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

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to have positive experiences from their respite care and the service is maintaining its track record of helping young people to avoid coming into care. Staff successfully support young people to develop their social skills, improve their resilience and independence, while providing relatives and carers with a break. Ultimately this helps young people benefit from a better home life.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff advocate strongly for young people and support them do so themselves. In doing so, staff have prevented children’s services from closing a young person’s case and secured him an adult social worker to support his transition into adult care. Another young person felt empowered to make his own complaint to the local leisure service.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people receive good levels of advice and support and learn to manage difficult situations. The caring and nurturing staff help young people to open up and talk about their feelings.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Respite care arrangements help the young people make new friends, improve their hygiene and self-care skills, take more pride in their appearance, learn new practical skills in the kitchen and travel independently. Young people are supported to stay in school and one young person was able to return to a mainstream provision. The care and support that they receive make a strong positive impact.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The quality of record-keeping about young people’s experiences is better. Diary records reflect more of the care and support that staff give young people about their behaviour and feelings. Progress reports include young people’s views about their achievements. These reports and other records are not always clearly dated, which compromises the manager’s oversight of young people’s care.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has improved the six-monthly reviews of the service by including the views of young people, their parents and social workers. Feedback about the home is positive, especially from social workers. These reviews still need to focus more on the quality of care provided by the home, the experiences of young people and the impact that their care is having on them. This was recommended at the last inspection and has not been fully completed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The independent visitor’s monthly reports are more robust and contribute towards continuous improvements. There are two independent visitors who alternate on a six-monthly basis. It is important that they maintain the quality of reports when they swap over.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Missing from home practice is better, with young people receiving an independent return home interview after they have been missing. However, staff practice in relation to finding young people when they are missing varies, without any clear rationale. Risk assessments about going missing from home are not fully developed and this compromises the strategies that staff use to keep young people safe. Risk assessments completed by social workers at the point of referral do not always reflect the staff’s experience of the young people placed in the home. The manager has undertaken a commitment to improve this so that staff practice reflects the current dangers to young people and keeps them safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff strive to work in partnership with young people’s social workers and relatives. Although staff are attending more child in need meetings, it is not always clear how the provision of respite care for young people fits with the placing authority’s aims for their families. It would be beneficial, particularly in reviewing the service, to have a clear plan of the aims of respite care in terms of the overall package of support for a family.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A senior manager, in conjunction with the staff on duty, makes decisions about the emergency use of the crisis bed. It is not clear, particularly in relation to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, how robustly the impact and risks of these placements on other young people are assessed. It is recommended that this practice is reviewed, with a strong emphasis on demonstrating that this is safe.

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home provides a service for families with children on the verge of coming into the care system. Young people generally stay on a planned short break for one or two nights a week. One of the three places is a dedicated crisis bed and used in the event of emergency placements.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 15/08/2016 Full Good 09/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/10/2015 Full Outstanding 24/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure that children’s needs are met.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this quality standard, in particular to work collaboratively with social workers to ensure that the provision of respite care meets a child’s needs, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff – (a) seek to involve each child’s placing authority in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, with regard to keeping risk assessments for going missing from home up to date and implementing individual strategies when young people are missing or absent; the registered person must ensure that – (2)(b) the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review, the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating – the quality of care provided for children the feedback and opinion of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b)&(c)) 31/03/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) In particular, this includes emergency admissions.  Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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 that 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 whom 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 0300 123 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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