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

Inspection report children’s home: SC477428 1 SC477428 Registered provider: North East Lincolnshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The local authority children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children and young people who have learning and physical disabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 7 December 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC477428 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make good progress. They are happy and feel safe and secure.  There is good promotion of young people’s physical health needs and emotional well-being.  Staff work hard to overcome barriers that result from young people’s disabilities and help them to enjoy a wide range of positive experiences.  Young people attend school regularly and make expected progress.  Young people’s transitions are well planned, and are sensitive to their needs and the views of their parents.  The manager and staff have good relationships with parents and other agencies. They are committed to giving young people the best all-round support.  Young people have a strong voice in their care, and have plenty of people to advocate for them.  The manager is a good leader, and is proactive in improving the quality of life for young people.  The staff team is developing into a more cohesive team.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/06/2016 Full Outstanding 17/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 10/11/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC477428 3

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Recommendations

 Children should have separate bedrooms and should not share a bedroom with an adult (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19). When it has been decided it is appropriate to share on holiday, relevant risk assessments should fully include the potential risks and safeguarding strategies used in regard to sharing bedroom accommodation.  In accordance with regulation 5 (engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met), homes must have proactive relationships with appropriate schools and educational support services (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.7). In particular, personal education plans should be complete, up to date and detail how individual pupil premium is spent to improve the educational outcomes of children.  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and

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Recommendations

restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the above principles as set out in 9.35 are respected (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36). In particular, records relating to the use of physical intervention should give a clear justification for doing so.  The registered person is responsible for leading a team which provides high- quality care for all children living in the home. They must lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s Statement of Purpose. They should also play a key role in shaping the ethos of the home through developing a culture of high aspiration for children which is demonstrated through the care, resources and opportunities offered to the children (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4). In particular, staff turnover should be reduced.  Regulation 45 sets out the requirements for the registered person to have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in the regulation at least once every six months; see also regulation 13(2)(h) (the leadership and management standard). The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. Reviews should be underpinned by the Quality Standards as described in regulations 5 to 14 (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2). In particular, the next six-monthly quality assurance review should include the views of young people’s parents and social workers and the impact of these, and the

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: SC477428 4 quality of regulation 44 reports consistently maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress in their social interaction, communication, behaviour and independent living skills. They benefit from high levels of staff support with regard to their individual needs. This means that they have time to play, relax and try new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are very respectful and give young people a significant amount of unconditional positive regard that promotes their unique identities. Consequently, young people build strong and trusting relationships with staff, which promote their emotional well-being and empower their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s health is a priority. The manager is proactive in addressing all of their health needs, and appropriately challenges partner agencies to make sure that young people receive the best support. Young people receive specialist care in respect of health needs associated with their disabilities. This includes therapeutic support and assessment, and advice about managing their individual needs, such as continence and epilepsy. Young people are encouraged to follow a healthy diet, and enjoy regular exercise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents are positive about the quality of care. They think staff do an excellent job and provide the best for young people. They find the manager and staff supportive. There are good arrangements for family contact and staff include relatives in the care of young people. For example, one young person is able to stay overnight at a relative’s home, as staff have provided all the mobility aids needed. Relatives are welcome in the home, and are supported to go away for weekends with young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transition planning is robust and comprehensive, both for young people moving into the home and those progressing into adult accommodation. Staff ensure that there is a strong multi-agency approach, and listen to parents’ views. Consequently, decisions are made in the best interests of young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the young people have good attendance, and enjoy going to school. They are able to develop their skills and abilities and achieve the targets set for them. There are good working relationships between care and teaching staff that promote consistency and continuity for young people across different settings. Records for young people, such as personal education plans and educational and healthcare plans, are not all up to date. Details about pupil premium spending and whether this is having an impact on young people’s achievements are not included. The manager made a commitment to address this to ensure that young people are fully supported with their education.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC477428 5 Staff work hard to keep young people safe, and at the same time promote their independence and inclusion in the local and wider community. Staff do not see disability as a barrier, and try to give young people the best possible experiences, such as holidays in this country and abroad.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people benefit from having an independent advocate who visits the home unannounced. This provides additional safeguarding measures and another voice for young people. Staff empower young people to have a strong voice in the day-to-day running of the home, routines, meals and activities. When there is doubt about young people’s capacity to make choices, multi-agency meetings take place, which include young people’s relatives. At these meetings everyone agrees the best way forward, for example by making decisions about the safety and security of the home and transitions to adult services. The staff and manager are strong advocates for young people and their inclusive practice keeps young people at the centre of the service.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Although there have been changes to the staff team, there are staff who have known the young people for a long time. This has minimised the impact of change, which is important for young people who have autistic spectrum disorder and who need consistency and continuity to feel emotionally secure and safe. It is evident from young people’s progress and interaction with staff that they feel comfortable with, and have built attachments to, the staff.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

High staffing levels give young people a good level of support and supervision. Their whereabouts are known at all times. Consequently, there are no missing from home incidents. Staff know the procedures to follow should this occur and each young person has an individual missing from home risk assessment.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Risk management is generally good, and contributes to young people’s safety. Staff are skilled in avoiding known triggers and helping young people to cope with situations that may cause their anxiety levels to rise. Consistent boundaries and expectations are communicated clearly to young people. If their behaviour is challenging to the point that physical intervention is needed, staff are trained to do this sensitively, with the minimum level of restraint needed, and only as a last resort. In two out of the nine such incidents that have occurred since the last inspection, recording needed to be better. The manager is going to address this with staff at a planned team day. Records of the risk assessments for young people’s holidays did not fully include the potential risks and the safeguarding strategies used in regard to sharing bedroom accommodation. This has not directly impacted on young people and the manager acknowledged that future risk

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

assessments need to be recorded more robustly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the local authority has ensured that interim management arrangements are in place, pending the recruitment of a new manager. A new manager was appointed in April, and started in post in May 2017. She is about to move to Inspection report children’s home: SC477428 6 manage a different home and another manager is ready to take up post. There have also been a significant number of staff changes. This has had some impact on meeting the needs of young people, and has caused delays in making improvements. However, the new manager who started in May is making a positive difference. She has addressed previous shortfalls and is making the day-to-day lives of young people better. She has a lot of experience in residential childcare, and has achieved the required qualifications. The staff team has stabilised, and is developing in terms of how well it works as a cohesive team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel fully supported by the new manager. Their views and opinions about young people’s disabilities are acknowledged, which contributes to a more considered and well thought out approach to care practices. Staff have a lot of experience in working with young people who have disabilities. This is put to good use, and is supplemented with suitable training and supervision. The manager is planning more in- depth training on autistic spectrum disorder so that staff can develop their knowledge and understanding further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, improvements have included additional mobility equipment, better use of communication aids, a computer for young people and a hot tub in the garden. Staff are trained to support young people to use a local hydro-therapy pool and there is better access to other swimming and sports facilities. The new manager is proactive in enabling young people to enjoy themselves and develop their potential. Young people benefit from the good standards of care that the staff provide.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains good oversight of the running of the home so that young people receive good standards of care, and are effectively safeguarded. This will be further enhanced if the next six-monthly quality assurance review includes the views of young people’s parents and social workers and the impact of these. There is further, external scrutiny from an independent visitor (IV), who assesses the home on a monthly basis. The quality of written reports has improved since the last inspection. These highlight a number of strengths and the IV has made a small number of minor recommendations, which the manager has addressed. There has been a recent change of the IV and it is important that the quality of these arrangements is maintained, which has been an issue in the past.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works closely with families, schools and other agencies. Relatives and professionals all commented positively about the quality of the care provided for young people. Relatives particularly value the efforts of staff in supporting young people to be happy and safe, and achieve their potential.

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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 differences 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 Inspection report children’s home: SC477428 7 provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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: SC477428 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Child Care Management Team, Civic Offices, Knoll Street, Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire DN35 8LN

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Application to register in process

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Inspector

Simon Morley: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC477428 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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