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

Inspection report children’s home: SC380956 1 SC380956 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 provides a service for families with young people on the verge of coming into the care system. Young people generally stay on a planned short break for one or two nights a week. One of the three bedrooms is a dedicated crisis facility, used in the event of emergency placements.

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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: 27 September 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/09/2017 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/08/2016 Full Good 09/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC380956 2

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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 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)) 31/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)) In particular, ensure that the admissions and discharge log book is up to date. 31/10/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person must specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28) In particular, to individualise the missing persons action plans so that they include details about timescales for staff actions in relation to the last time a child was seen.  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

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Recommendations

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, to ensure that the next six-monthly quality assurance review includes an evaluative commentary about the outcomes for young people and about the survey information from stakeholders.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people enjoy coming here for short breaks. They like to take part in the activities, they make new friends and have good relationships with the staff. The choice Inspection report children’s home: SC380956 3 of activities has improved, including trips to theme parks, a visit to London and a sleepover at The Deep.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

New experiences benefit the young people. The short breaks are not all about fun, as the young people develop their social skills and understanding of safe, positive relationships. Young people grow in confidence and develop coping strategies for difficult situations. Consequently, their behaviour improves, and they enjoy better quality relationships with their relatives. The staff are successful in helping over 70% of the families that they support to stay together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people develop trusting relationships with the staff. They return to the home, outside of their scheduled short breaks, to seek out support, help and advice from the staff. The young people feel comfortable with the staff and are confident that the staff will provide them with the extra support they need. For example, staff have helped a young person go to college and start a part-time job. The staff speak to the young people in between short breaks and work closely with other services to help maintain good outcomes for the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff plan well in advance for new young people, helping them to feel at ease when they have their first short break. The manager ensures that the staff know sufficient information about young people to provide them with individualised care. This has improved since the last inspection. For those young people who do not want to stay overnight, staff are flexible in providing outreach support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been substantial investment in the home, with significant refurbishment. The young people enjoy a very homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff use young people’s ‘residential planners’ to promote agreed outcomes and targets. The young people and their social workers are positive about the difference the staff make in their lives. The manager is developing the care planning records further to be more effective in tracking young people’s progress.

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

The young people feel safe. There is no bullying reported and the young people feel well looked after. The home is a safe haven for all of the young people that use the service.

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

The staff are good at engaging the young people in meaningful activities. As a result, the times that young people are missing from the home are rare. The manager has ensured that risk assessments and the missing person’s action plans are all up to date. These could be more individualised by including specific times that staff would report young people missing. Staff practice is good, and involves staff searching for young people to ensure that they return safely.

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

Staff know the young people’s individual vulnerabilities and good practice is underpinned by up-to-date risk assessments. The staff support young people to learn about e-safety and to reduce the risks of exploitation, both online and in the local community. The Inspection report children’s home: SC380956 4 young people reduce their risk-taking behaviour and they enjoy spending time together, leading to more tolerance and respect for each other.

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

The young people’s behaviour is very good. Staff do not need to use sanctions or physical intervention. Staff talk to young people and set clear expectations and boundaries. They support young people to think about relationships and consider how they can stop falling out with their siblings and parents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post almost a year and has established her leadership role. She has made significant improvements that benefit young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

She has worked closely with the local social work teams to promote the service and maximise the number of vulnerable families and young people that can be supported. This has been so successful that there is now a waiting list for the short-break provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The flexibility of the service means that the staff can provide more targeted outreach support to help families where the need is the greatest, such as with transporting young people to school.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the staff are engaging more frequently in the young people’s multi-agency meetings. This has led to better information sharing and improved partnership work, particularly with social workers. This helps young people to benefit from good all-round support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive regular formal and informal supervision and undertake specific training to meet the needs of young people, such as deaf awareness, incontinence and mental health. All the staff have achieved the recommended qualification or are working towards it. They have the skills and experience to provide good standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are empowered to take responsibility through delegated management tasks. For example, one staff member leads on supporting the young people to achieve AQA awards. The manager has developed the staff into a cohesive team that provides young people with positive experiences and achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a suitable understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses through regular audits, discussion with young people, observation of staff practice and supervision. Her understanding of the service and its impact on young people is appropriately evidenced in the last six-monthly review. Part of this review did lack commentary about statistics in relation to young people’s outcomes and consultation data. Further analysis and evaluation may help lead to future improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Two of the improvements highlighted at the last inspection are not in place. Although the manager has improved the system for recording the admissions and discharges of young people, these records were not up to date. No new staff have been recruited but recruitment records for existing staff still do not evidence that all staff are suitable to Inspection report children’s home: SC380956 5 work in the home. At the time of the inspection, the manager had not obtained the necessary information from the provider’s human resources department and was unable to demonstrate that the recruitment and selection arrangements comply with regulations.

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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: SC380956 6

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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: SC380956 7 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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