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

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides a service for families with children and young people on the verge of coming into the care system. Children and 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. The interim manager has been in post since 1 October 2018. She has applied to become the registered manager of the home. This application has been received by the regulator.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 4 September 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC380956 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/09/2018 Full Good 27/09/2017 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/08/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC380956 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)) This requirement has been carried forward to further ensure that the admissions and discharge log book is up to date and accurate. 18/10/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 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; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(a)(h)) In particular, ensure that the number of children and young people admitted to the home is in line with the conditions of registration. In addition, ensure that there are robust monitoring systems to maintain the accuracy of records. 18/10/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (2)(a)(i)) In particular, ensure information about the children and young people is up to date and is gained in preparation for their stay. In addition, risk assessments are not updated following significant incidents involving the children or young people. 18/10/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained— the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”). The relevant date is— in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a 18/10/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC380956 4 home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(5)(a)) 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— details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and

p.3

Requirement Due date

any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(v)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 18/10/2019

p.4

Requirement Due date

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 (4)(a)) 18/10/2019

p.4

Recommendations

 It is important that registered persons meet the Regulations having regard to the needs of children placed in the home and the role and aims of the home as set out in their Statement of Purpose. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 6, paragraph 1.12) This is with particular reference to the manager working in line with the home’s statement of purpose. This means providing respite care for children and young people with assigned legal status.  For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) This is with particular reference to addressing the mould in the bathroom.

p.4

Recommendations

 Regulations 35-39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All Inspection report children‟s home: SC380956 5 children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are gaining positive experiences. Their confidence and behaviours are improving, and this is a result of the engagement and guidance from the staff. The service is keeping families together and preventing children and young people from entering care.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people’s wishes and feelings are heard. Respite is planned so that the children and young people enjoy a prolonged break from their family home. During this time, the children and young people are allocated a bedroom of their choice and go on activities which they enjoy. This level of planning and staff insight means that the children and young people have a positive experience.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people enjoy a range of activities. This includes travelling to London to go to the theatre or to a music concert, long walks by the coast, and numerous adventure pursuits. Irrespective of the child’s or young person’s disability or complexities, the staff are committed to ensure that all the children and young people get the opportunity to try new things.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people form trusting and long-lasting relationships with the staff. The children and young people talked positively about their time in the home and the care they receive. They feel safe and welcome and, as a result, are able to request help from the staff outside of their planned stays.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For those children and young people who access the crisis bed, plans are quickly created to help them to regain stability. A high percentage of children and young people are supported to return home. For one child, this involved them returning to Azerbaijan.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have created a welcoming feel to some areas of the home. However, parts of the home require maintenance and redecoration, specifically the upstairs bathroom.

p.5

improvement to be good

The staff prioritise the safety and protection of the children and young people. When the children and young people’s behaviours place them at risk, the staff will intervene though the use of de-escalation techniques. One young person has been safeguarded from further exploitation because of the staff’s active engagement, observation and Inspection report children‟s home: SC380956 6 planning for an appropriate safe placement. However, the staff are not consistently informed about the children and young people’s current risk-taking behaviours. There are no current processes in place for the staff to routinely gather updated information from parents or carers before a child or young person’s planned respite stay. As a result, risk assessments do not reflect all identified risks, and this has an impact on the consistency of strategies being implemented by the staff.

p.5

improvement to be good

The staff actively respond to missing-from-home incidents. They routinely go looking for and locate the children and young people when they are missing from the home. The staff follow clear strategies, even when faced with significant violence and challenge from the children and young people. However, not all the children and young people’s records reflect the severity of incidents and the actions taken by the staff. This is a recording issue and does not have an effect on the protection of the children and young people.

p.6

improvement to be good

The staff are skilled in managing the children and young people’s complex behaviours. Most incidents are managed through the staff’s ability to engage with the children and young people, and staff know how to de-escalate situations. However, when physical intervention is used to ensure the safety and protection of the children, young people or others, the record of the intervention is not clear.

p.6

improvement to be good

The matching of the children and young people is good. The group dynamic is given great consideration to ensure that the children and young people are safe. The children and young people’s vulnerabilities, behaviours and additional learning needs are considered when their stays are planned. This means that they can form friendships and enjoy their time at the home.

p.6

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

The manager is passionate about the service. However, the admissions and discharge book remains inaccurate and identifies that the provider has admitted children above the agreed numbers, breaching the home‟s conditions of registration. Gaps have also been identified in the manager‟s oversight of records and, as a result, elements of the children‟s and young people‟s paperwork are inaccurate and not signed by the author. In addition, the manager has not ensured that the children and young people who are provided a service are reflected within the home‟s statement of purpose.

p.6

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

The manager understands the strengths and required developments of the service. She has extended the children and young people‟s respite stays, giving the staff a better opportunity to carry out more proactive work with and provide greater support to the children, young people and their families. One parent said, „The staff do not get enough credit; they are like family to me. I trust them with my child and they earnt this trust.‟

p.6

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

The manager invests in her own, and the staff‟s, training and development. She ensures that the team has the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the children and young people. The staff have recently received training and practice guidance related to caring for children with disabilities. This enhances their care practices for those children and Inspection report children‟s home: SC380956 7 young people who are disabled. However, not all staff have achieved the required level three qualification.

p.6

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

Partnership working is a strength at this home. The staff work closely with professionals, families and carers to prevent crisis and promote stability for the children and young people. Good partnership working enables the manager to carry out regular consultation. This, alongside the feedback from the children and young people‟s advocate, is enabling the manager to further develop the service. This heightened level of consultation was incorporated into the home‟s six-monthly review. However, this report has not been sent to the regulator.

p.7

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.

p.7

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 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Offices, Knoll Street, Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire DN35 8LN

p.8

Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC380956 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9