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

Inspection report children’s home: SC472449 1 SC472449 Registered provider: North 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 is a local authority children’s home which may provide accommodation for up to six children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning 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 requires improvement to be 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: 14 December 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people are cared for by a consistent, effective and highly committed staff group, led by a management team with high aspirations for the young people.  The young people are made to feel welcome at the home. Their diversity is Inspection report children’s home: SC472449 2 encouraged and observed, and they are treated with respect and dignity regardless of the challenges that they may present.  The importance of providing the young people with a stable home, which gives them the opportunity to develop a sense of belonging, is recognised and realised by the home’s staff.  Transition planning works very well and encourages confident progress for the young people. They are supported into semi-independence in a bespoke provision next door to the home.  The young people have detailed care plans that identify the needs and how these should be met.  The staff understand what the risks are to the young people and individualised

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Key findings from this inspection

risk management plans are implemented to try to reduce these risks.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/12/2016 Full Outstanding 23/05/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/02/2016 Full Outstanding 27/10/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC472449 3

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What does the children’s home need to do to improve?

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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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 relation 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.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual

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Requirement Due date

30/04/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC472449 4 and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful; help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship. (Regulation 11 (1)(2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 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— that staff— help each child to understand how to keep safe; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered persons: and take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)

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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 55, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

In particular, when placements have to be accepted on an emergency basis without the relevant assessments and plans, the appropriateness of the placement is reviewed at the earliest opportunity following assessment.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. The home’s record of the event must include a description of the action taken and the outcome of any resulting investigation. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13 & 14.14)

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Recommendations

Specifically, the home’s manager must ensure that there is an effective system in place for comprehensive event recording, review and management sign-off of significant events in the home. Delays in the electronic system are reported to have impacted on this, so it is imperative that an alternative method is used by the Inspection report children’s home: SC472449 5 manager and staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people live in a six-bedded detached children’s home. The design is ideal to promote family living, while also providing the young people the option of personal space when they choose this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people experience stability of care and non-critical support that may have been absent from their lives for a substantial amount of time. The positive affirmation and encouragement given to the young people meets some basic needs and promotes developing attachment skills and feelings of increased self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Through observation and discussion during the inspection, it was clear that the young people enjoy good relationships with the staff team. Consistent boundaries provided across the staff team enhance this and young people know how staff will respond to them. Unsurprisingly, individual young people identified that they were able to get on with some staff members better than others, but all were able to say that the staff were approachable and they could always find someone to talk to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff and managers speak about each young person with a depth of understanding that indicates that they know the young people in their care very well. Comprehensive, reflective and up-to-date residential care plans completed by the staff team reflect this, and identify the actions that are necessary to meet the young people’s individualised care and support needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home accommodates young people from a number of different cultures, backgrounds and experiences. Staff are respectful of diversity, and work to meet the cultural needs of each young person. The young people largely follow the positive role modelling by staff, and as a result learn about and accept cultural diversity. The young people have the opportunity to discuss their wishes, views and experience of living in the home with staff through key-working sessions, social workers and regular contact with an independent advocate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Health and educational needs are met in so far as the young people will engage. Staff respond effectively to any immediate health concerns, and provide advice and support to young people to address any other health matters. Not all of the young people have placements in school, college or work. When this is the case, an alternative education package is provided specific to the needs of the individual young person, and alternative long-term educational options continue to be sought.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family relationships for the some young people are difficult. When appropriate, staff support the young people to improve relationships in a safe way. They recognise the impact on the young people and are compassionate in how they provide support. As an example, one young person is described as channelling all of his energy into making the Inspection report children’s home: SC472449 6 time with his family a good time for him and them. Staff are mindful of the physical impact of such an emotional situation, and he is given time to rest and recover.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transition plans for the young people to move on to independent living have predominantly very good outcomes. The design of the home gives the young people the opportunity for semi-independent living in an attached provision, where they receive needs led support by the home’s staff. This enables the young people to put into practice the independence skills that they have started to learn in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Whenever possible, the transition of the young people into the home has been in a planned and paced way. Impact risk assessments are completed prior to the management team deciding whether the home can both meet the needs of the referred young person and protect those currently in the home. Despite this careful consideration, admissions have not always been successful. The balance needed to maintain a highly positive environment has been affected, and some of the young people already living in the home have exhibited unsettled and challenging behaviours. The staff team has recognised and discussed within team meetings the impact of the current situation on the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been a number of incidents of destructive behaviour in the home, and the shared rooms are now bereft of any items other than sofas and one or two pieces of occasional furniture. The lack of homeliness as a consequence is recognised by the staff group and the young people alike. One young person has shared with a professional ‘that it doesn’t always feel like a home any more’. Staff also reflect that life in the home is different. Previous everyday family-type activities, such as snuggling down and watching the television in the evening no longer happens, with young people spending more time on their own in their rooms. The staff team has an action plan in place to address these issues and renewal furniture is on order.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive working relationships are identified between the staff and other professionals. There has, however, been delay in securing services for one young person who has been assessed as requiring specialist psychological support. The last update from the social worker about this specific service was two months ago. The staff team has received training from the identified professional and provides daily care that is informed by this. In addition, this young person is currently in receipt of tailored support to prepare him for moving to full-time education. As a school has provisionally been agreed, it would be timely for the specialist intervention to start now to support this young person take this next difficult step.

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improvement to be good

The staff team has developed detailed risk assessment plans that include input from the young people. Involvement of the young people ensures that they know staff understand their own worries, and also how staff will respond to certain risk-taking behaviours. Inspection report children’s home: SC472449 7 Since July 2017, there have been between one and four incidents of young people missing from the home each month. There is no clear pattern to this, and involves five of the six young people living at the home. Staff put into practice the home’s missing person’s protocol in line with each young person’s detailed missing from home plans. During one episode of missing from home, a young person reported that he had been assaulted by a peer in the community. Further enquiries found that the assault may have been by another young person from the home. The progress of this allegation was not recorded on the electronic missing from home record and therefore difficult for

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improvement to be good

Interviews with members of the staff team identified a clear understanding of when they are able to physically intervene if there is a serious concern, and that this response must be proportionate to the immediate risk. Case records support that the staff follow young people when they leave the home without agreement. Staff understand their responsibility to intervene on young people’s behalf if other member of staff are not acting appropriately. They are also aware of the whistleblowing policy, and know who to raise any concerns with. For the young people this knowledge ensures appropriate care and safety from the staff team.

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improvement to be good

Some of the young people in the home have been subject to high levels of bullying. The staff are aware of this and young people take part in anti-bullying activities to try to reduce the incidents of being either the victim or the perpetrator. One young person who has been subject to verbal and physical aggression from more than one of the other young people has constant supervision by staff for his own safety. Although the staff try not to make this protective measure obvious, when discussing his relationships with the staff team the young person told me that, ‘They keep watching me and I don’t get any free time.’ While it is appropriate for this young person to be supported in the community, he should expect to be able be safe at home without continuous observation.

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improvement to be good

There have been four young people admitted to the home since the last inspection, and the current group of young people live in a disrupted environment. While the situation appears to be settling down to some degree, staff recognise that the home has been very difficult to live in for some months. The young people feel that the mix is wrong in the home, and that six males together has not been very good. All young people spoken to said they felt safe living at the home, but not all were able to say why this was. One of the older residents said that although he felt safe at home, he thought that one of younger residents might not as a result of the aggression and bullying towards him. All young people spoken to are very worried about who will move in to live with them next. They are acutely aware of the delicate balance of the home and the impact on everyone when the home is disrupted. When discussing with staff their views on the forthcoming

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improvement to be good

vacancy in the home, they shared that while a group of males is difficult, the introduction of a female into this particularly group could leave that young person extremely vulnerable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC472449 8 This is an experienced and motivated staff and management team who strive to achieve the best for all of the young people in their care. The manager, who is supported by two deputies, is highly experienced in her role. Each member of the management team brings their own skills to the running of the home. The managers and staff team are currently working with a group of young people with particularly complex and challenging needs, yet despite the difficulties that this brings they have been determined to reduce placement moves when an alternative plan has been anticipated within reasonable timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The stable and consistent staff team members are qualified for their roles. Research and theoretical understanding underpins practice and assists staff in supporting the young people. Supervision meets the individual support needs of each member of staff. The staff say that when they were new to the role there was a lot of guidance on practice issues but as they became more experienced there is less need for this. Supervisions include discussions about the needs and progress of the young people, and quarterly case supervision records, which track, review and reflect on the progress of young people, are of good quality and depth. Staff team members are provided with ad hoc supervision when situations arise. This approach by managers adds to the staff’s view that they are supported, and ensures that they are able to draw on managerial advice when assessing how to meet the young people’s presenting needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Shifts are fully staffed, and no member of staff is expected to work excessive hours. This helps their emotional and physical preparedness to support the young people and appropriately address any matters that might occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management and the staff team has a clear understanding of the plans for the young people in their care. Risks are understood and although the reduction of the causes of these can be a long term piece of work, the staff team implements strategies to manage the risks and the impact.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals contacted have a high regard for the staff and management team and how it works with the young people. Comments by parents made to the independent person reflect this positive view. The change in the young people living in the home, and the impact on the home environment has been recognised by professionals. They comment, however, that they feel that the staff manage these difficulties well and have never felt unsafe in the home. One social worker shared that as a result of the ability of the staff team, they would feel confident in placing another young person in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recording systems for the home are quite complex. While there are excellent paper files, these are used in conjunction with the local authority’s electronic case file system. While it is a manager’s decision how they choose to record information, the monitoring and reviewing of key recordings is difficult. All significant events, for example serious incidents and missing episodes, are recorded on the electronic system. At times, there has been significant delay from the recording of a serious event or incident to a manager recording that they have reviewed. Inspection report children’s home: SC472449 9

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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: SC472449 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: North Lincolnshire Council, Pittwood House, Ashby Road, Scunthorpe, South Humberside DN16 1AB

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Inspector:

Angela Norrie, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC472449 11 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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