Children's home run by North East Lincolnshire Council

Inspection report children‟s home: SC058750 1 SC058750 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

A local authority operates and runs this home. It provides care for up to four young people whose plan is to live in a medium- to long-term residential setting. The manager is suitably qualified and has been in post since September 2015. She became the registered manager in June 2016.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 18 September 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC058750 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/09/2017 Full Good 28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/11/2016 Full Good 10/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC058750 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

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular the registered person must ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child‟s health (Regulation 12 (2) (d)). The registered manager must keep the site safety log up-to-date; evidence the safety of the electrical installation of the home; and that the fire alarm system and fire extinguishers have been professionally checked and are functional. 30/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose. And that staff work as a team where appropriate (Regulation 13 (2) (a) & (b)). In particular, ensure that all staff are up-to-date with the needs, experiences and progress of children and that relevant information is shared in a timely manner with partner agencies. 30/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI. (Regulation 16 (2)) 30/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children‟s home if full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2 (Regulation 32 (2) & (3)(d). In particular, ensure that for each member of staff there is a record of their full employment history, together with a satisfactory written explanation of any gaps in employment. 30/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. The registered person must— supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) & (4)(a)) 30/09/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC058750 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff treat all the children and young people as individuals and provide them with stability and good levels of care. Consequently, the children and young people build positive relationships with the staff and make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person has moved successfully to foster care and the others mature, improve their behaviour, become more confident and resilient, and develop new skills. At times, children and young people do suffer setbacks that affect their progress. Staff stand by them and provide reassurance and emotional support. Social workers and independent reviewing officers speak highly of the staff team‟s efforts and the positive difference they make in the lives of the children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote the education of the children and young people. Most of the children and young people achieve well at school and their attendance is high. The staff sensitively support the children and young people with school transitions and ensure that they attend schools that can meet their needs. There is good communication with schools about the children and young people‟s needs and well-being. The staff from schools are welcome in the home to encourage attendance and promote continuity over the summer break.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people have a good say in the day-to-day running of the home, from daily conversations, regular meetings and key-work sessions with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people influence meal choices, activities and holidays, and are consulted about decisions regarding their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people enjoy a wide range of leisure activities and their individual interests are promoted. One young person is a student leader at school and takes part in the local children-in-care council. The staff encourage the children and young people to develop their talents and skills, which boosts their self-esteem. The staff acknowledge that the children and young people often prefer to spend time with their friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff assist the children and young people to maintain and develop important relationships with their family. This promotes their sense of identity and family belonging.

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

The children and young people have a safe place to live. The staff understand the risks to children and young people‟s safety and know their individual vulnerabilities. Consequently, the staff take appropriate action to protect the children and young people from harm. Good care practice is underpinned by detailed risk assessments and risk- reduction strategies that promote the children and young people‟s safety. Inspection report children‟s home: SC058750 5 The staff regularly talk to the children and young people, explaining any concerns and discussing how risk-taking behaviour can lead to difficulties. The main focus of risk has been around children and young people‟s missing from home incidents. Although the number of these increased from May to July, there is now a significant reduction.

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

In a lot of cases, when children and young people have been missing they return home late or the next morning. Regardless of the circumstances, staff are persistent in attempting to locate children and young people and ensure their safe return. Staff work with partner agencies, such as the police, local authority and parents, to find children and young people and plan how to reduce the number of incidents.

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

The commitment that the staff show to children and young people to keep them safe communicates how much they are cared about. The children and young people benefit from the stability and security that the staff provide.

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

Behaviour management strategies are personalised to each child and young person. The children and young people respond to rewards and incentives for good behaviour. Staff use this successfully rather than use punitive measures for inappropriate behaviour. There are clear expectations and boundaries that provide children and young people with positive structure and routines. The behaviour of children and young people improves and there is better placement stability as a result. In contrast, children and young people have experienced previous placements that broke down.

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

The recruitment process does not always ensure that the provider obtains a complete employment history of staff. On the occasion this happened, the impact for children and young people was minimal, as a wide range of background information about the staff member was available to the registered provider.

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

The manager is experienced and is committed to improving the lives of children and young people. She has taken action to address the improvements recommended at the last inspection and, where possible, those made by the independent visitor. Documented evidence was not available at the time of the inspection to demonstrate that health and safety recommendations had all been resolved, though the manager was confident they had been. Although staff had completed the latest weekly fire safety checks, these are not routinely carried out on a weekly basis as they should be.

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

Communication between the staff is not always good and information sharing with some partner agencies is not consistently maintained. This compromises how well the staff work together and with other professionals to ensure that children and young people received the best possible support. Social workers are regularly updated and communication with schools is good. There is multi-agency debate and decision making to address any concerns about the safety and welfare of the children and young people.

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

Information about the home, such as the last internal review of the quality of care and the statement of purpose, have not been submitted to Ofsted as required by regulation. Inspection report children‟s home: SC058750 6 These documents are available in the home and although a breach of regulation, this has not impacted on the welfare of the children and young people.

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

The manager and staff plan the care of children and young people using an evidence- based social work model. This focuses on promoting the strengths of children and young people and addresses risks to their welfare and safety. The staff do not always demonstrate a good understanding of the children and young people‟s needs. This potentially can compromise the welfare of the children and young people.

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

The manager has developed care planning and recording systems to track children and young people‟s achievements and progress. Consequently, staff are proactive in celebrating children and young people‟s success, and provide them support in times of crisis and with personal difficulties.

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

The staff receive supportive guidance from the manager and senior care staff on a day- to-day basis and through informal and formal supervision. There is a suitable staff training programme and the manager supplements this with workshops about particular areas of practice. Combined with regular discussions about the needs of children and young people, staff practice and record keeping, the staff team is empowered to provide good standards of care.

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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: SC058750 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: SC058750 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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