Children's Home run by Hampshire County Council in Hampshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1257065 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

This home is owned and run by a local authority. It provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 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 requires improvement to be 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1257065 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/04/2024 Full Good 05/06/2023 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 23/11/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 1257065 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made considerable progress because of the stability and care the staff provide for them. Relationships between staff and the children are mutually respectful. The children talk openly about their lives and the challenges they face and seek advice from staff. The children say they are happy here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, this is well managed. Staff are sensitive to the children’s emotional needs and provide a nurturing approach. This means that the children have a positive experience of moving into the home, even in urgent or challenging circumstances. As a result, the children settle into the home quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are listened to. Staff use children’s meetings to give the children opportunities to make requests for changes to their care. Managers act on suggestions and respond to the children to ensure they understand their feelings are important.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is seen as important by staff. All the children are engaged in education appropriate for them. Staff advocate strongly for the children and work with schools to overcome barriers to their engagement. As a result of this work, the children have been able to complete their exams, and one child’s attendance at school has improved since moving to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff use an impressive system for monitoring and improving the children’s independence. The children can earn accredited qualifications while learning important life skills. Staff have also worked with groups and businesses in the local community to provide work experience and volunteering opportunities for the children. This has given one child the confidence to apply for a college course to follow their career ambitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to stay in touch with those people who are important to them. They say they can speak to family and friends and that staff help children to visit. This has been important to the children and has helped to sustain and repair relationships and maintain links to their family homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s positive behaviour is reinforced with age-appropriate strategies. For example, a ‘proud board’ displays and celebrates the children’s achievements. However, consequences imposed for more negative behaviour are not always restorative. On one occasion, a child was given a financial consequence which was punitive.

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

When the children experience feelings that lead them to harm themselves, staff are skilled at responding sensitively. They work with other professionals, such as child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), to ensure that the children’s plans are Inspection report for children's home: 1257065 4 regularly reviewed. This means the children receive appropriate care. Consequently, incidents involving the children harming themselves have significantly reduced.

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

When the children make complaints, managers take these seriously and review them promptly. While complaints are investigated, managers keep the children up to date with their progress and provide clear feedback when an outcome has been reached. As a result, the children know their voice is important.

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

Physical intervention is rarely used to manage the children’s behaviour. When this has been required to keep the children safe, it is used proportionately and with the least restrictive method for only as long as is required.

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

Staff have not identified a potential risk associated with a child’s online activity. As a result, this concern had not been explored or shared with safeguarding leaders. This undermined managers’ ability to robustly assess the risks.

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

Staff work collaboratively with other agencies to locate the children when they are missing from home. When they return, they are welcomed warmly, and their welfare is checked. However, the children’s plans do not clearly describe the actions that staff should take when the children do not return to the home as planned. As a result, the responses of staff to contact and locate the children are inconsistent.

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

The manager has a clear understanding of the progress that the children have made. They have an ambitious vision for developing the service, however, these plans are in their infancy.

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

Staff say they are well supported by the manager. They receive regular supportive supervision and have received the required training to meet the needs of the children. New staff have a good induction which helps to prepare them for their roles.

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

Feedback from external professionals and families about their experiences of working with the staff is positive. One child’s independent reviewing officer commented on the manager’s strong advocacy for the children to overcome barriers to their progress. One child’s family member said, ‘We have seen a massive change in [name of child] in the short time he has been at the home. I’m really pleased with how they are helping him.’

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

Monitoring systems are not yet effective at identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Managers have not used opportunities to robustly review the use of restraint, to identify opportunities for learning and development. Managers have not challenged the quality of the independent person’s reports when they do not demonstrate a rigorous assessment of practice and records.

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

The manager has done a lot to improve the look and feel of the home since the last inspection, however, oversight of the maintenance of the home is not sufficient. One action following the home’s annual fire risk assessment, to remove combustible items Inspection report for children's home: 1257065 5 from an electrical cupboard, was not met. This presented an unnecessary risk to the children.

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

The manager has not met all the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. Life-story work has not yet been undertaken with the children and the children have not been prepared when new staff start work in the home. Managers have not spoken to staff or the children about the use of restraint, in line with regulatory requirements, and managers were unable to demonstrate how learning from incidents had been shared with the staff team. Inspection report for children's home: 1257065 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 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

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should robustly review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that lessons learned from incidents are acted on and children are prepared for new staff working in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 6 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 6 June 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 1257065 7 within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b)(3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(d)) 6 June 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should clearly specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from home or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)  The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report for children's home: 1257065 8  The registered person should ensure that the independent person’s report demonstrates a rigorous assessment of the arrangements of the home for

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Recommendations

safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare. Reports should reflect sufficient scrutiny of the quality of the practice observed and the records that have been reviewed to provide an objective assessment and to enable effective regulatory oversight. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should ensure that all staff know the importance of children understanding who they are and where they come from, and help children to understand their history by undertaking life-story work or other direct work. Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)

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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: 1257065 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hampshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hampshire County Council, The Castle, Winchester SO23 8UG

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Inspector

Glen Strowbridge, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1257065 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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