Children's Home run by Cascade (Banks House) Limited in Kingston upon Hull

Inspection report for children’s home: 2810524 1 Registered provider: Cascade (Banks House) Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider. It offers care for up to six children who may have a learning disability and experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home, and they were both spoken with at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The provider runs an independent school from a registered building adjoining the home. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection of the home, which registered with Ofsted in January 2025. This home has two registered managers who share the role.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2810524 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who make every effort to meet their needs. Children are building trusted relationships with staff, and they live in a calm, fun and friendly home. Staff take pride in the children’s achievements and help the children to feel valued and loved. One child said, ‘Staff are like a family and do the best job.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped and encouraged by staff to communicate their needs, wishes and feelings. Staff consistently promote the use of the children’s preferred communication methods to ensure children can participate in conversations and decisions about their lives. The staff regularly use social stories with children to help them understand new and complex information or learn about things that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported and encouraged to spend time with their family. Staff have advocated for children to have this time, and they go above and beyond to support these positive relationships for children. Parents are welcomed into the home, invited for meals and encouraged to take part in activities with their child. One parent said, ‘I spend quality time with my child, and they are happy to see me, and since living at this home, they are happier and calmer.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s rights are promoted, and staff ensure that children are treated with dignity and respect. Children are making progress and are supported by staff to take positive risks in line with their plans. Children access a wide range of social and recreational activities, appropriate to their age and interests. Children enjoy walks, bowling and trampolining. Professionals said that children have a wide range of social opportunities and have made progress with their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, this is well thought out and planned with detailed consultation with professionals and families. The children are at the centre of the managers’ decisions. Children are provided with a guide to the home on moving in. This is available in varying formats to ensure information is accessible to all children. However, some information is missing in the easy-read version, and the details of the children’s commissioner are missing from all versions.

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

Staff and managers work closely with professionals. A range of internal professionals, including a well-being counsellor, a nurse and a speech and language therapist, are involved in the care of children and support the learning needs of staff. Any therapeutic support is tailored to meet the unique needs of each child. Staff maintain positive relationships with professionals and work in partnership to support the children’s well- being and safety. Inspection report for children’s home: 2810524 3 Staff are skilled in recognising the physical and mental health needs of children with complex needs. Children are in good health and are helped by staff to improve and manage their health needs. Any emerging concerns are quickly acted on by staff. Staff seek the guidance and support from medical professionals and will advocate for children if they need to challenge medical advice.

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

The medications of children are managed well and stored appropriately. There is a clear system in place that reduces risk. Staff are trained in the administration of medication and are further assessed on their ability and competency to administer medication to children.

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

Children feel safe and protected from harm. Children know how to make a complaint, and any concerns raised by children are responded to and acted on immediately. Staff understand their responsibility to safeguard children and know how to report any concerns.

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

The children’s risk assessments are regularly reviewed and contain up-to-date information. Where there are court-ordered restrictions in place for the safety of children, these are accurately reflected in the child’s risk assessments and understood by staff. However, the risk assessments do not adequately address the potential use of physical intervention in situations where a child may pose a risk to themselves or others. Additionally, children are not always being given the chance to talk about their experience after being held. Their feelings and views may not be heard or understood.

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

When children are distressed or incidents occur, staff confidently support children and keep them safe. Staff fully understand the provider’s model of care and are skilled in their ability to help children. Children do not go missing from the home, but there are missing-from-home plans in place for each child. However, these plans are generic and do not reflect the individual needs and contacts of each child. This may affect staff’s ability to take timely and effective action during a missing-from-home incident.

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

The home is spacious, bright and airy. Any necessary restrictions to the environment that are required to keep children safe are risk assessed and consistently implemented by the staff. Comprehensive health and safety assessments are in place. However, fire doors are being propped open and are not closing securely into the doorframe This affects the functionality in the event of a fire. Additionally, the home is fitted with external closed- circuit television (CCTV), but consent has not been obtained from the children’s placing local authority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This home benefits from having two registered managers who are committed and enthusiastic about their role. The managers are approachable and available to children and staff, fostering a well-organised and well-run home. The managers are committed to improving outcomes for children and make sure that staff provide a warm and nurturing environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2810524 4 Managers ensure that high standards are maintained and continually promote the learning and development of the staff. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the managers, whom they described as ‘amazing’ because they offer great support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is extensive and fully reflects the needs of the children. Staff who are newly appointed to the home are provided with a thorough induction. The induction process is a strength of the home and provides staff with confidence and enthusiasm for their role. Staff appreciate the guidance, training and encouragement that they receive. Managers and staff demonstrate enthusiasm, dedication and passion for their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team actively monitors the quality of care provided. This is achieved through the observations of staff, carrying out regular supportive and reflective supervision sessions and staff team meetings. Risk management meetings and child- focused reviews are routinely held to ensure that staff have a clear understanding of the individual risks facing each child and the strategies to be used to protect children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers advocate strongly for the needs of the children. They provide support and challenge to other agencies to ensure that continuous improvements are made to the children’s care. The well-being of staff is also a priority for the managers, and regular clinical supervision is offered to all staff by a qualified therapist. This supports a positive and resilient staff culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that action is taken to address any issues of concern. The managers have not received any complaints. Numerous compliments have been received and shared in staff meetings. Feedback from professionals is very positive. They describe how managers and staff are supporting the learning, skills and education of children. Professionals describe that partnership working and communication are ‘excellent’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2810524 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

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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that when incidents occur, risk assessments and plans are clear about the actions staff must take to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, ensure that children are offered supportive conversations following incidents. 30 September 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home complies with relevant health and safety legislation. In particular, ensure that fire doors are not propped open and that they are able to close securely in the door frame. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2810524 6  The registered person should ensure they gain written consent to use any monitoring or surveillance equipment from the child’s placing authority. This includes the use of CCTV. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)

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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: 2810524 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cascade (Banks House) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2 Therm Road, Hull HU8 7BF

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Dean Prowell and Susan Fowler

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Inspectors

Jo Cansfield, Social Care Inspector Rachael Lewis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2810524 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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