Children's Home run by Hampshire County Council in Hampshire

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1259734 1 Registered provider: Hampshire County Council

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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 local authority. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection there were two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that a serious incident that occurred at the setting since the last inspection is under investigation by the appropriate authorities. 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 alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspectors judgement.

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Inspection date: 19 December 2024

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 19 December 2024

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1259734 2 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1259734 3

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Children benefit from positive relationships with familiar adults who know them well. Staff are eager to understand the individual needs of children so that they can provide the best support and care for them. Children can identify preferred adults that they can go to when they need support and advice. Staff continually adapt their approach in response to the changing needs of children.

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Findings from the inspection

Children benefit from a range of personalised experiences and activities in accordance with their wishes and feelings. The home has been appropriately personalised and is a pleasant environment for children to live in.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff and the management team are working hard towards achieving the aims and objectives for children as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. In particular, supporting children to return back to their parents’ care. The positive relationships that staff have developed with children’s families are an important part of this, even though plans for some children have changed since moving to the home. Leaders and managers demonstrate a willingness to learn and ensure that the care provided to children complements their respective care plans.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff demonstrate good safeguarding of children the majority of the time. However, in one example, the safeguarding response from staff was poor, and this impacted on children’s welfare, exposing a child to preventable harm. Staff did not act in accordance with the safety measures put in place, leading to two further safeguarding shortfalls. Since these incidents, leaders and managers have responded appropriately and made child-centred decisions to ensure this situation will not be repeated.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff have developed positive working relationships with a range of professionals, and regular multidisciplinary communication promotes strong safeguarding networks around children. Measures are put in place to promote children’s safety, but these are not always effective. For example, one child has repeatedly breached formal curfew conditions without consequence. This has had a negative impact on the child’s stability and the overall progress they have been able to make.

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Findings from the inspection

While the management team has high aspirations for children, the progress that children have made since moving to the home is very limited. For example, one child has repeatedly gone missing from the home, and there has been no wider consideration about whether the care provided to the child is meeting their needs. This undermines the comprehensive support that the child receives when they are missing from the home. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1259734 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/11/2022 Full Good 20/07/2022 Full Inadequate 16/08/2021 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1259734 5

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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)(iv)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that all staff act immediately when children may be at risk of harm. There should be no delay in staff sharing safeguarding information with colleagues.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 1 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. 31 January 2025 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1259734 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home.

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(e)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1259734 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hampshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3rd Floor, Elizabeth II Court North, The Castle, Winchester, Hampshire SO23 8UG

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Inspector

Ashley Edwards, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1259734 8 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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