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

Inspection report for children's home: 2517046 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

The home is operated by a local authority. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since June 2025. The acting manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke with the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2517046 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2025 Full Outstanding 19/09/2023 Full Good 31/01/2023 Full Good 22/06/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 2517046 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s moves to the home are managed well, and staff help them to settle. Staff build relationships with family members and, on one occasion, cared for a child’s family dog to support the child’s settlement after they arrived. However, children moving on from the home is not always in line with the home’s statement of purpose or the child’s care plan regarding the length of time children live in the home. One child was making steady progress but moved out after only a short period. This creates uncertainty for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide a variety of activities to capture the child’s interests. One child who moved out embraced this and had lots of enjoyable experiences, including a trip to Wembley Stadium in London. Staff have had less success in engaging the child currently living in the home. Staff have built a positive relationship with the child and their family. However, the child spends lots of time away from the home.

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improvement to be good

There is no educational placement in place for the child. The child’s complex situation affected their education before moving to the home. However, there are no clear plans to reintegrate the child back into education, and the manager and staff have not responded to this effectively. This means that there is no prospect of the child accessing meaningful learning opportunities to help give them focus.

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improvement to be good

There are significant concerns about substance misuse. There has been some reduction since the child has lived at the home, though this remains a serious concern. The child continues to spend long periods out of the home, and staff are not always clear who the child is spending time with. This is having an impact on the child’s well-being. Furthermore, staff’s challenge to the child using a vape in the home is ineffective, and there is lack of support for the child around this. Other aspects of the child’s health are being met, such as helping them attend health appointments.

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improvement to be good

The home has enclosed gardens that provide the child with additional space to enjoy. Internally, there is sufficient space for the child to spend time with staff or have privacy on their own. However, the quality of decor is lacking in areas, and other improvements are needed to ensure that staff maintain a homely environment for the child.

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improvement to be good

Not all staff are fully aware of the child’s current risks. Safeguarding measures to manage risks have not been consistent. This led to an incident that placed the child at risk due to poor decision-making by staff. Inspection report for children's home: 2517046 4 Risk assessments and safety plans are not updated effectively after serious incidents occur. This means that plans are missing important information to guide staff’s practice on actions they should take to reduce the child’s risks. This does not help staff to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

There is no process to dispose of illegal substances. Staff are unclear of what needs to be done if they are found in the home. This means that staff are at risk of disposing of drugs unlawfully, without oversight of the appropriate authority. This lack of procedure leaves children and staff exposed to risk.

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improvement to be good

Meaningful conversations do not always occur in response to incidents or in relation to the child’s needs and risks. For example, when the child reported that they were assaulted in the community, the staff’s recording of the incident was unclear. This impacted on management oversight of the incident. Furthermore, the measures provided to support the child did not show that they received the help needed after the incident.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond effectively when the child goes missing from home. They search all known places and work with external agencies to locate the child. When the child returns home, they are helped by staff to feel welcomed and safe. Staff share information effectively with relevant others to try and prevent further missing-from-home incidents.

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

The new manager is aspirational and wants to provide the best care for children. He has a vision for the home and recognises the action needed to make improvements as he continues to settle into the role. However, management oversight does not always identify or address shortfalls in a timely manner. A lack of response to an incident left practice unchallenged and reduced the opportunity for reflection and learning.

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

Staff are not receiving regular practice-related supervision sessions. Where supervision sessions do occur, staff are not encouraged to look at their own ways of working and what could be improved. Children are briefly discussed. Therefore, staff are not being helped to reflect on their practice and the needs of children.

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

The home’s statement of purpose has not been updated with the required changes. Children have lived at the home on a short-term basis, and this does not align with the home’s intended purpose.

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

Staff and professionals speak highly of the manager. The manager engages well with external professionals and participates in multi-agency meetings such as weekly strategy meetings. This collaborative approach has had a positive effect in reducing missing-from- home episodes for all children who have lived at the home since the last inspection.

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

Staff say they enjoy working at the home and feel well supported. Team meetings occur monthly and are often supported by the child and adolescent mental health services. This provides the manager and team with a clinical insight about the child’s care needs. Inspection report for children's home: 2517046 5

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; and

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(iv)(v)) 7 January 2026

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)) 7 January 2026

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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 7 January 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2517046 6 promotes their welfare.

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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

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b) (5)) 7 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4) (b)) 7 January 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children and that repairs and upkeep are completed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children's home: 2517046 7

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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: 2517046 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, Hull HU1 2AA

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Inspector

Gary Smithson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2517046 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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