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

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Good 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

Young people at the home are generally making good progress, particularly with regard to attendance in education. Two young people have sustained full-time educational placements which they have not previously managed. This is a great achievement for them. The home’s close links with education staff promote attendance and support young people to persevere in education even when they are struggling.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff team are stable, consistent and experienced. They develop positive relationships with the young people which enables them to form attachments and develop trust in the adults who care for them. The manager and staff team are keen to develop further and have planned training in a number of complex issues specific to the young people placed. This will help them better understand the young people and learn new strategies for ensuring their progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Family contact is positive for most young people placed and is developing in line with their needs and emerging independence. For one young person family contact had been progressed to overnight contact in his home area which was a significant step. Missing from home incidents for some young people are linked to family contact and whilst the home have followed procedures correctly one young person has been missing for an extended period, giving rise to concern about his wellbeing and safety. Missing from home episodes for some young people have no apparent triggers and the home has put steps in place to be extra vigilant to young people who may place themselves at risk by going missing.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The number of incidents of physical intervention have significantly reduced which is evidence of the staff’s skill at de-escalation and progress in the young people’s ability to self-regulate. Where physical intervention has been used the recording is of a generally good standard, although further detail about antecedents and direct links to behaviour management plans would assist in clarifying the reason physical intervention is used.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The managers understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home is very good. There is acknowledgement that the staff team are much more skilled in direct work with young people than they are in evidencing this and training and development are planned to bridge this gap. Recording is of a mixed standard although generally good. Where recording issues are identified these do not have a significant impact on the young people and are specifically issues in respect of recording and not practice.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Safeguarding practice at the home is very good. Positive interagency working allows safeguarding issues to be tackled in a comprehensive way and results in issues being fully addressed and managed in the safest possible way. Bullying within school is raised as an issue by one young person and staff and managers have taken action to ensure this issue is investigated and addressed. Positive multi- agency planning for young people including agencies such as police, social workers, education, health and CAMHS results in care planning which is robust and well informed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The homes manager has responded positively to the requirements made at the last full inspection. There have been no further errors in administering prescribed medication. Medication blister packs clearly record on both sides of the packaging whether the dose is for mornings or evenings to prevent mistakes from occurring and all staff have had further medication training. There have been no delays in notification to Ofsted of any issues requiring notification and any serious safeguarding concerns have been reported to the relevant agencies in a timely manner.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Whilst there have been two serious missing from home episodes and some minor issues identified in respect of recording, the judgement at this inspection is of improved effectiveness. This relates to the home’s response to the requirements at the previous inspection, the very good progress with attendance at education for two young people and the depth of managers’ understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses and action in respect of areas identified for improvement.

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Information about this children's home

The home is operated by a private provider who has a small number of other children’s homes in the locality. It provides a service for up to five young people with learning disabilities as well as those who experience 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

16/02/2015 Interim sustained 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

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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