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

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Outstanding at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home continues to offer a high level of nurture and excellent quality care to the young people placed. Children and young people benefit from staff who understand their care needs and are skilled at working with them to achieve positive outcomes.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people report feeling safe in the home and recognise that staff do their best to keep them safe. They understand the rules and boundaries and feel that any consequences put in place are fair and proportionate. Children and young people at this home do not go missing, nor are they involved in anti-social or criminal behaviour. They do not misuse alcohol or drugs. Children who have specific identified risks have plans in place to ensure they are safeguarded and that other children they may pose a risk to are also kept safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Where a risk of child sexual exploitation (CSE) is identified the home ensures the child’s safety for example by limiting their internet use to fully supervised and for school work only. They also collate information and pass this on to children’s social workers and the police. The police have visited the home to undertake work with the young people to raise their awareness of CSE.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Some young people continue to require physical intervention to manage their behaviour. For most young people this decreases over time and staff have a good understanding of the triggers for challenging and escalating behaviours. When physical interventions increase for a young person there is detailed analysis of the patterns and trends to enable better understanding of the reasons for this. Staff are skilled in de-escalation and in most instances can avoid the need to physically manage behaviour. Young people report that physical intervention is only used as a very last resort. They make use of the opportunity following a physical intervention to express their views about it.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is a much improved response to young people who threaten to self-harm. Regular monitoring is put in place with checks on the young person recorded throughout the night, thus ensuring young people’s safety. The home provides the young people with a homely and welcoming environment. Each young person has their own bedroom with en-suite bathroom. The children and young people are encouraged to personalise their rooms and one young person had their bedroom paint matched to the colour of a Lego brick he particularly liked and has thoroughly personalised his space. Children and young people’s privacy is respected and room searches are carried out only when necessary to ensure young people’s safety and welfare. Room searches are covered in the manager’s weekly checks to ensure their use is appropriate.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are encouraged to take part in a wide variety of activities in order to keep them healthy and enable them to make peer friendships outside of school. They eat a varied and healthy diet which they report high levels of satisfaction with. One young person rated the food as one hundred out of one hundred. Young people’s health information and prescribed medications are clearly recorded in their placement plans which allows the reader to see their diagnosed conditions and medications even where they elect not to take them.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are encouraged to respect each other and not to make derogatory comments about each other’s families and their race. Staff work hard to ensure young people are protected from hurtful comments and undertake work with young people who make such comments in order to develop their understanding of the impact of their behaviour.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A particular strength of the home is the extent to which staff advocate on young people’s behalf where they feel other agencies are not delivering a high quality service. This helps to ensure young people’s needs across all areas are met. The home works well in partnership with other agencies, particularly with the on-site school to deliver a joined up approach to meeting the young people’s needs.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers have worked hard since the previous inspection to successfully address the areas identified for improvement. Development plans are in place to ensure continuous improvement and the manager has high standards in place for the staff team and provides support for them to achieve an excellent level of care. Monitoring activities, both internal and external, are of an extremely high quality and enable areas for improvement to be identified and acted upon.

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Information about this children's home

The 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 eight 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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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection 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

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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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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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