Children's home run by Hertfordshire County Council in Dacorum

Inspection report for children’s home: SC382138 1 SC382138 Registered provider: Hertfordshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to five children who may have experienced childhood trauma and have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, five children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2019.

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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 outstanding

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 20 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC382138 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2024 Full Outstanding 12/10/2022 Full Outstanding 15/12/2021 Full Good 06/08/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC382138 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, four children have moved into the home and three children have moved out. The inspector met two children who live at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into and out of the home are carefully considered. When children move out, they are offered outreach support that lasts until it comes to a natural end. This shows children that they are still thought about, helped and cared about when they move on to the next stage of their lives. Children benefit from this and choose to keep in touch with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children have complex emotional and health needs. Staff work closely with the looked-after children’s nursing team to regularly ensure that plans are relevant and that health needs are met. Specialist support is quickly requested by the managers and followed up when necessary to ensure that children get the help they need when they need it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from the strong relationships that staff build with them. Staff show children that they are loved and cared for. Because of these strong relationships, staff can set boundaries and challenge children about behaviours that others find difficult to manage. As a result, children approach staff for support, which helps them to make progress. Staff talk and write about children respectfully and sensitively. Children are likely to recognise this if they choose to read their records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are learning and are helped to progress in their education. One child has recently started to attend college. This is a significant achievement after a long period out of education. All children have bespoke plans for their education. A virtual school professional said:

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

‘The staff advocate for children regarding their need to be in education. Education is a priority for the home. The home is so consistent, and communication is a real strength. The managers make contact when considering any children who may move in, resulting in education planning beforehand.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family relationships and encourage and support safe time with families. One parent said they feel listened to and that there is complete unity between themselves and the staff in how they care for their child. The parent said they feel that the home has saved their family relationships. An independent reviewing officer, social worker and team manager all referred to how well the staff support family relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children are affected by the other children they live with. This was evident from reading what children said, from speaking to a child during the inspection and through observations during this conversation. Sometimes, children’s personal belongings have Inspection report for children’s home: SC382138 4 been damaged or taken. Not all children can leave their personal belongings around their home, and individual well-being has been affected. Staff work hard to minimise relational challenges and have measures to address these. However, the relationships between children affect their day-to-day experiences. A child said that they do not want to live at the home anymore. They said that they are very unhappy and that every day they are insulted. They described it as ‘living hell’ even though they said that the staff are great. Staff take concerns seriously and use their relationships and skills to educate children

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

about their own actions, as well as helping children who are affected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large, spacious and comfortable. It is well decorated, and children have personalised bedrooms. Staff listen to and respect children’s wishes about how they would like their home to look. However, at the time of the inspection, one bathroom had been locked for a week while a broken door awaited collection. The children had access to other bathrooms but their access to areas in their home should not need to be restricted. A tall glass pane had shattered in November 2024 and was still awaiting repair. Staff chase to ensure that damage is repaired quickly. However, on this occasion, this was not timely.

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

Help for children is well informed, coordinated and delivered. There is a clear thread between supervision, team meetings, regular review of support plans and planning individual, relevant help for children that has specific dates. This involves relevant other professionals and leads to progress for children.

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

Staff have an excellent understanding of children’s needs. There is high curiosity from managers and staff about the reasons behind children’s behaviour and there is consistency in following the agreed approach to providing care for children.

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

Practice issues are rare. When they happen, the managers respond quickly and appropriately to ensure that learning is taken forward when needed.

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

Children receive help that is informed by good information-sharing with relevant professionals. The managers have strong links with the police, education and health colleagues. This is particularly helpful given the complexity of the children’s needs. The location risk assessment demonstrates good joint working in the interests of children’s safety and well-being.

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

On occasion, children have been missing from home. Staff follow individual missing- from-home plans and keep a log of actions taken to safely return children home. Staff ask for return home interviews to be carried out and, overall, these take place.

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

Children’s plans are individual and name the specific steps for staff to take at times of possible harm. This means that children are safer when in the community and at the home. Despite measures to prevent and respond to concerns, there have been serious incidents of harm at the home that have had an impact on some children’s experiences and outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: SC382138 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by a highly experienced, confident registered manager and deputy who both hold relevant level 5 qualifications. At the time of the inspection, both were present, and they both supported the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are reflective and show a high level of commitment and thought about children and their needs, plans, support and future. They are strong advocates for children and show dedication to understanding the reasons behind behaviours that they see in children. They use their experience, skills and strong professional relationships to put the right help in place at the right time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

‘The registered manager and deputy are crucial in helping us to better understand the child’s needs and best ways to work with the child. I can’t fault them. If I could place all my children here I would. The registered manager and deputy are very dedicated to children. It takes a lot to end a placement, and I have a lot of trust in them. They are dedicated to children getting the best outcomes.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers lead a stable, consistent home and are described by other professionals as ‘excellent’ communicators. This leads to the right help being put in place for children and leads to progress. Staff speak highly of the support that they receive from managers, who generally retain their stable team. One professional said, ‘The manager and deputy are consistent. They know what to do and they lead from the top down. It is how you would want all good homes to be. They do what good parents would do.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is consistent management oversight. The managers consider triggers that lead to incidents and comment on staff handling. Although this could be further reflective and thorough, the managers and staff are quick to respond appropriately to concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff use their initiative to research how they can best help children. There is a good example of one worker sourcing a substance misuse workbook from an online resource to inform direct work with a child. Research-informed practice is modelled by the managers, who have high aspirations for the future of the home’s model of working.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Family feedback is positive. A family member described how they feel ‘overwhelmingly positive and grateful’ about the home. They spoke about how professionals involved said, at the time, their child had come to the best possible place. The family member was not sure then, but they really believe and feel certain about this now. All children are supported by staff to have safe time with their families. Inspection report for children’s home: SC382138 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that limits to children’s access to any part of the home are only put in place to safeguard each child. In particular, if there are broken items, the registered person should ensure that they are not stored in a place which would restrict a child’s access to that part of their home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing environment. In particular, ensure that repairs to the home are timely. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC382138 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hertfordshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Farnham House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage SG1 2ST

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Inspector

Carrie Twinn, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC382138 8 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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