Children's home run by Northern Life Care Limited, trading as UBU in North Yorkshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC038802 1 SC038802 Registered provider: Northern Life Care Limited (trading as UBU)

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children‟s home. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 15 to 16 November 2017

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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: 23 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children‟s home: SC038802 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people benefit from receiving nurturing and personalised care that helps them in making progress.  The young people‟s health improves because they access routine health checks and access professionals to support their emotional well-being when needed.  A stable staff team delivers consistent care to the young people.  Over time, with clear rules and boundaries, the young people‟s risk-taking behaviour reduces, which keeps them safer.  The manager leads by example, promoting a good model of care.  The staff receive good support, informally and formally.  Routine monitoring of the home detects shortfalls, which are addressed to maintain a good standard of care.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children‟s home‟s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Physical intervention records must meet the requirements set out in the children‟s home regulations.  Pathway plans for those young people preparing to leave must have detailed aims with timescales, to ensure that these are met in a timely manner.  The young people‟s meetings should be led by the young people themselves, and reflect their views and opinions more effectively.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/10/2016 Full Good 02/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/05/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC038802 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children‟s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the „Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟. The registered persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— a description of the measure and its duration. Within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered to do so (“the authorised person”)— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(iv) and (b)) 28/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The children‟s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who— engage with them; and take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children‟s care and welfare and their lives. (Regulation 7(1)(a)(b) and (c)) In particular, ensure that consultation with the young people includes thorough weekly meetings and other forums that are meaningful and routinely undertaken to support them share their views and opinions. 28/12/2017

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Recommendations

 Where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child‟s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child‟s needs (see regulations 5(c)). Staff should act as champions for their children, expecting nothing less than a good parent would. The registered person Inspection report children‟s home: SC038802 4 should consider the use of an independent advocate (see paragraph 4.16) if the child‟s needs are not being met. („Guide to the children‟s home regulations including the quality standards‟, page 12, paragraph 2.8)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people benefit from receiving nurturing and personalised care that helps them to continue to make progress. The staff work tirelessly to get to know the young people and this assists in building positive relationships. The young people have made, or have begun to make, progress because of the trusting relationships they have with the staff. The staff show awareness of each young person‟s individual care and support needs. This enables young people to more confidently engage, listen to the advice given and have more beneficial daily life experiences. The young people have made varied progress from their starting points, including improved emotional resilience and health, increased education attendance and keeping themselves safer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people‟s health improves because they access routine health checks, and access professionals to support their emotional well-being when needed. The promotion of a healthy lifestyle for the young people occurs through taking part in planning menus that provide a balanced diet. This improves their long-term health and well-being. However, some of the young people smoke cigarettes and illegal substances. The staff continue to explain the dangers and consequences of these practices and work with the young people to address these matters.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The majority of the young people have an education placement and a personal education plan. The staff help the young people to understand the importance of education. The staff are committed to supporting and helping the young people to attend education or training. This has brought improvements in their school attendance and learning since the time of their admission. When a particular young person has been reluctant to engage, the staff have worked relentlessly with other professionals to find placements and apprenticeships that will better meet the young person‟s specific needs. This improves the young people‟s opportunities to access further education and employment as young adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people give their views and opinions routinely. This includes making choices that influence their daily lives through everyday conversations. The young people know how to use the complaints procedure and name particular staff whom they would go to with any concerns. The young people attend their statutory reviews and give their views about their care and the plans about their future. However, the young people‟s meetings are not a consultative experience. The young people do not set the majority of the agenda and the minutes do not reflect their views and opinions. This is a missed opportunity to build their confidence and self-esteem and to show that all their views are valued and important.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people have made good progress in re-establishing and maintaining positive Inspection report children‟s home: SC038802 5 contact with family members. The staff actively communicate with family members to support the young people when needed and keep families well informed about the young people‟s care and progress. This has enabled them to build upon their support networks and keep in touch with those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people have developed suitable independence skills appropriate to their age. This has greatly improved their ability to manage their own personal care routines, undertake household chores, plan and cook meals, travel independently and learn the skills of managing money within a budget.

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

The young people respond well to living in a safe and secure environment. This is created by the consistent care delivered, which supports the structured daily routines. The staff understand the vulnerabilities and the risks specific to each young person. The young people‟s risk-taking behaviour has reduced due to the care, routines, supportive boundaries, advice and guidance they receive. This includes a reduction in missing from care incidents and a reduced risk of child sexual exploitation. The staff and other professionals continue to work to educate the young people about the dangers of taking illegal substances.

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

The staff strongly promote positive behaviour. The young people respond well to praise, positive reinforcement and incentives. As a result, sanctions and physical restraints are low in number and decrease for individual young people over time as they respond well to the consistent care approach that makes them feel safe and secure. However, the recording of physical interventions falls short of meeting the requirements of the regulations. The records have not on all occasions reported on the holds used in detail and the manager has not authorised all of the records within the timescales stipulated.

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

Young people live in a comfortable, well-decorated and well-equipped environment that is safe. Fire, medication and health and safety checks are regularly undertaken. This helps keep young people safe within their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has been in post since May 2013 and holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. She has a wealth of experience of working with children and young people. This includes a number of years‟ experience working in managerial positions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager‟s positive role-modelling sets the standards that drive the whole staff team to provide young people with consistent good care. The care of the young people is delivered by a diverse and experienced staff team that works within the home‟s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Good partnership working with professionals and supporting agencies ensures that the young people receive individualised care and support to meet their specific needs. A Inspection report children‟s home: SC038802 6 professional said: „I‟m always kept up to date by the staff: regular calls, emails and reports; this is helpful.‟ This cooperative working makes sure that the young people receive continuing good care. However, one young person‟s pathway plan lacked all of the specific detail and timescales to complete all the necessary work relating to them preparing and moving on. The manager has not challenged the professional completing this documentation. This does not ensure that a clear and explicit plan is in place, thus not making sure that all the people involved are clear when the work must be completed in order to support the particular young person in having success in leaving the service in the agreed timeframe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A supportive environment and the receipt of valuable formal and informal supervision enable the staff to work reliably to undertake their care work with the young people. Communication between the staff is good, with daily handovers from one shift to another and regular staff meetings. The majority of the staff team members hold the level 3 diploma in caring for children and young people. The manager recognises the importance of staff training, and ensures that the required mandatory and more specialist training are planned and provided. This helps to ensure that the staff are equipped to meet the needs of the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager demonstrates a strong awareness of the strengths of the home and the areas that require work to improve. Action has been taken to address the one requirement and one recommendation made at the time of the last inspection. The external independent monthly monitoring reports now report on whether young people are safeguarded effectively and there is closer working with the virtual head of education. The internal and external monitoring detects shortfalls, which enables quick action to be taken to address the deficits. These auditing systems continue to further improve the care provided 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 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: SC038802 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northern Life Care Limited (trading as UBU)

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Linda Bilsborrow

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Inspector

Debbie Foster, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC038802 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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Inspector

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