Children's Home run by Lincolnshire County Council in Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC042967 Inspector Rachel Griffiths 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 Lee Geoffrey Crisp Date of last inspection 03/12/2014 2 of 6 Inspection date 18/03/2015

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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 sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

Young people continue to make good progress in many aspects of their lives. A young person said: ‘I have learnt new skills like cooking and washing. I am doing more education; I am a lot healthier; I get to do lots of different activities.’ Young people start to experience consistency, stability and security in their lives. They enjoy positive relationships with carers. For some young people, this has provided them with the security needed and confidence to engage in therapy in order to address painful issues from their past. This has helped them to come to terms with their life experiences and start to work towards realistic goals and aspirations for the future. As a result, young people’s life chances significantly improve.

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This inspection

Staff have excellent insight and understanding in respect of the complex individual needs of young people. This is enhanced by a multi-agency approach to meeting individual needs. Close liaison between care staff, educational professionals, therapists and other specialist services mean that robust care plans are holistically monitored and reviewed. Not only does this ensure that consistent approaches to care are provided, it also ensures that young people receive appropriate support and specialised services to address and meet their individual needs. This provides young people with a better opportunity to reach their full potential.

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This inspection

Young people feel safe in this home. A young person said: ‘This is a safe place to live. Staff stick up for me. I know they are always there for me and I know they really care.’ The positive and dependable relationships young people have with a consistent and committed staff team provides them with a strong sense of safety.

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This inspection

A recent incident of bullying which has occurred since the last inspection is being effectively dealt with in line with the home’s anti-bullying policy. Proactive work being undertaken with all young people aims to put a stop to any further bullying and improve relationships between young people in the home. 3 of 6 During January 2015, there was a sudden increase in incidents of young people leaving the home on an unauthorised basis and returning in the early hours of the morning. In response to this, the staff diligently followed the homes missing from home procedures to minimise risk to young people. This and some excellent joint working with the police has been extremely effective in significantly reducing incidents since that time. All incidents of unauthorised absence are recorded in detail by staff on incident forms. There is however, a lack of evidence of management review of all incidents. This shortfall is administrative and does not detract from the

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This inspection

excellent quality of care or good safeguarding practice. However, it has the potential to impede the manager’s ability to analyse patterns and trends in behaviour and improve practice in this area.

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This inspection

Young people’s behaviours stabilise and improve while living in this home. A parent said: ‘My son is doing very well. I have seen a dramatic improvement in his behaviour and our relationship has really improved.’ Staff manage challenging behaviour well by using de-escalation and distraction techniques. There have only been four physical interventions since the last inspection. All are well recorded on incident forms. They are not recorded, however, in a volume as required by the Children’s Home’s Regulations 2001. Additionally, there is no way of knowing from the incident forms whether incidents are recorded or monitored within the required 24 hours. While this shortfall is not having an impact of the welfare of young people at this time, it limits the manager’s ability to monitor, review and improve practice in relation to behaviour management.

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This inspection

The management of the home continues to be effective. Staff are well trained. All are currently undertaking social pedagogy training. This will increase staff knowledge and provide them with the skills to improve the quality of care and outcomes for young people further. A recommendation regarding the home’s learning and development programme set at the last inspection has been met. An improved monitoring system introduced ensures that mandatory training for all staff is kept fully up to date.

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This inspection

The manager has taken action to address the second recommendation made at the last inspection in relation to recruitment checks. A verbal agreement has been reached with an overseas university confirming that in addition to checks done by the university itself; full recruitment checks will be undertaken before any student commences a work placement at the home. As there have been no student placements since the last inspection and this verbal agreement and plan is yet to be put into writing, this recommendation is repeated.

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This inspection

Quality assurance systems in the home continue to be effective. Internal and external quality assurance reports identify strengths and minor shortfalls in the home. Regular consultation with young people, staff, parents and stakeholders ensure that monitoring reports are effective in driving improvements. 4 of 6

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by a local authority and provides longer-term care for up to seven young people. The home aims to provide young people with care and support for their emotional and behavioural needs.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/12/2014 Full good 28/03/2014 Interim good progress 21/08/2013 Full good 29/01/2013 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

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline in a children's home, a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose. (Regulation 17B (3)) 15/05/2015

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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 the home has a record of the recruitment and vetting checks which have been carried out on those working (including as volunteers) for the children's home which includes: identity checks, DBS disclosures, confirmation of qualifications, at least two references, checks to confirm 5 of 6 the right to work in the UK and any further checks as deemed appropriate (NMS 16.3)(a-f))  ensure the manager regularly monitors, in line with regulations, all records kept by the home to ensure compliance with the homes policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. (NMS 21.2) Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Recommendations

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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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