Children's Home run by Hull City Council in Kingston upon Hull

Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 1 Registered provider: Hull City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a local authority. It offers care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2024.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/04/2024 Full Inadequate 08/08/2023 Full Good 31/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child experiences stability and consistency due to living in the home a long time. Staff speak about the child with warm and compassionate regard. Staff utilise their different personalities and skills to offer support that is individualised. The child said that living in this home ‘is nice and the people are good to me’. A parent said, ‘[Name of child] sees the staff all as family; they have that kind of relationship now.’ Additionally, staff develop positive working relationships with the child’s family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff make a point to give regular praise to the child in recognition of their achievements. There is a significant reduction in incidents of self-injurious behaviour. This is because the child’s trust in the adults enables them to more openly discuss their worries with staff, who offer advice and reassurance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made progress in their education. Progress is sporadic but, considering the child’s starting point, a positive achievement. The child is supported with a bespoke timetable. At times when their progress is impacted upon, the caring adults understand the contributing factors. When this occurs, staff make attempts to engage the child in alternative educational activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child accesses and enjoys activities and opportunities in line with their interest in animals. For example, they visit farms and a safari park. Staff capture these memories in a virtual memory book, which the child can cherish. Staff record what daily life is like in a way that is helpful to the child, and often use humour to describe situations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Actions identified in the child’s care review from August 2024 have not yet been completed. The child remains without a passport and does not have access to their national insurance number, and exploration as to whether the child is entitled to personal independence payment remains ongoing. Additionally, the manager did not provide effective escalation to ensure that the child’s education, health and care plan was updated in a timely manner. These gaps prevent the child from having access to necessities to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is in a good state of repair and aspects of the home are personal to the child. There is an enclosure that the child and their father built for a pet tortoise. Staff encourage and enable the child to develop their independence. However, the child’s bedroom is untidy and a potential hazard for their safety. Staff have not supported the child to develop a routine to ensure that the room is effectively cleaned on a regular basis.

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

Staff and the manager understand the child’s needs and the risks that they face. Staff ensure that the child’s risk assessment is regularly updated. This provides detailed Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 4 information about the worries and gives staff clear guidance to follow in response to the child’s highly complex safeguarding needs. The child does not directly access or contribute to this assessment, although staff do regularly engage the child in discussions about risk, including sensitive topics.

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

When the child is missing from the home, staff take a proactive approach. They search the local area and work with relevant others to encourage the child’s return to the home. Staff ensure that the child’s missing protocol is regularly updated so that partner agencies have the most up-to-date information.

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

There is effective multi-agency working. The manager and staff regularly attend and contribute to professional meetings when high-risk incidents occur, to discuss the child’s needs, unpick new concerns and agree on future planning. This ensures that there is a consistent approach to safeguarding the child, promoting shared accountability among the safeguarding agencies.

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

Staff engage in case reflections with mental health practitioners to reflect on their own practice in caring for the child. These discussions help staff to re-evaluate their practice and identify different ways of working to help the child.

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

Professionals, staff and family members outline that there is a reduction in the frequency and severity of incidents occurring in the home. Staff discuss incidents with the child. They support the child to learn from their actions, as they help them to navigate adulthood after long-term court-imposed restrictions of their liberty being removed.

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

When incidents occur, there is management oversight. However, this is often by the senior residential worker rather than the manager. On occasions, professional curiosity is absent. For example, their oversight did not identify that a shop selling vapes to the child should have been reported to the police. This prevents effective actions occurring and learning from incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager advocates on behalf of the child. He takes time to speak to the child on a regular basis to gather their views. He shares these views in care team meetings. The manager understands what is important to the child, alongside their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that the manager is supportive and easy to talk to. They enjoy working in a supportive team and respect that their views are valued. These strengths have contributed to maintaining a stable core staff team caring for the child, which provides the child with consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular practice-related supervision sessions. Staff find these sessions useful to reflect on their practice. The senior residential worker provides appropriate challenge of practice during supervision sessions and reflection following some incidents. This supports to staff to improve their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 5 Regular team meetings occur, with a focus on the child’s needs. Staff contribute to discussions about the child’s care planning. The manager provides advice following incidents to ensure that the team reflect and learn. As a result, staff maintain their understanding of the child’s needs and effectively implement the child’s plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a significant delay in a capacity assessment being completed by partner professionals. There is limited effective escalation initiated by the manager and senior leaders to ensure that the assessment is completed. This is impacting on the ability to make decisions to inform future planning for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has monthly auditing systems that inform him about actions that need to be completed. However, this has not ensured that actions from statutory meetings are completed in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite significant risks in the local community for the child, a recent review of the premises has not been completed. However, information about the risks is contained in other documents linked to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider was unable to provide access to safer recruitment files during the inspection due to not having direct access. This prevented the regulator from being assured that safer recruitment checks are followed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority's or a relevant person's performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child's needs are met in accordance with the child's relevant plans (Regulation 5 (c)) 10 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child's relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(ix)) 27 May 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home's location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 7  The registered person should ensure that a child's bedroom is not generally entered without their permission, although it may be necessary to establish routines to allow for rooms to be cleaned regularly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  In the policies for protection of children, the registered person should include information about whistle-blowing, with clear procedures for how a staff member

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Recommendations

should report to an appropriate authority any concern they have about a child within the home being either at risk of, or already experiencing significant harm. The policy should reflect the principles set out in the Francis review 'Freedom to speak up'. In particular, ensuring that information is shared with partner agencies, such as the police. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.15)  The registered person should ensure that some records are kept electronically (regulation 38), provided that this information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. In particular, ensure that the registered person has access to staff safer recruitment files. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 6, paragraph 14.2)

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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: 2599994 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kingston upon Hull City Council, The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull HU1 2AA

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Inspector

Jess Elliott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2599994 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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