific knowledge and skills to meet the children’s communication needs. However, less than half of the staff team had emergency medication training. The manager has not ensured that the staff have received their yearly refresher course in a timely manner. This period of renewal was set by the provider within their own policies. This means that staff do not have up-to-date training to meet the needs of children who require medication in case of an emergency.

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

Monitoring systems are in place to help the manager maintain oversight of the home and the care that is provided to children. However, these systems are not effective in making improvements to children’s care. While the manager is aware of some of the identified shortfalls, there is a lack of urgency in addressing shortfalls and improving service. As a result, medication errors continue to occur, and gaps in staff training have not been identified.

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

The manager has worked hard to address the requirements and recommendations issued in the last inspection. However, the manager has not ensured that an up-to-date Inspection report for children's home: 2608630 5 statement of purpose is available. This means families are not offered the necessary information to help them understand the care provided to their children. It also prevents Ofsted from determining whether the manager has ensured the home is at all times conducted in a manner that is consistent with its statement of purpose.

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

The manager has a process in place to carry out the quality-of-care review. However, there was a delay in the quality-of-care review reaching Ofsted due to the manager not being available. Leaders did communicate with Ofsted about this delay.

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

Staff receive regular reflective supervision, which allows them to reflect on their practice and consider development opportunities. The manager ensures that staff who do not currently have the relevant qualifications are working towards them. Inspection report for children's home: 2608630 6

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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.

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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

that staff— 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12(1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)) 8 January 2025

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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; 8 January 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2608630 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13(1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(g)(i)(h)) The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b) (5)) 23 December 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is a process in place to enable the quality-of-care review to take place and a report to be generated at least once every six months. The quality-of-care report should be sent to Ofsted within 28 days of the date on which the quality-of-care review is completed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.3) Inspection report for children's home: 2608630 8

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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: 2608630 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Offices, Station Rise, York YO1 6GA

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Inspector

Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2608630 10 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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