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

Unique reference number SC441553 Inspection date 23/10/2013 Inspector Ann-Marie Born Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 09/01/2013 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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Brief description of the service

This is a local authority long-stay children's home registered to accommodate five young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

A young person stated: 'The manager is the best, the home is epic and I am really happy here.' Young people thrive within the stimulating and caring environment provided by the excellent manager and staff team. Care planning is highly personalised and meets the holistic, diverse needs of each individual. As a result of the exceptional care they receive, young people's welfare significantly improves.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people feel cared for and valued which enables them to make good progress in a number of areas. Notably, education attendance and achievement, participation in inclusive community activities, confidence in their ability to communicate their views and wishes, keeping safe, and growth in self-esteem and feelings of self- worth. A young person said: 'I feel they really listen to me here and because they do that they know me and so I can be better. I am much nicer and behave much better than when I was living at (name).'

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Overall effectiveness

This is a good home overall. Young people feel safe and are protected by pro-active practice which safeguards them. The strong manager is fully aware of the home's strengths and areas for development and continuously strives to improve care. The views of young people, staff, parents and professionals are used constructively to consistently raise standards. Young people feel and are actively involved in planning and reviewing their care. As a result, young people develop an increased sense of being valued and belonging.

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Overall effectiveness

There is one recommendation from this visit relating to the quality of staff recording, particularly following any physical intervention.

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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 that all staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping, trained to maintain them and to understand the need to be careful, objective and clear when making records. (Guidance and Regulation Volume 5, Chapter 3, 3.28)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make good progress in developing an understanding their life events, including for some young people past criminal behaviours, and how they can move forward. Young people are in different stages of developing a positive self-view but all have built sustainable attachments with staff and each other. As a result, young people's self-esteem, feelings of self-worth and confidence in their abilities to build relationships are much improved. A young person said ‘my behaviour has got brilliant’.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are fully supported to understand and take pride in their cultural heritage. Specific arrangements are made to link young people with their identified community organisations. Consequently, young people are able to build and maintain important cultural relationships which sustain them in their sense of belonging both within the community in which they now reside and their country of origin.

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Outcomes for children and young people

All of the young people are actively engaged in education in line with their abilities. The majority attend a specialist or alternative provision but one young person attends university. This level of attendance and the progress achieved is a marked improvement from young people's starting points. Young people take great pride in their growth in self-confidence and interest in learning. For example, two young people received 'pupil of the week' awards and one young person enjoys keeping abreast of the news and discussing current affairs with staff. Young people have ambition for their futures. One young person said, 'I want to be a successful welder and travel the world to eventually settle and live in Australia.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people demonstrate increasing awareness of how to live a healthy life; they eat healthily and take regular exercise, such as using the trampoline, bicycle riding, ballet lessons, walking or swimming. Young people benefit from accessing a range of inclusive activities and trips within the local community. These provide alternative healthy choices and interests thereby providing young people with more opportunity. Unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking, are discouraged and individual key work sessions support young people to understand the impact of making harmful choices. Young people benefit from discussing improvements to the home and planning inclusive activities in the community through their residents’ meetings and one-to- one sessions. As a result, young people learn communication and negotiation skills and recognise their value to their home and community.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Contact and good communication with parents and family members is a strength in this home. Carefully planned contact arrangements, as agreed with social workers, ensure that important familial relationships are maintained and strengthened. Young people fully benefit from the day-to-day support this provides now and for their independent living in the future. This promotes young people's sense of identity and belonging. A parent stated, 'They keep me informed and I trust them. She is very safe there. I could sum them up in one word, ‘brilliant'.’

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy positive and respectful relationships with the staff team and for the majority of the time each other. Young people build strong, trusting relationships with staff members and report they are happy living in the home. Any fall-outs between young people are quickly addressed and worked through to a successful resolution. Young people's complaints are treated seriously, therefore young people are confident to use this process should they need to. Young people feel listened to, respected and consulted on all aspects of their care. As a result, young people want to behave. It is a testament to the staff that the very different young people in this home are able to live positively and productively together and care about each other. A staff member commented: 'We are such a diverse staff team that we bring different things to young people which help them to progress. It also means that

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Quality of care

young people have a choice of staff they can bond with meaning attachments are stronger.’.

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Quality of care

Practice is exceptionally child centred and personalised. The manager and staff analyse each young person's needs and continually review the effectiveness of strategies. Young people receive excellent support and make significant progress in comparison to previous experiences of being looked after. As a result it is evident how confident and comfortable young people are in expressing their views and wishes. Young people are provided with a range of opportunities which ensure that their views are heard and they feel they can actively influence the care they receive. This increases young people's sense of being valued and enhances their sense of belonging.

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Quality of care

Excellent care planning ensures that all of a young people’s individual and holistic needs are comprehensively identified and effectively addressed. Young people are actively involved in the development of all aspects of their care. As a result, young people are confident in their ability to express their needs and have a thorough understanding of what is expected of them, what they are working towards and what they need to do to achieve their goals. In addition, young people receive immediate praise and rewards for all steps towards their achievements and take great pride in recognising their new abilities.

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Quality of care

The proactive and sensitive manager and staff team ensure that all of a young person’s cultural and special needs are met within the home environment. For example, by providing a separate refrigerator and crockery for the provision of a Halal diet. In addition, arrangements are made within religious establishments and community organisations to ensure that young people are able to practice their faith thereby maintaining their sense of self and identity.

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Quality of care

Caring and nurturing staff members ensure that young people are fully engaged in their health care plans and understand ways of sustaining a healthy lifestyle. Strong relationships are maintained with health professionals thus ensuring that young people receive appropriate holistic care. For example, as not all young people will engage with the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS), arrangements have been made for a CAMHS worker to attend the staff meeting on a monthly basis. This provides staff with effective tools to improve young people’s emotional health and well-being. In addition, regular involvement in inclusive activities within the community introduce young people to healthy pastimes, thus improving their physical health. Staff also sensitively enable all young people to be responsible for their own personal hygiene and to understand the importance of that care. A young person commented, 'I love the activities that I get to go and do. Things I never have

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Quality of care

before and I've found things I love that I didn’t even know about before. I feel healthier since I've been doing ballet.'

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Quality of care

The provision of a range of interesting, diverse activities is a major strength in this home. Young people are encouraged to participate fully in chosen activities and all tastes are catered for, from arts and crafts to go-karting and snowboarding. As a result, young people learn about pastimes they had not previously been aware of and thoroughly enjoy the inclusive nature and sense of fun these activities have. This effectively broadens young people's horizons and provides them with positive lifestyle choices. A staff member said, 'They have opportunities to enjoy activities in the community where they get a chance to make friends with people from other backgrounds, not just those in care or through the youth offending service. This gives them interests and hobbies which could last a lifetime and give them something else to talk about and take in to their futures.'

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy living in a large, semi-detached home which is close to all local amenities. They each have their own bedroom which they personalise to their taste. All decoration and colours are chosen by young people. Young people very much see the setting as their home. For example, their height growth is recorded on the office door. The large kitchen is the ‘heart’ of this home. Young people share meals together and enjoy sitting together with staff to discuss their days and plan future activities, as they would within a family setting.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Safeguarding young people is a priority and central to practice. Young people say they feel safe and they are supported to keep safe and know staff care about them. Young people do not report any incidents of bullying and staff are trained to address bullying. Staff are pro-active in safeguarding young people, understand their responsibilities and act within clear procedures where required. Young people are well informed of their rights and the range of independent people and organisations available for them. This offers choices about who young people speak to.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Practice is informed by clear risk assessments which balance minimising hazards without impeding young people's independence. As a result young people are not unnecessarily restricted. Young people are safeguarded by robust missing person protocols, agreed with local agencies, which ensure that staff know what to do if a young person is absent. It is evident that such incidences decrease once a young person fully engages with the care within the home. A family member said, 'He is very safe there and they are beautiful with him. If he’s not in on his time they will ring me to see if he is here. They take good care of him.'

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Safeguarding children and young people

A number of the young people are subject to electronic tag or curfew restrictions. Staff work sensitively with young people to enable them to manage these in a positive manner. Staff are fully aware there are times when young people seek risk- taking; they approach this by talking through potential consequences to provide young people with a sense of their own responsibility and choices. A youth offending worker stated: 'He is very mistrustful of new people and it takes quite a while for him to build a relationship, but he has some good relationships with staff which is very positive. The home have done fabulously supporting him with his curfew.'

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Safeguarding children and young people

Positive behaviour is promoted at all times and the strong, consistent staff team are effective role models. A family member commented, 'You know where you stand with them. They are very caring and very thorough with what they’re doing. He does get discipline and is learning boundaries.' Nevertheless, there are occasions when restraint is needed in order to safeguard young people and prevent violence. The majority of these episodes are recorded accurately and young people are provided with all necessary safeguards in line with legislation. However, there are still occasions when recording is not comprehensive enough and staff would benefit from training on this in order to comply with the home’s own policies.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are safeguarded by the implementation of robust recruitment procedures which protect them from being cared for by people who may pose a risk to them. In addition, their physical safety is assured by good health and safety procedures. Established systems for the routine checking and servicing of all fire equipment and other appliances minimise any safety hazards. Regular practice evacuations from the building, including at night-time, ensure that young people know how to leave the safely and quickly in case of an emergency.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding . The experienced and proactive manager has observably excellent relationships with all of the young people in his care. He has high aspirations for all young people and they trust him to be fair and meet their needs. A young person said: 'I trust the manager completely. He listens to me and we discuss what I can do and it makes sense to me.’

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Leadership and management

Staff feel very well supported, supervised and involved in making decisions. Staff report development and training opportunities are available and varied to progress their careers, including level two sexual exploitation training. The manager and staff team are very well qualified and sufficient in number to meet the needs of young people. Regular meetings, supervisions and appraisals ensure practice improves further and the focus remains on young people's needs and development.

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Leadership and management

Only one recommendation was made at the last inspection. This has been met in that young people now see and sign their link work sessions and it is evident that there has been a big improvement in their opportunities to read all records kept about them. In addition, the manager has sourced a new method of gathering young people’s views on their care, the home and their plans for their future. This document is inclusive, written in young people friendly language and allows young people to record their views clearly using a variety of written and pictorial methods in line with their abilities. As a result young people feel more included and take a deeper interest in the methods of recording their improvement. This provides them with a better understanding of the progress they have made and builds towards observably positive outcomes.

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Leadership and management

The manager is also in the process of registering the home with the National Youth Agency and young people have signed up to participate in the programme. This will provide young people and the home with a formal recognition of the progress they make while offering them the opportunity to actively contribute to the development of policy for themselves and other young people in the looked after system.

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Leadership and management

An excellent Statement of Purpose outlines the aims and objectives of the service. The home is operating in line with this statement and the principles are understood by interested parties, including young people. Young people's information is relevant, child centred and they have participated in developing this. Young people benefit from a consistent, enthusiastic and committed staff who focus on their needs and welfare. As a result, young people's progress is clearly evident and noted by their family members and social workers. A social worker, 'The unit are managing both boys very well.’

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Leadership and management

The proactive manager ensures that all professionals involved in a young person’s care actively participate in young people’s reviews and that they remain in regular contact. Young people are fully supported to take an active part in their reviews; they benefit from the consistency that this provides. A social worker said: 'Communication is very good and they keep me informed.'

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Leadership and management

A comprehensive development plan outlines the aims and objectives for the year with clear reviews to chart progress. Key documents, policies and procedures are regularly revisited to ensure practice is current, relevant to young people's individual, diverse needs. Exceptional internal monitoring processes ensure practice and young people's care are safe and the quality of care remains consistently high. Independent visits contribute to reflective practice and driving improvement.

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Leadership and management

Records are clear, up-to-date and provide young people with an understanding of their lives. The introduction of new monthly progress documents, completed with young people, provide them with a comprehensive understanding of their life experiences and how these will affect and assist them in their future.

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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 and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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