Children's Home run by Lincolnshire County Council in Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC042950 Inspector Tracy Murty Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Lincolnshire County Council Registered person address Lincolnshire County Council, County Offices Newland LINCOLN LN1 1YL Responsible individual Janice Spencer Registered manager Jeanette Mitchell-Fox Date of last inspection 04/08/2014 2 of 7 Inspection date 03/02/2015

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Previous inspection good Enforcement action since last inspection None

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This inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has declined in effectiveness .

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This inspection

This home has declined in effectiveness due to the failure to implement the bullying policy; lack of appropriate training for staff; lack of appropriate consultation by the independent visitor; not all reportable incidents being notified to Ofsted; failure to formally involve young people in consultation about the home and inadequate monitoring by the Registered Manager.

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This inspection

One requirement and one recommendation were made as a result of the last full inspection of this home. The Registered Manager has ensured that staff have been provided with specific training on ADHD since the last inspection. Staff spoken with during this inspection stated that this has assisted them in their work with young people and increased their knowledge and skills.

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This inspection

Staff now receive more regular formal supervision. Records reflect that staff receive formal supervision on a monthly basis, which is well documented. Staff report that the frequency of supervision has improved and that they feel satisfied with this. They also report being able to request additional supervision meetings, if they have specific issues they wish to discuss before their next planned supervision session.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager has failed to meet the recommendation set at the last inspection. Young people meet with the staff team on a regular basis. Records from those meetings clearly reflects the discussions held and any wishes, feelings and comments made by young people. The Registered Manager has only formally responded to young people for one of the monthly meetings, since the last inspection. This does not provide evidence of how young people are consulted with, or how any requests or issues they may raise have been responded to by managers. A requirement has been set to address this shortfall. 3 of 7 There is a clear and detailed bullying policy in place for the home and guidance for staff on what action to take. Some young people have reported being bullied by other young people in the home, since the last inspection, on a regular basis. Records do not reflect all reported incidents of bullying or what action has been

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This inspection

taken by managers or staff to eradicate such concerning behaviours. This could lead to young people not feeling safe or supported.

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This inspection

An independent person visits the home every month to consider all aspects of the care provided to young people. This person has failed to ensure that they interview parents and relatives, in order to form an opinion of the standard of care provided to young people. There has also been limited reporting on discussions held with staff members in the home. This would further assist staff and managers in identifying any areas of concern, or where improvements may need to be made.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager undertakes regular monitoring and reviews of the quality of care provided to young people and produces reports. She has failed to ensure that the required matters to be monitored have been fully undertaken, in line with regulatory changes made in April 2014. Reports produced do not provide sufficient detail or analysis of the matters to be monitored. This further undermines the staff team's ability to improve the quality of care provided to young people. The Registered Manager has also failed to ensure that copies of such reports have been sent in to Ofsted at the required intervals. This undermines Ofsted's ability to have oversight of the quality of care being provided to young people or to take any necessary action.

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This inspection

All incidents relating to young people are recorded by staff, including details of what action has been taken to support them. Young people regularly read and comment on their incident reports and sign to confirm they agree with them. The Registered Manager has failed to ensure that some events have been notified to Ofsted, in line with regulatory requirements. This has undermined the ability of Ofsted to scrutinise and take action on any potentially concerning incidents.

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This inspection

The home currently employs a number of relief staff to support the permanent staff team, pending recruitment to a number of vacant permanent positions. Some relief staff have not undertaken restraint training. Plans are in place for those staff to undertake restraint training, but this will not take place for several weeks. This undermines their ability to support other staff team members in the event of a restraint having to be used. Very few restraints are used in this home, but the lack of suitably trained staff could have an adverse impact on staff members' ability to prevent young people from harming themselves or others.

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This inspection

Young people have educational placements, with most attending well and making good progress from their starting points. One young person spoken with during this inspection has clear aspirations for their future and reported enjoying school. For those young people who move to this home, staff work closely with education providers to ensure that education is in place as a matter of urgency. Some young 4 of 7 people refuse to engage in education and have very poor attendance and engagement. This undermines their ability to achieve and make a successful transition to independence or secure further education or employment.

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This inspection

Some young people place themselves at risk of harm on a regular basis. Risk assessments are in place for all young people and they receive regular reviews and updates by the staff team. Despite this, some young people continue to place themselves and others at risk through absenting themselves from the home without consent and displaying anti-social behaviours. The Registered Manager works closely with the placing authority and attends regular multi-agency meetings to discuss concerning behaviours of some young people. There has been limited success or improvements for some young people as a result of such meetings and behaviours for some young people continues to be of concern. The Registered Manager regularly meets with the police, who report a positive working relationship with the home. 5 of 7

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Information about this children’s home

The home is a six-bedded children's home run by a local authority. It caters for young people who present emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/08/2014 Full good 17/03/2014 Interim good progress 05/07/2013 Full good 14/01/2013 Interim satisfactory progress

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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

(2001) ensure that there are arrangements in place for consulting with young people about the quality of care provided to them and the results of such consultation. To involve young people in decisions about their own care and the day to day running of the home (Regulation 34(1) schedule 6(5)(a)) 09/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the written policy for the prevention of bullying in the children's home and the procedure for dealing with any allegation of bullying is implemented (Regulation 16(4)(b)) 09/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the person carrying out the visit interviews, with their consent and in private, young people accommodated there, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as appears necessary in order to form an opinion as to whether young people accommodated there are effectively 09/03/2015 6 of 7 safeguarded and that the conduct of the home promotes the wellbeing of young people (Regulation 33(8)(a)

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) supply to Ofsted a report in respect of any review conducted in respect of the matters set out in Schedule 6 at least once in every 3 months (Regulation 34(1)(a)(b)(2)) 09/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that if any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, that the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table. This is with specific reference to notifying Ofsted of relevant events (Regulation 30(1)) 09/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that at all times there is a sufficient number of suitably qualified, competent and experienced persons working at the children's home. (Regulation 25(1)a)(b)) 09/03/2015 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Reg. Requirement Due date

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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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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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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