Children's Home run by North East Lincolnshire Council in North East Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC380956 Inspection date 26/09/2011 Inspector Nicola McEvinney Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 31/01/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

This local authority children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children and young people between the ages of eight and 17 years. The home provides a service for families with children or young people on the verge of coming into the care system and struggling to maintain their education. The short break is agreed with the children or young people and their families or carers. Stays at the home are short breaks of one or two nights duration usually within a two- weekly period.

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Brief description of the service

As part of the local education services, an alternative learning programme independent of the home is offered on the site during each week day until 5pm, at which point the respite children’s home resumes its operation at this location. The staff team work in the alternative learning programme and the short break provision.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be satisfactory .

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Overall effectiveness

This is an invaluable service for the children and young people and their families or carers. Children and young people are positive about the care they receive and enjoy coming to the home. The service promotes improved outcomes for children and young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The individual plans for children and young people lack clear detail of how, on a day- to-day basis, they are to be cared for. As they only attend for a couple of days a fortnight the same staff may not be working with them so this lack of detailed care plans can lead to inconsistency of care practice compromising the welfare of children and young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Children and young people say they feel safe in the home they have good relationships with the staff who care for them. This promotes the well-being of children and young people.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17A (2001) ensure where a measure of restraint is used on a child no more force than is necessary should be used (Regulation 17A(2)(b)) 01/10/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17A (2001) ensure any restraint used is recorded in a volume kept for the purpose which shall include; details of the child's behaviour leading to the restraint; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the restraint; confirmation that the child concerned has been spoken to as well as the person using the restraint about the use of that restraint (Regulation 17A (3) (b)(f)(h) 01/10/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17A (2001) ensure records of restraint include details of any methods used to avoid the need to use that measure (Regulation 17(4)(b)) 01/10/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the registered person monitors the matters set out in Schedule 6, in particular the record of restraints used comply with legislation (Regulation 34 & Schedule 6.12) 01/10/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure placement plans set out how a child or young person is to be cared for on a day-to-day basis. (Regulation 12 (1) (a) 01/11/2011

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure the home meets the behavioural needs of children and young people as set out in their care plan by devising individual behaviour management plans that are regularly reviewed. (NMS 3.7)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people come to this service in a time of emotional and family upheaval with the risk of them becoming accommodated in the care system. The service is very effective in engaging with the children and young people. They are supported to continue to live with their families or carers or help them to move constructively to an appropriate placement, promoting their well-being.

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Outcomes for children and young people

All the children and young people using the service are enrolled in a mainstream school or a pupil referral unit. The service supports these individual children and young people by providing educational activities within the home during the school day. This service is also extended to a number of other children in need who are struggling in education. The service is a registered centre for the Assessment and Qualification Alliance (AQA) and young people can undertake basic entry certificates. The children and young people engage with this provision and staff work hard with these individuals to support them to resume mainstream education. Staff advocate on behalf of children and young people with the education department to secure appropriate education packages for children and young people. This promotes their educational achievement. Education achievements are celebrated, a number of young people have been

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Outcomes for children and young people

awarded AQA certificates. Other young people have secured training placements and they recognise that the staff have given them support to enable them to achieve and secure these placements giving them better life chances.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Although the remit of the home is not to prepare young people for independent living they help with meal preparation to enhance their self help skills.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is satisfactory .

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Quality of care

Children and young people benefit from the support they receive from the staff. They say there is always someone they can talk to if they have any worries. A number of young people attend the service for a number of years and continue to receive on- going support, this promotes their well-being.

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Quality of care

The home has recently sent out questionnaires to the children and young people and their parents or carers. Responses received have been very positive. The input from the service has helped many children and young people maintain living with their families or foster carers. On admission children and young people complete a proforma indicating their likes and dislikes ensuring their views are taken into account. House meetings have recently been introduced to enable children and young people to have a say in how the home is run.

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Quality of care

Care plans are basic and do not clearly set out how children and young people are to be cared for on a day-to-day basis and their welfare safeguarded and promoted. This does not ensure young people receive consistent care and promote their well-being.

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Quality of care

The home has close liaison with a number of agencies, for example, educational psychologists, the head of Pupil Referral Unit and the Youth Offending Service. This group meets regularly to discuss children and young people in need to ensure appropriate services are accessed and agree packages of care to help meet the complex needs of the children and young people.

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Quality of care

The home is situated in a white British town with little opportunity for the young people to meet other people from different cultures or heritage. Staff have attended equality and diversity training and have an awareness of how the socio economic situation of some families can lead to disadvantage. The home provides positive life experiences for the children and young people to address this disadvantage.

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Quality of care

Children and young people benefit from being involved in a range of activities; for example, they may participate in a bicycle repair workshop and they all build their own bicycle. Other activities include, going to the cinema, playing pool, and using local community facilities such as swimming and the local park. This helps young people develop their self-esteem.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is satisfactory at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people confirm that they feel safe in the home, there are no incidents of bullying, and young people are made aware of what they should do if they feel threatened in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

In the main children and young people attend this service because they want to and therefore there are very few incidents of young people going missing; these are generally young people returning late to the home. There are clear details of who staff should contact in the event of a child or young person going missing ensuring everybody is kept informed.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Each child or young person has a positive handling plan which is devised on admission. These plans identify potential behaviours with strategies in place to manage these behaviours. However, these plans are not live working documents that staff update on a regular basis to inform them the best way to manage some of the very challenging behaviours some children and young people present. Some children and young people's behaviours are not managed effectively, for example, following a period of very challenging behaviour staff record that 'children were left to their own devices and then they asked to go to the cinema'. These children were taken to the cinema on a school night at 8.15pm and returned to the home at 11.15pm.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are very few restraints, however, the recording of restraints does not consistently comply with regulations. This was also identified as a recommendation at the last inspection. Improvements are needed in how incidents of restraint are monitored to ensure that the use of restraint is appropriately challenged and to ensure that children and young people are not vulnerable.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a designated staff member responsible for health and safety issues. This individual has attended a number of courses relevant to health and safety, for example, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) and undertakes COSHH assessments on all chemicals used in the home. Risk assessments are undertaken on each child or young person, activities and the premises identifying the potential risk with strategies in place to minimise this risk. All staff are trained fire wardens and fire records are in good order. All the children and young people partake in a fire drill ensuring they know what action they should take in the event of a fire. This all ensures that children and young people are cared for in a safe environment.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

The local authority has a clear aim in providing children and young people with a service to support them living with their families or carers preventing them from being accommodated in the care system. They have had great success with this aim enabling children or young people to work through issues with their families or carers whilst providing a short break in a supportive environment. For those children and young people who are accommodated, the home offers ongoing support to enable these individuals to make a smooth transition and maintain positive relations with the home. This promotes their well-being.

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Leadership and management

This service is continuing to develop, offering packages of care to more and more children and young people in the county. The Registered Manager has recognised the shortfalls in the skill base of the staff team on managing children presenting very challenging behaviours, which is a relatively new phenomena at this home, she has organised training for the team to address this.

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Leadership and management

The Registered Manager undertakes regular monitoring of the quality of the care provided. Although the issue of the recording of and the appropriateness of restraints used was highlighted at the last inspection, they are still not monitored effectively. This can lead to a culture of the use of inappropriate restraints leaving young people vulnerable.

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Leadership and management

The registered manager is setting up systems to monitor children and young people's files to ensure that they contain up-to-date information, care plans and positive handling plans. This will ensure a consistent approach to the care of the children and young people.

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Leadership and management

Staff have good access to training, for example, first aid, child protection, medication, risk assessments and bullying; they have all attained a National Vocational Qualification at level 3 or are enrolled on this course. Children and young people benefit from being looked after by competent and well trained staff.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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