Children's home run by Northern Life Care Limited T/A UBU in North Yorkshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC035816 1 SC035816 Registered provider: Northern Life Care Limited T/A UBU

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. It provides care and accommodation for up to five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties .

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 There has been a period of instability since the last inspection, with a number of staff leaving the service and with new young people struggling to adapt to coming to live at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC035816 2  The strategies identified to be undertaken to reduce the risks when young people are absent or go missing from care have not been consistently implemented in line with their plans and protocols.  Staff’s mandatory training is not always delivered in a timely manner to new staff, to equip them with all the knowledge and skills to undertake their roles and duties.  Not all young people have received regular direct work on areas identified in their plans to strengthen their knowledge and understanding in preparation for independence and keeping themselves safe.  The reduction in experienced staff employed has affected the implementation of search and checks being carried out when young people do not return home and

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is a strong and experienced manager and senior team, who provide good role models to new staff members, to provide child-focused care.  Young people leaving the service have had well-planned transitions to new placements or returned home to family members.  Two experienced staff have joined the staff team.  Staff morale has begun to improve and staff are well supported.  Good information sharing with other professionals and agencies ensures that all relevant persons are kept fully informed of young people’s care, incidents, events and progress.  The quality of regulation 44 monitoring of the service has improved.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/12/2016 Full Good 03/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC035816 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must ensure that staff –

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Requirement Due date

If the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relations to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must challenge placing authority decisions if these do not ensure young people’s safety. Make certain that agreements made at reviews and strategy meetings are being promptly acted upon by allocated professionals. 15/10/2017

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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, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure –

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Requirement Due date

that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(1) and (2)(a)(i)) 05/09/2017

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Recommendations

 The relevant plan may include a strategy for a particular type of care, treatment or intervention. The care staff will need to understand the purpose of any such care and the way in which the past experiences of abuse or neglect may manifest itself in the day-to-day life of the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.15) In particular, staff must carry out regularly direct work with young people on the identified areas in their plans, including independence work, and keeping safe.  The registered person must specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the Inspection report children’s home: SC035816 4 home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28) In particular, that they follow the strategies set out in support and risk plans in full, including searching and checking that the young person is where they state they are.  As outlined in 10.1, the registered person should plan staffing levels to ensure that they meet the needs of children and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. Staffing structures should promote continuity of care from the child’s perspective. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.15) In particular, suitable staffing resources must be available to follow young people’s plans, including the need to search and check addresses where they are staying in all instances.  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand they key

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Recommendations

role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) In particular, that staff access all mandatory training at the earliest opportunity to equip them fully to understand their roles and carry out their duties.

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improvement to be good

Three out of six young people living at the home since the last inspection have made progress, having stable education placements, improved behaviour, positive relationships with staff and learning life skills that prepare them well for moving on to semi- independence placements or return home to live with family members. However, for other young people moving to live at the home more recently, their behaviour remains unsettled, their engagement with staff limited and their attendance in education has been sporadic or declined. This has occurred even though staff promote the importance of education. A number of changes in the staff team have affected the young people’s ability to build strong and trusting relationships with the staff.

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improvement to be good

Some of the young people have gained a good level of life skills in preparation for independence. They have been well supported by staff to prepare and move to new placements, visiting their new accommodation and meeting support staff, and having overnight stays before a planned move. However, for some of the young people, the learning of independent life skills has been limited; due to them spending time away from the home, they have been reluctant to engage routinely. Staff have not been able to undertake sufficient direct work. This has significantly reduced young people’s ability to learn valuable self-care skills to prepare them fully for leaving care.

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improvement to be good

The young people are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles. They benefit from attending health appointments with the support from staff, and eat a balanced diet. Staff make Inspection report children’s home: SC035816 5 sure that the young people have access to specialist services, for example support for their emotional well-being and for their specific needs about substance misuse. However, some refuse to access this support. Staff continue to support the young people to engage with these health professionals so that their health needs are met and improve.

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improvement to be good

Most of the young people benefit from regular contact with their families. Staff make certain that visits to family take place where appropriate. This enables the young people to maintain relationships with those who are important to them, strengthening family links and reinforcing their identity.

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improvement to be good

The young people benefit from regular consultation, giving their views and preferences about their daily lives and are involved in making decisions about their own futures. One young person said: ‘We tell the staff what we think,’ and, ‘We have residents’ meetings and decide what activities we want to do and meals we would like. I go to my review.’

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improvement to be good

The young people live in a positive and safe environment. The decoration and furnishings are to a good standard throughout, with homely touches. The young people are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms. Recent decoration, new carpets and floor coverings give the young people a clear message that they deserve a comfortable home to live in.

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improvement to be good

In the main, the young people respond well to the clear and consistently delivered expectations about positive behaviour and daily routines. Staff demonstrate a good awareness of the young people’s routines and boundaries. They are effective in managing challenging behaviour. Most of the young people respond well to calming and redirection techniques. This means that the use of physical intervention is rarely used.

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improvement to be good

High levels of missing from home and absent without authority incidents mean that some of the young people continue to be vulnerable and at risk of harm. Staff have worked tirelessly with other professionals and agencies, reviewing the strategies used to try to reduce and stop this risk-taking behaviour. Staff frequently contact the young people by telephone when they go out to check that they are safe and well. The placing authorities have authorised for the young people to stay at friends’ homes. In most instances, staff follow the missing from care protocols. However, there are occasions when some young people’s whereabouts remain unknown during the day and night. Staffing arrangements have not been effective in all instances to allow staff to go and search for the young people in line with their plans. They have not always been able to verify that the young people are staying at authorised addresses. This does not ensure

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improvement to be good

the safety of the particular young people concerned.

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improvement to be good

Most of the young people engage in discussions with staff about how to improve their own safety and welfare. This includes key issues in the young people’s lives, such as family relationships, rules and boundaries, and the dangers of going missing, Inspection report children’s home: SC035816 6 consequences of causing damage and positive behaviour. Staff are motivated to keep young people safe. However, for particular young people, they have not engaged in regular direct work with staff or taken on board the advice and guidance given. As a result, these young people’s safety remains a concern.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has been in post since 2011 and has a wealth of experience working with children and young people. She holds a Diploma level 5 qualification in leadership and management. The manager demonstrates an understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. She clearly recognises the reasons behind the decline in the overall experience for some young people’s progress in the last few months, which she is already working to address.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

In recent months, there has been a depletion in the permanent staff team complement, as experienced staff have left the service. As a result, there has been the frequent use of staff from another service and the use of agency staff occasionally. The provider has responded by transferring two experienced staff to strengthen the team on a permanent basis. However, new staff have not yet established trusting relationships with the young people. As a result, they have not always been able to engage some of the young people positively. This has adversely affected the quality of care delivered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is a committed and child-centred core staff team. Its members state that they receive good support from the manager and senior team. After a decline in morale, this is now improved. Staff continue to be positive about their work with the young people. A staff member said: ‘I haven’t been working here long and have found that the team work well together and are caring.’ Staff receive regular formal supervision, team meetings and daily handovers that promote positive communication. Due to changes in the staff team, a number of new staff are undertaking the Diploma level 3 qualification in caring for children and young people. Deficits have been found in providing all required mandatory training. New staff are not receiving all of this training in a timely manner, for example safeguarding, first aid and child development. This does not ensure that new staff are equipped fully with the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of all

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been a number of anonymous allegations and complaints made about staff conduct. These matters have been referred to the designated officer for safeguarding and have been investigated. Suitable and prompt action has been taken to safeguard the young people and appropriate records kept of the action taken and the outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is continued collaborative working with a number of professionals, including social workers and the police. Professionals said: ‘The staff are very positive in working with us. They are very accommodating when I visit and try to implement [Name’s] plan, working very hard to engage the troubled young person,’ and ‘Communication is good.’ Staff inform professionals of the progress of the young people, as well as when any serious matter or concerns arise. Consequently, everyone is kept up to date with incidents, events and the progress of young people. However, there has been a lack of Inspection report children’s home: SC035816 7 robust challenge from the manager when professionals have not promptly responded to concerns about young people’s declining behaviour and increased risk-taking. This relates to placement moves and missing from care events and authorised absences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has taken action to address the one requirement set at the last inspection. Improvements have been made to the independent visitor’s report and this now includes the visitor’s opinion on whether children are safeguarded effectively and their welfare promoted. The monitoring systems have detected a number of shortfalls and these have been addressed routinely, to focus on providing suitable care to the young people.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC035816 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northern Life Care Limited T/A UBU

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 Haywra Street, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG1 5BJ

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Inspector

Debbie Foster, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC035816 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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