Children's home run by Hull City Council

Inspection report for children's home: 2550526 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 operated by a local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in August 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 23 September 2024

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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: 2550526 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/09/2024 Full Good 26/07/2023 Full Outstanding 10/05/2022 Full Outstanding 10/05/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 2550526 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke with both children during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are welcomed warmly and have sensitively planned moves to the home. Staff take time to know their likes and dislikes and are well prepared to help them settle. Staff advocate on children’s behalf to promote their wishes and feelings. Staff understand children’s preferences and aspirations, which are well evidenced in care planning documents. This means that children have positive beginnings and build trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of identifying the right school place for children and the value of an education. When there are barriers to attendance, staff help children to overcome these and promote attendance at school. Children make progress in school as a result. One child has recently received an education award, and another has been helped back into school following a significant period of non-attendance before moving to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop age-appropriate life skills by taking part in self-care and cooking activities in the home. This gives children valuable skills that they will need to help them navigate adult life when they move on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to take part in a range of activities. Children are supported to broaden their experiences and develop new interests. This increases their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some areas of the home are routinely locked overnight. While this has been deemed necessary to manage one child’s risks, the impact of this restriction on the other child has not been considered. This prevents children from accessing parts of their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are identified to move to the home, the manager considers the effect of the move on children already living in the home. However, the impact of a planned short- term move is not fully considered in the assessment. This negatively impacts children who already live at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parts of the home require maintenance. The manager has identified some of these areas and has plans to address the necessary repairs. However, some areas have been left unrepaired, and some areas had not been identified by the manager. This detracts from the homely environment.

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

Staff understand the needs and individual vulnerabilities of children. Clearly written risk assessments and behaviour plans give staff guidance to help them respond positively to Inspection report for children's home: 2550526 4 children in times of crisis. This means that children experience positive care and can take age-appropriate risks safely.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff follow agreed protocols and respond appropriately to locate children in the community. Staff liaise with relevant professionals to help children return safely to the home. When children return, they are welcomed back by staff who help them to reflect on the reasons they stayed away. Staff consequently understand these reasons and are proactive in developing plans to prevent further missing-from-home incidents.

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

Children are helped to access the right therapeutic support to help them understand their emotions and past experiences. For one child, this has meant an increased ability to recognise and share their feelings with staff. This gives children confidence to share their worries with adults who can help them.

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

Consequences for unwanted behaviours are rarely given in the home. When they are given to children, the aim is to improve children’s understanding of safety. Afterwards, staff have discussions with children to help them understand the effect of their behaviours on themselves and others.

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

The manager uses monitoring tools to help her to meet the health and safety requirements of the home. However, she has not followed actions identified in the fire risk assessment. This limits her ability to ensure that all precautions have been taken against the risk of fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths of the home and areas she would like to develop. She is highly motivated to provide children with a stable home. She has a visible presence in the home and leads by example. Staff speak highly of her and of the supportive team dynamic.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains positive working relationships with all external agencies. Professionals consistently praise the relationships and communication they have with the manager and team. Feedback from professionals highlights the dedicated approach of the staff and the progress they help children to make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular practice-related supervision sessions and speak highly of the supportive culture in the home. Staff are encouraged to develop in their roles and access opportunities to further enhance their skills outside of the home. The manager ensures that all staff receive annual appraisals to identify training to increase their ability to meet children’s specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are focused on the needs of the children. Discussions about the therapeutic care staff give are strengthened by regular Inspection report for children's home: 2550526 5 consultation with a clinical psychologist connected to the home. This helps staff to agree a consistent approach to children’s care, routines and boundaries.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some documents, including supervision records and an updated plan, were not available to view during the inspection. This limits the inspector’s ability to fully evaluate the effectiveness of some practice areas. Inspection report for children's home: 2550526 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

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 16 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)) 16 January 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they have fully considered the effect that the placement will have on the existing children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) Inspection report for children's home: 2550526 7  The registered person should ensure that the home provides a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. Any repairs to the home should be completed without delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. Some records may be kept electronically at the individual home in accordance with data protection principles. IT systems should ensure the safe storage of these

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Recommendations

records, and business continuity planning should be in place to prevent loss or damage to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, 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: 2550526 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

Mark Cryer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2550526 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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