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

Inspection report children’s home: SC441553 1 SC441553 Registered provider: North East Lincolnshire Council

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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 local authority home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people who may 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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 23 February 2017

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC441553 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people are proud of where they live, the staff who care for them, and the benefit this has on their lives.  The care given to young people has an immense impact of their lives. Young people grow into mature adults, well prepared and equipped to face the challenges of life and successfully move on to independent living.  Young people enjoy exceptionally positive relationships with staff, developed from the powerful way that staff invest time and energy in young people.  Care practice is strongly influenced by research and evidence-based practice.  Care planning is comprehensive and highly individualised. Young people are fully included, with their views taken into account in decision-making. Strong partnership work gives young people the best all-round support.  Young people feel safe and secure and are free from bullying. They are keen to point out to visitors how well the staff look after them.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people actively take part in completing written safety plans. This develops their understanding of risks and improves their own views of their personal safety.  Staff provide a strong and effective response to any incident when young people are missing from the home.  The manager is an excellent leader. She is inspirational for staff and young people, as well as ambitious in helping young people succeed in life.  The staff team is strong and cohesive. Staff enjoy coming to work and are motivated to do the best for young people. Young people respond very positively to this.  The manager knows the strengths of the service and constantly aims to improve the lives of young people.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/05/2016 Full Good 18/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/06/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC441553 3

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Recommendations

 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 registered person should take action so that the quality of regulation 44 reports is consistently maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people place a lot of value in their home and the staff that support them. As one young person pointed out after reeling off a list of all the positive things, ‘You would have to be dopey not to say this place is outstanding.’ The quality of care leads to sustained improvements in the lives of young people. When considering young people’s starting points, these are exceptional achievements. The impact of the care on young people is substantial. Young people grow into mature adults, well prepared and equipped to face the challenges of life and successfully move on to independent living. Transition arrangements are comprehensive and sensitive to the different needs of young people. This is enhanced by the integrated work with the local authority’s ‘Staying Close’ project, which provides continuing support to care leavers. Young people enjoy exceptionally positive relationships with staff. These good

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

relationships develop from the powerful way that staff invest time and energy in young people and really show how much they care. This is comprehensively evident in what staff say and do with young people and the excellent record-keeping. Diary records and care plans are very child centred and, along with memory boxes, provide young people with a thorough account of their time at the home. Staff help young people celebrate their achievements and put their well-being before anything else. Care practice is strongly influenced by research and evidence-based practice and there is clinical input from the local child and adolescent mental health service. One independent professional commented, ‘Staff have done all they can. He has a strong bond with them. They have worked wonders.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC441553 4 The kitchen and dining area is the hub of the home. Staff and young people gather

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

there, eat together and talk about the day’s events. There is a high level of meaningful discussion, as well as jokes and laughter. Young people are very comfortable and relaxed and benefit from a homely environment. Young people’s attendance at school is good and they make important achievements. For example, young people sit GSCE exams and increase their attendance, when before it was very low. Staff actively promote education. Young people benefit from their increased engagement, which also helps develop their social skills and they develop a much wider view of life. When young people suffer personal setbacks, staff are very sensitive and supportive in helping them get back on track. As a result, young people are successful in obtaining places at college to further their education. Young people are in good health. They receive high levels of support to improve their emotional well-being, confidence and self-esteem. Staff have a strong understanding of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

young people’s attachment needs and respond accordingly. Consequently, young people develop their ability to self-regulate their emotions, learn to cope with difficulties, gain better negotiation skills and are able to empathise with others. Care planning is comprehensive and highly individualised. Young people are fully included, with their views taken into account in decision-making. Strong partnership work with schools, social workers, the leaving care team, parents and police gives young people the best all-round support.

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

Young people feel safe and secure. They are keen to point out to visitors how well the staff look after them. Staff consider the safeguarding of young people to be their highest priority. They strive to protect all young people from harm and work with them to reduce risk-taking behaviour. Staff are very open about their concerns with young people, including reflecting with them on risky behaviours. Young people actively take part in completing written safety plans. This develops their understanding of risks and improves their own views of their personal safety. Staff regularly involve young people’s parents and social workers in addressing young people’s individual vulnerabilities. Young people know that they are listened to and trust the adults to make decisions in their best interests. There is a strong ‘can do’ approach that balances risk and allows young people to grow and develop. For example, there are

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

plans to help move young people to independent living and to reduce restrictions on contact when appropriate safety measures are in place. Staff know and understand the risks to young people, such as self-harm, alcohol and substance misuse and child sexual exploitation. There are thorough risk management strategies in place using a strong, evidence-based social work model. Consequently, for most young people, there are significant reductions in risk. When external factors, such as family influence, undermine the persistent efforts of staff, the manager takes prompt action to review placement viability with the local authority. She ensures that there is a concerted effort by all partner agencies to keep young people safe. Staff provide a strong and effective response to any incident when young people are Inspection report children’s home: SC441553 5 missing from the home. In one particular incident, staff went above and beyond their

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

duty, which ensured that police were able to take appropriate action against an adult in the community who was a risk to young people. Young people are free from bullying and staff manage any disagreements between the young people using a well-developed restorative approach. Young people’s behaviour is very good, taking into account their backgrounds and previous difficult experiences. The strength of relationships between staff and young people is excellent, and sensible discussion with young people usually de-escalates any incidents. Staff rarely use any form of physical intervention. Consequently, young people really value and respect the home and the staff. There have been no complaints or allegations since before the last inspection. Staff listen to young people and act positively on their views and opinions. Staff are strong advocates and, when young people are treated unfairly by others, staff will take action

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is an excellent leader. She has considerable experience, is appropriately qualified, and has successfully managed the home since November 2014. Under her management, young people consistently benefit from high-quality experiences and make significant progress in their development, maturity and transition to adulthood. The manager is inspirational for staff and young people, as well as ambitious in helping young people succeed in life. She is a highly influential role model and empowers staff to develop their skills and knowledge. She has created a strong culture of restorative practice and reflection. Consequently, the staff team are enthusiastic and very positive about their work. They talk highly of the manager and their job satisfaction. The staff team is strong and cohesive. Staff enjoy coming to work and are motivated to do the best for young people. There are clear expectations for young people and a

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

desire to see them succeed. Young people respond very positively to this. The manager ensures that particular attention is given to building strong relationships with young people and that young people are thoroughly listened to. In turn, young people speak very highly of their care and how much the staff help them. The staff really do listen and feedback from young people, their relatives and partner agencies is always responded to positively. Constant monitoring, review and reflection informs the manager’s view of what works well and of young people’s progress. This is enhanced by the close partnership working with the local authority and parents. In turn, this contributes to the high-quality care planning and allows the manager to robustly address any concerns about young people’s safety and viability of their placements. Staff understand young people’s needs very well. Staff see young people as diverse individuals and sensitively drive their progress and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

celebrate their achievements. Consequently, young people’s independence, education and social skills improve and they reduce their risk-taking behaviour. Throughout, the voice of young people is strong and staff adapt well to young people’s changing circumstances. For example, staff amend transition plans when young people’s personal Inspection report children’s home: SC441553 6 circumstances have changed. The manager knows the strengths of the service and constantly aims to improve the lives of young people. External monitoring by two independent visitors demonstrates a thoroughly managed home. Although the quality of the visitors’ monitoring reports is not always consistent, this does not impact on the experiences of 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 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 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: SC441553 7

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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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Inspector

Simon Morley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC441553 8 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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