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

Unique reference number SC367802 Inspector Ann-Marie Born Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person North East Lincolnshire Council Registered person address Vulnerable Children Management Team Western Site, Cambridge Road Grimsby Lincolnshire DN34 5TD Responsible individual Daren Russell Hale Registered manager Shelley McLoughlin Date of last inspection 07/01/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 07/05/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection There have not been any enforcement actions.

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people outstanding Quality of care outstanding Keeping children and young people safe outstanding Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

Young people evidently feel safe and have close, trusting and stimulating relationships with staff. As a result they thrive and make exceptional progress in all aspects of their lives, within their abilities. These include significant improvements in young people's behaviour management, development of social and life skills and engaging with others in inclusive activities in the community. A staff member said, 'seeing (name) progress like that has been wonderful.’

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Overall effectiveness

Outstanding care planning ensures that all of a young person’s individual, diverse and holistic needs are identified and met. Staff work consistently to build communication skills and empower young people to express their views. Consequently, young people are able to tell staff how happy they are in the home and express joy and interest in the care they receive. A member of staff stated: 'I feel our strength of working together and having that consistency has made all that difference for him.’

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Overall effectiveness

This is a good home overall. The strong and proactive manager uses monitoring procedures appropriately to identify and build on strengths while detecting areas for improvement. However, there are areas for development in recording processes. These are to do with the need for a systemic approach in gathering interested 3 of 9 parties views when auditing care and following any episode of restraint. 4 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home offers a service for children and young people aged between five and 17 years with learning disabilities or learning and physical disabilities. The home can accommodate one young person full time and offer short breaks and shared care arrangements for a number of children and young people. Depending on the level of need, either one young person may receive a service or no more than two young people at any one time.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/01/2014 Interim good progress 21/05/2013 Full good 04/12/2012 Interim good progress 18/05/2012 Full adequate

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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 following any episode of physical intervention the home must be a to call on medical assistance as required and children are always given the opportunity of being examined by a registered nurse or practitioner (NMS 3.16  ensure that the views of young people’s family, their social worker and their independent reviewing officer (IRO) are sought regularly and used to support continual improvement in the quality of care provided in the home. (Guidance and Regulation Volume 5, Chapter 2. 2.27) 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people learn how to make sustainable attachments as a result of the strong, individual relationships they form with staff. Young people’s diverse communication methods, skills and abilities are extremely well known and understood by all staff. As a result young people achieve to the best of their abilities and make exceptional progress in all aspects of their lives. Young people feel understood and valued. This sense of belonging and interest enables young people to settle and significantly reduce previously negative behaviours.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people’s complex health needs are well met as a result of the consistent attention to detail. Young people make marked improvements in developing positive self-care skills which promote a healthy lifestyle. For example, washing their hands after using the toilet and cleaning their teeth.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people fully benefit from inclusion in individual learning programmes at a carefully selected community provision. Young people access a wide range of experiences, together with their care staff, which maximises their opportunities for continuous learning and further development of skills. Young people make substantial progress in engaging with others and display evident pride in their abilities. For example, going shopping and beginning to understand money, learning to cross the road, riding their bikes and getting on a bus. An education provider said, 'he is starting to interact with some of our other service users.’

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people fully benefit from excellent contact arrangements. Proactive staff build strong relationships with parents enabling contact sessions to be positive experiences for all concerned. As a result young people are now able to attend for visits within the family home. In addition, young people and their families participate in inclusive, relaxed community activities in the local park. This exceptional practice enables young people and their families to maintain trusting bonds which sustain young people now and in their future placements.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people continue to thrive during the exceptional preparation arrangements for transition to adult provision. The outstanding joint working arrangements between young people’s current carers and the team they will be cared for in their next home, ensure that all of their routines, triggers and communication methods are shared. As a result of this ‘transfer of trust’ young people learn to feel safe with their new carers. A social work manager stated: 'I’ve been very pleased with the progress he has made. I think we will use (name) as an illustration as to how young people with even the most complex needs can be settled in appropriate provision.’ 6 of 9

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people enjoy excellent trusting relationships with patient and committed staff, who understand their communication skills. The exceptional staff team work extremely hard to ensure that young people's views are captured wherever possible. They use consistent, calm and reasoned methods to enable young people to make choices and express their feelings. For example, choosing activities or new items for the home.

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Quality of care outstanding

Outstanding care planning incorporates every aspect of young people’s holistic needs. Young people’s diverse needs and communication skills are identified and met by the patient, consistent staff team. The correlation between young people’s day-to- day care and transition plans ensure that they are able to make exceptional progress in preparing for the move to adult provision. A social work manager said: 'this transition has been smoother because they have worked very closely with adult services so that the move is timed to meet the needs of (name).’

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Quality of care outstanding

The proactive and committed manager and staff team ensure that all of a young person’s complex health needs are met. Strong partnership working with health professionals ensure that young people are able to access health services without causing them too much stress. In addition, staff’s consistent concentration on basic self-care skills enables young people to understand why it is important to clean their teeth, bathe and wash their hands. A health professional stated, 'the evidence is that they are proactive and lead his care.’

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Quality of care outstanding

Skilled and enthusiastic staff members actively engage with young people’s education provision as good parents would. Consequently young people are fully supported to engage with community education provision where they make substantial progress in building further life and social skills. An education provider said, 'I think this is definitely linked with the consistency of his carers.’

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Quality of care outstanding

The patient and nurturing staff team actively engage young people in participation in inclusive activities both within the home and community. These include going on holiday with their carers, attending a local disco and going swimming, as well as playing games and watching films in the home. As a result young people learn social skills, engage with others and build confidence in their communication skills while having fun.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people enjoy living in a home which is fully equipped and planned to meet their unique and diverse needs.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

7 of 9 Young people feel safe in a home where their safety and welfare is paramount. Proactive staff are ‘champions’ for a range of subjects including bullying and sexual exploitation; all staff have current and pertinent knowledge in safeguarding young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

High staffing levels and the staff’s thorough knowledge of young people’s vulnerabilities ensure that young people do not go missing from this home. The practical manager ensures that locally agreed protocols are thoroughly understood by all staff which further safeguards young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Exceptional behaviour management planning is consistently applied by the skilled and nurturing staff team. The outstanding focussed work with young people involving the use of sanctions enables them to understand the consequences of their actions. As a result positive behaviour is promoted, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of physical interventions necessary to safeguard young people. All such incidents are comprehensively recorded and young people’s views captured to enable them to learn from their behaviours. Young people are safeguarded by these measures. However, records do not clearly indicate whether young people are always given the opportunity to be examined by a medical practitioner.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Young people are further safeguarded by comprehensive adherence to robust local authority recruitment procedures. Consequently young people are not cared for by someone who may pose a risk to them.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Young people are protected by the implementation of strong health and safety procedures, including regular fire drills. These ensure that the home is physically safe and meets young people's diverse needs.

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Leadership and management good

The experienced and proactive manager knows the young people in her care well and is ambitious for them to be happy and succeed to the best of their ability. The home has comprehensively demonstrated its capacity to improve. The much improved behaviour management plans and preparation for transition to adult services have fully benefitted young people leading to outstanding individual outcomes. In addition, the requirement from the previous inspection was met in that the management team have obtained the views of young people and parents to aid the Regulation 34 report.

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Leadership and management good

A comprehensive Statement of Purpose complies with legislation and provides parents, young people and local authorities with a clear picture of the care to be provided. As a result young people are appropriately placed enhancing their opportunities for success.

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Leadership and management good

Improved external and internal auditing processes ensure that young people's quality 8 of 9 of care is regularly monitored leading to improvements. The significant progress young people make in understanding, verbal skills and behaviour management demonstrate the impact the home has had on their lives. However, although parents views have been recently captured to inform auditing procedures, the manager does not have a system in place to capture the views of parents and professionals on a regular basis.

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Leadership and management good

Young people benefit from high staffing levels and staff are fully trained and equipped to meet their needs. Supervision is of high quality and takes place at regular intervals ensuring young people are cared for by staff who are fully supported. The manager proactively ensures that reviews and planning meetings take place within timescales. A health professional said, 'they were ahead of the process.’

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Leadership and management good

Comprehensive records, including sensitive memory books, are securely stored. They provide young people with a meaningful record of their time within the home.

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Leadership and management good

The manager communicates and notifies appropriate agencies of significant information. Thereby ensuring young people are protected by multi-agency decision making. A social work manager said, 'there is lots of evidence of people working very closely together.’ Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management good

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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