Children's Home run by North Lakes Children’s Service Limited in Cumbria

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceeds the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Children are helped to settle quickly into the home and begin to make progress from the very start of their placement. Their progress is then maintained over the duration of their stay in the home.  The relationships that develop between care staff and children are based on trust, understanding and respect. This helps children feel safe and to know they are genuinely cared about.  Children are helped to develop independence and to take some measured risks in line with their age and ability to assist them in making a gradual transition towards adulthood.  Comprehensive and individual plans are in place for each child, which clearly identify their areas of need and the plan for progression in each area. This ensures all needs are met and that progress is continuous.  The wishes and feelings of children are actively sought in order to ensure they are happy in the home.  Excellent work is done with young people following incidents of upset or

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

challenging behaviour to help them understand their feelings and the impact of their behaviours on others.  Boundaries are firm, they are applied consistently and are considered by the children to be fair which promotes positive behaviour.  There are no incidents of missing from home, no children who are subject to (or at high risk of) child sexual exploitation and no drug or alcohol misuse which contributes significantly to children’s safety.  The management of the home is extremely robust with clear evidence of drive and determination to deliver the best care to children and promote their chances of future success.

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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

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure that;

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Requirement Due date

Staff take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. Specifically if a child threatens to self- harm then appropriate action should be taken to ensure the child is adequately monitored. (2) (a) (vi) 26/2/16

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the privacy of children is appropriately protected. This relates specifically to room searches of children's bedrooms not being undertaken unnecessarily (21 (a)) 26/2/16

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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

 Staff should understand and help children to understand what makes a healthy, nurturing relationship. Staff should be skilled to recognise the signs and provide support to children in danger of or involved in exploitative or damaging relationships with others and where possible prevent these types of relationships. This relates to reducing the number of incidents where children cause offence to each other by being disrespectful about each other's family or making racist comments specifically to hurt another child. (The guide to the quality standards 8.10, p.39)

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Recommendations

 The specific responsibilities of the home towards supporting the health and wellbeing of each child should be agreed with the placing authority and recorded in the child's placement plan. It is the joint responsibility of the registered person and the placing authority that this is agreed at the time of placement. (The guide to the quality standards 7.7, p.34)

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Information about this children's home

This home is operated by a private provider, who has three other children’s homes in the locality. The home provides a service for up to 8 young males between the ages of nine and 14 who may be experiencing a range of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The organisation also operates a school, registered with the Department for Education, providing fully integrated programmes of care and education.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

20/03/2015 Interim improved effectiveness

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outstanding

Children make excellent progress from their starting points across a range of areas. There are systems in place to track children’s progress and development so that children and staff remain focussed and progression is continuous. The children benefit from care that is highly individualised and can be confident that their complex individual needs are understood.

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outstanding

The quality of the relationships between staff and young people are consistently high and children report positive relationships. One child commented ‘I have a very good relationship with [staff] and I see her a lot, I am getting to know the newer staff better, but there are some I really trust’. Although there have been some recent changes to the staff team this has been managed with consideration so as not to negatively impact on the children.

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outstanding

Children report that they are happy living in the home and observations of them fully support this. One child said ‘I am happy living here, it is the best home I have been in, it’s been good since I have been living here.’ Another young person commented ‘I like it, it is the best home I have ever come to. I haven’t liked any of the other homes before.’

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outstanding

Relationships between the children living at the home are generally good. However there is a trend at present for young people to insult each other by making negative comments about each other’s family members or comments about their race which results in children becoming very upset and at times aggressive. The incidents are well managed by staff and work is undertaken regarding respecting each other, however, this work needs to be fully embedded before the benefits are seen and children cease making such comments.

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outstanding

Some children, who have previously not engaged in education or any activities now have 100 percent attendance at education and are involved in choosing and enthusiastically participating in activities. Activities are tailored to children’s age and interests, with some attending football club, youth zone and Cadets whilst others go for country walks, play imaginary games in the woods and build dens. Where children have suffered from trauma and abuse there is a strong focus on rebuilding their ability to play and have the opportunity to be a child without additional worries and responsibilities.

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outstanding

The home has commissioned services from a charitable organisation providing therapeutic services. Many of the young people benefit from the range of therapies on offer and are assisted to work through issues that are affecting them and are a barrier to their progress.

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outstanding

Children are healthy and receive very good support in relation to their health needs, however the home needs to ensure that any health condition a child is diagnosed with is clearly recorded in the health section of their placement plan.

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outstanding

Contact with family members is supported by the home. A key strength of the home is their understanding of the impact that contact has on children’s behaviour, and how best to support them to understand and manage their feelings around contact. Staff provide supervision to ensure the children are safe during contacts.

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outstanding

The staff team are committed to understanding the children in their care and they consistently and imaginatively engage them in order to ascertain their views. There are a range of strategies in place for children to express themselves and each child is supported to have their say.

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outstanding

The home provides a vibrant and stimulating environment where children are happy and nurtured and so make great strides forward in their wellbeing and behaviour.

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good

Risk assessment in this home is thorough, detailed and dynamic. Assessments evidence that risks to young people are well understood and clearly identify ways to mitigate risk.

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good

It is recognised by the home that due to its rural location and having the school on site, children are not exposed to risks they would normally encounter. As a response to this the home has identified ways for children to begin to take some assessed and managed risks, in order to allow them to progress. Some children therefore have been allowed to progress to having short amounts of free time in the local community. The children participated in ’stranger awareness’ and road safety’ training as part of this progression.

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good

Despite appropriate parental controls being in place, some young people have exposed themselves to risk through their use of the internet and social media. This was identified as a shortfall by the manager of the home prior to the inspection, who arranged additional training in e-safety and on-line protection for young people and staff in order to increase their understanding of the risks. As a result, there have not been any further incidents and internet use continues to be effectively supervised.

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good

Children believe the boundaries to be fair and it is apparent that the staff teams work closely together to ensure consistency and to share best practice so that children receive the same response to their behaviour irrespective of who is on shift.

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good

For some children physical intervention is used with relative frequency. Interventions are recorded in minute detail and each incident has management oversight and analysis as well as an opportunity for the child and the staff to reflect. Work is undertaken following some incidents for further reflection. Staff have a detailed understanding of the triggers for children to go into crisis and work to avoid or reduce these wherever possible. Although the number of physical interventions can be high, upon analysis this is in line with issues affecting children’s behaviours and is proportionate.

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good

Following threats of some young people to self-harm, there have been two incidents where staff have not followed the correct safeguarding procedure. At times of distress children have not had increased monitoring by staff to safeguard them effectively. These shortfalls were identified immediately after the event on both occasions by managers and robust action has been taken to address the issues with all staff to prevent a re-ocurrence. There have been no further incidents of this type and the manager’s actions have been effective in addressing the risks.

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good

Room searches are completed in line with risk, where there is a possibility that they could have in their possession something that could cause them harm. This is a rare occurrence but on one occasion a room search was carried out unnecessarily which is an invasion of their private space. This issue was identified by managers prior to the inspection and steps and guidance had been implemented to address the issue with staff and prevent further incidents from occurring.

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outstanding

The home is managed by an enthusiastic and motivated manager who is suitably qualified and experienced. The manager clearly prioritises the needs of the children placed in the home and has developed an ethos where the child is at the centre of the home’s practice. Extremely high standards of care are set and staff are encouraged and supported to reach these standards. Managers have clear understanding of the needs of the children and oversee the development of plans which are commensurate with their needs. This ensures that children make positive and continuous progress. Where any child’s progress falters this is identified at an early stage and support is put in place to address any issues they may be facing. Safer recruitment practices are used to ensure that children are cared for by adults who are suitable for the job. The children are actively involved in the interview process for new staff which means they invest in new staff from the start.

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outstanding

New staff are provided with a high level of support and a thorough induction before they commence working with the children. This allows them to be fully prepared and trained in all the essential areas to provide safe and effective care. Supervision is used to very good effect and its frequency can be increased or reduced dependant on the needs of individual staff. Supervision notes clearly identify where issues have been addressed and state actions identified for improvement. Staff feel supported and are encouraged to share good practice and put forward new ideas for development. Staff morale is high and staff are competent, confident and professional. Good use is made of both internal and external monitoring and any areas for improvement are identified in a timely way and acted upon ensuring continuous development of the home. Positive relationships are developed between the home and a wide range of

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outstanding

external agencies to promote all-round support for the children. The home makes use of local community resources, such as the skate park and school football field, to enable the children to make friends in the local area. The home acts as a strong advocate for children where responses from other services are not effective or plans are put forward that are believed not to be in the child’s best interests.

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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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