Children's Home run by Hennessy Living Group Limited in Hartlepool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 1 Registered provider: Hennessy Living Group 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

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities, alcohol misuse issues and mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living in the home. The inspector spoke to three children.

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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

Date of last inspection: 15 January 2025

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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: 2613032 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/01/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/01/2024 Full Good 09/10/2023 Full Inadequate 16/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they feel happy living in the home. They build trusting relationships with staff. Children can share their worries and experiences with staff. One child said that staff have helped them to open up about their past experiences and get the help they need. As a result, this has led to a reduction in them misusing substances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint, and they say that they feel listened to by staff. Staff have regular discussions with children to gather their views and share important information through children’s meetings and key-working sessions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote regular activities for children to get involved in that are relevant to their likes and interests. Two children were able to experience a trip abroad for the first time. This gives children the opportunity to have new, fun experiences and create lasting memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their emotional well-being and health. Children are encouraged to attend appointments to support them with their emotional well-being and health. One professional said that a child would not have engaged with the therapy that they needed without the support of staff and the trusting relationships they have built.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children are routinely accessing education or employment. However, staff work well with multi-agency partners to support children back into education and employment. Feedback from a child’s school says that the child’s attendance has improved since living in the home and that he is sleeping better. Key-working sessions take place around education and staff are persistent and have supported two children to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, staff meet with them to make sure they begin to get to know each other. Staff offer children the opportunity to visit the home. One child said that they refused to visit the home, but that staff still visited him so that he got to know who they were before he moved in. However, when children move into the home, the manager does not always consider the competing needs of all children in the home. Consequently, this can result in an increase in some children’s risks and negative behaviours.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff know how to respond. Staff actively search the local area for children and contact people the child knows to try and locate them. Staff work well with multi-agency professionals to reduce risks to children. When children return, staff are understanding, welcome them home and support their learning of the risks through key-work sessions. This has led to a reduction in missing-from-care incidents for two children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 4 Staff understand the risks to children who misuse substances. Key-work sessions and educational work is undertaken specific to the individual risks for each child. This helps children to understand what staff are worried about and support them to make changes. Further support for children is identified by staff and provided by substance misuse professionals. This has had a positive impact for one child, who has been reducing their

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

Staff know the children well and build good relationships with children, which increases their understanding of children’s individual needs. One family member said, ‘[Name of child] has made massive improvements since living in the home and doesn’t want to go out and get into trouble like he did before.’ These positive relationships with staff help children to feel safer.

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

Incidents of restraint are low, with only one hold since the last inspection. However, when the restraint was used, the recording of that event was not clear. The manager did not complete a review of the hold, and the child was not spoken to. This prevents the manager from maintaining oversight of staff restraint practice and ensuring that children are safeguarded effectively.

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

When a child makes an allegation against staff, the manager does not always take immediate action to safeguard the child. One child disclosed information to staff which was shared immediately with the manager. The manager accepts that there was a delay in taking action, and the responsible individual is completing a learning review following the incident. The manager completed a full investigation into the allegation and worked with the multi-agency team. However, a child may have been left at risk of harm because of the delay.

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

Not all information is clearly recorded in risk assessments of what actions staff should take to reduce risks. Information is updated using team meetings and a whiteboard. However, this is not clearly recorded within the child’s documents. This could result in children receiving inconsistent care from staff.

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

Management oversight is not yet effective. The audits completed by the manager do not help her to review the quality of care or identify the home’s strengths and areas for development. This prevents the manager from having effective oversight of what is happening in the home.

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

Not all essential documents related to children are held on the child’s file. This includes a lack of up-to-date care plans, education documents and health assessments for children from their placing authority. This means that the manager cannot be assured that staff are working to the local authority’s agreed plans.

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

Staff have regular supervision sessions with their line manager. However, records are inconsistent and do not show that staff are able to reflect on, and learn from, their Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 5 practice or focus on safeguarding children. Furthermore, the records identify when staff may be struggling in their role but do not show what support is available to them. This contributes to the manager’s lack of oversight of the development and support needs of her staff team.

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

Staff complete the organisation’s mandatory training, and some additional training is completed. However, there are missed opportunities for learning within team meetings, which do not focus on the needs of children. This limits staff from developing their skills and considering how best to meet the needs of children.

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

The manager does not always notify Ofsted of all safeguarding concerns related to children. For example, when a child protection enquiry commences or concludes. This hinders Ofsted in maintaining oversight of how the home responds to concerns about children.

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

The manager and staff have developed strong working relationships with multi-agency professionals and parents. The staff communicate regularly with parents, social workers and education to make sure that the children’s risks are managed well. The feedback from all professionals was positive around the communication from the home. This helps improve outcomes for children.

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

The manager knows the children well. She is committed to ensuring that children are cared for well and that they are making progress. The manager helps staff to understand the complex needs and behaviours of the children and the importance of supporting them consistently. Professionals recognise that the manager and staff do their best to stick with the children through their difficult times. This shows children that they are valued, and this has a positive impact on their progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 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 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)) 22 July 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. Regulation 14 (1)(a)) 22 July 2025

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 22 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 7 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(a)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

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 22 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 8 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 (3)(v)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter; and

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. Regulation 40 (4)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b) 22 July 2025

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2613032 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hennessy Living Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hennessy Living Group, 1b Rickleton, Bowes Offices, Lambton Park, Chester-le-Street DH3 4AN

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Inspector

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613032 10 regulates and inspects 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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Inspector

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