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

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The well trained and resilient staff team provide nurturing care within consistent boundaries in a safe and homely environment.  The majority of young people’s emotional health and well-being are significantly improved.  All the young people attend an education placement.  Excellent partnership working ensures that young people receive consistent care.  Young people’s sense of security and belonging enable them to engage with the care resulting in some young people ceasing involvement in criminal activity.  Young people’s growth in self-esteem and confidence enable them to engage in inclusive activities within the community.

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— (a) keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and (b) notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3) (a) (b)) 07/10/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if – (a) a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;(b) an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4) (a) (b)) 07/10/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): Staff should be familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (The Guide To the Quality Standards, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, that the outcomes of interventions following any bullying episodes are fully recorded.

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home is managed by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/03/2015 Interim Sustained Effectiveness

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good

Young people enjoy living in a comfortable property which is well decorated and homely. Photographs of them involved in shared activities and with family members adorn the walls. Each young person’s bedroom is individually decorated to their taste providing them with the opportunity to express themselves. This increases their sense of belonging thereby enhancing well-being. A social worker said, ‘The home is warm and welcoming which helps to create a positive atmosphere for the young people residing there’ and a young person, ‘To be fair it is really nice here because it is comfortable and I like my room.’

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good

The committed and nurturing staff team establish firm boundaries which allow young people to feel safe and to take risks appropriate with their age and development. They work closely with partner agencies to allow young people to increase, and in some cases, re-establish important familial relationships. These benefit young people now but also enhance and maintain important cultural and community links. This contributes to their future needs when they move into independence. A parent said, ‘They keep in good contact with me.’

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good

Very good care planning ensures that young people’s holistic and diverse needs are carefully identified and fully met. The introduction of the ‘Signs of Safety’ model ensures that those young people at risk of going missing or child sexual exploitation are identified early. This provides further safeguards. A social worker reported that, ‘The staff team are knowledgeable about the young people's needs and work together as a team to create a consistent approach.’

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good

For most of the time the majority of young people enjoy excellent relationships with staff and each other. All four young people are very different to each other and are at different stages of their lives and development. Nevertheless, they are able to spend time with each other very much as a family as well as with their own friends. They can identify the staff members they are closest to and the trusting relationships they have with staff is evident. A young person said, ‘I am really happy here and all the staff are well good with me. I want to stay here until I’m 18 because I have more support here than I ever would with my mum.’ It is a testimony to the staff that young people who have moved on in to independent living maintain regular contact with the home. They visit for meals or just contact favoured staff to share their news. For example, while the inspector was present a young person who is now living independently rang the home to

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good

inform them that he had secured a place on a college course that he had really wanted. The young person said, ‘They helped me change my behaviour and how to control it. I’m happy because of them.’ Young people’s increased self-esteem and confidence in their abilities enables them to make clear progress in all aspects of their lives. For some young people these improvements are more significant than others. For example, one young person, who is a young father, is no longer involved in crime and is attending school daily. The young person said, ‘I’m really proud of myself that I haven’t been arrested since last October. I love it that I can walk down the street and the police will wave at me but they don’t stop and search me all the time because I’m not doing anything wrong. That makes me feel so free.’ Young people all have education packages within local school provision. The committed staff team maintain productive working relationships with schools and

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good

fully support young people in their learning. This can be by attending reviews of their Personal Education Plans but also by going to school events and parents evenings. As a result the majority of young people are engaged with learning. One young person is on course to take a full range of GCSE examinations and hoping to stay on to complete A levels. The virtual head teacher said, ‘The manager and his team are always extremely supportive. (School name) all reported about the excellent relationship in supporting (name).’

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good

One young person has yet to achieve the requisite 25 hours of education a week but is on a ‘sliding scale’ which encourages her to increase the number of hours she attends at school. In the meantime she is also completing a work experience programme in a local shop which provides her with immense satisfaction while she learns social and life skills. Young people’s emotional and physical health improves as a result of the example set by the staff and supportive adherence to good health plans. Young people’s appointments with mental health professionals enhance their psychological health. In addition, the regular meetings between a clinical psychologist and staff ensure young people are receiving appropriate messages from the knowledgeable staff team. A clinical psychologist reported, ‘When I visit the home for consultation meetings, the atmosphere has always been calm and relaxed and I have observed positive interactions between staff and young people.’

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good

Young people’s physical health and well-being is much improved as they learn the importance of good personal hygiene and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. They are supplied with a pass to access all of the sports and leisure activities in the town and have access to a bicycle. Staff encourage them to cycle or use the bus. This empowers young people to not only get fit but engage in inclusive activities in the community where they can make other friends.

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good

All young people confidently express their wishes and feelings. Scheduled meetings are only held intermittently as young people state that as this is their home they shouldn’t have to have a formal meeting. Instead choices expressed in discussions over the tea table and in key work sessions are captured ensuring young people’s voices are heard. In addition, two of the young people are members of the local ‘Children in Care Council’ where they have the opportunity to express their views to senior members of the local authority. This enhances their social and life skills while encouraging the development of an awareness of the needs of others. For example, one young person said that he thought that ‘it would be good for Syrian boys to be able to play football when they get here.’

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good

Young people each have a productive and fulfilled life in this home. Their social and life skills have grown to the extent that all of them have friends within the community and are actively involved in positive activities. For example, playing in a local football team, a member of the local army cadets or ‘going on an adventure to climb Mount Snowdon’. They have such a sense of belonging in the home that they welcome their friends back for tea or to have a ‘sleep-over’. The manager said, ‘He’s gone from being this young boy who was wooden with emotion, he didn't know how to accept praise, have a conversation or hug you. He has learnt how to sustain friendships and relationships and he has grown and grown.’

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good

Young people feel safe and secure in this home for the majority of the time. This allows them to engage with the care provided promoting excellent outcomes for some. Comprehensive individual risk assessments ensure staff know young people’s vulnerabilities and plan accordingly with them to learn the importance of self-protection. One young person has made exceptional progress and takes great pride in no longer being supervised by youth justice workers as he has ceased to be involved in offending behaviours. He attributes this to the support he receives in the home and his sense of belonging. The young person said, ‘I want to have a future now and feel that I’ve got one. I want what I can have with the support of these.’ There has been a marked increase in the number of missing episodes since the last inspection. These are all in relation to one young person who was new to the home. The committed staff team built up a comprehensive list of her contacts and

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good

actively searched in all known locations, including boarding a train to protect her, so that they were able to find her and bring her home. These episodes have now ceased through the support offered and robust partnership working with professionals and family members. The extensive multi-agency approach led by the home protects all residents from the risk of child sexual exploitation. An independent reviewing officer (IRO) said, ‘There was a lot of risk at the start of the placement and the staff team did everything they could to keep her safe and engage with her and we are seeing the merits of that with the progress she is making now.’ However, Ofsted were not notified in line with legislation.

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good

Young people’s well-being and sense of self are much improved and enhanced as a result of the consistent boundaries provided by the resilient staff team. A comprehensive behaviour management policy is underpinned by the good examples set by the staff team. Young people learn the benefits of behaving appropriately, not only through the use of rewards but because they want to live in a calm and nurturing home. An IRO said, ‘I think the staff team have done everything they can. They have worked very hard to build a relationship, the staff team need to take credit for that persistence.’

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good

Any bullying behaviours are swiftly addressed and young people provided with the opportunity to discuss any such incidents. Not all outcomes of these discussions have been fully recorded therefore it is not clear if all parties are happy with the outcomes. Nevertheless, no young people reported any problems with bullying at this time and were able to identify staff members they could speak with. Restorative practice is used effectively to address any negative behaviour. Young people are given the opportunity through positive discussion to choose sanctions following any inappropriate behaviour. This enables them to develop more appropriate coping mechanisms and how to make requests in a more reasonable manner. This benefits young people now and in their future adult lives. A specialist youth offending service worker said, ‘The staff are really resilient because (Name) can be so rude and nasty to staff but they never give up and the staff show her

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good

Although young people are settled and behave appropriately for the majority of the time, there are still occasions when they can respond to frustration and stress with aggression. The increase in the number of physical interventions necessary to protect all concerned have been managed properly by the well-trained staff. Young people are always given the opportunity to reflect upon the incident with trusted staff so they can learn from the experience. One young person said he was ‘Good at home because I’m happy here’.

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good

The inspirational Registered Manager is well qualified to fulfil his role. He has held Registered Manager status since 2009 and became manager of this home in August 2013. He holds the NVQ Level 4 in Health & Social Care; the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management and is an Advanced Team Teach Tutor. He knows the young people in his care extremely well and provides them with a consistent, nurturing and stable home. The virtual head teacher said, ‘Overall we have very good support from (Name).’ The manager and staff have aspiration for all young people to succeed and are able to clearly demonstrate the progress each young person makes. This knowledge is bolstered by good multi-agency working which ensures that young people receive consistent messages from all involved in their care. Individual Progress Plans are developed together with young people. This empowers them to recognise their own successes while making positive request for future ambitions.

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good

The majority of young people therefore are able to use this support to aim for recognised and achievable goals. Young people are cared for by well-trained staff who are effectively supported through good quality supervision as well as more informal day-to-day contact with managers. The local authority has recently undergone a restructure resulting in a change in shift patterns for staff. They are still in the process of getting used to this new way of working and not all staff have welcomed the change. They have not allowed this to negatively affect the care of young people. One staff member said, ‘I think the kids feel comfortable with us, they know us, they like the continuity, the consistent staff, the boundaries, it definitely works for them’ and another commented, ‘For them to see the nurturing, kind males who divert them in to positive activities is very helpful for them.’

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good

Good external monitoring reports clearly identify whether young people are being safeguarded and their well-being promoted. The manager is in the process of completing his first internal report under the new regulations. He, and the senior care officers, are utilising their internal auditing processes and the views of young people and other interested parties to inform that report. A comprehensive Statement of Purpose provides a clear picture of the care to be provided in the home. Consequently young people are appropriately placed enhancing their opportunities for success. However the manager has not provided the HMCI with a copy of the updated report which is a breach of legislation. The proactive staff team contact partner agencies regularly to keep them informed of all developments and, if necessary, to request copies of relevant documentation. The excellent relationships built between the manager, staff and partner agencies

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good

provides young people with consistent and targeted interventions. This provides safeguards, enhances the quality of care young people receive and reduces the opportunity for areas of development to be missed. A specialist missing person professional said, ‘We have a really close relationship. There are staff there that have invested a lot in keeping (Name) and all young people safe. They have really thought outside the box to keep them safe.’

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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