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

Inspection report children’s home: 2594189 1 Registered provider: North East Lincolnshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and manages this home. The home is registered to provide care for up to four children who have behavioural, emotional and/or social difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

This home was registered on 25 June 2020. This registration enabled a group of children to move into a new home, improving their home environment. The registered manager and the staff team moved to the new home with the children.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2594189 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2594189 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Nurturing and supportive care helps the children to form positive and trusting relationships with the staff. These strong relationships help the children to thrive because they feel secure and content in the presence of staff. One child said, ‘I really enjoy living here, the staff in the home are nice and treat me fairly and with respect. They are always there to help me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good, measurable progress. The specific needs of each child underpin the individualised, responsive and extremely child-focused care they receive. Children are helped by the staff to recognise their own challenges and how they can overcome these, and to celebrate their achievements and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children all have individual educational needs and these are reflected in their schooling arrangements. Children’s commitment and positive attitudes to education mean that they are making progress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have advocated for children to remain in school, and this has helped them to maintain their routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical and emotional health needs are met. Any outstanding or identified health issues are addressed by the staff. Occasionally, children misuse illegal substances, and the staff’s caring responses mean that the children get immediate help and attention. Staff encourage the children, and work with them, to get help and specialist guidance to prevent further misuse.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are occasions when children’s admissions into and discharges from the home are not well planned. Although the manager tries to ensure that the children moving into the home are introduced to staff and other children, this is not always the case.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For some children moving on from the home, there has been little or limited opportunity to establish suitable plans to prepare the children for this change. This causes children to feel uncertain and can result in them mistrusting staff. When children’s discharges are planned, they are involved in these decisions and feel equipped for the next step of their journey.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s home is homely and welcoming. The children love their new home and how this change of environment has helped them through the COVID-19 pandemic. The children have more internal open space and a large garden to play and relax in. The inspector identified that the bathroom floor tiles need replacing, and that window-blind cords around the home need securing. These actions will address potential hazards for children. Inspection report children’s home: 2594189 4

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

Staff understand the potential risks to children’s safety. They receive clear practice guidance that enables them to mitigate risk and help children to understand the concerns for their safety and welfare. A recent increase in incidents of children going missing from home has been met with an effective response. Staff have gone above and beyond to understand, prevent and disrupt missing-from-home episodes. In partnership with other agencies, they have taken immediate action to help children to return safely to the home.

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

The staff understand the impact of depriving children of their liberty. The manager and staff help children to learn how to behave safely in the community. Clear plans demonstrate how children’s risks and vulnerabilities can be managed through the care and attention of staff.

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

Sanctions are used in the home, but these are adapted to help the children reflect on their actions. Staff recognise that a restorative approach has a greater impact than a monetary sanction in effecting change for children. Children were able to talk to the inspector about their sanctions, although the children’s written records do not consistently evidence their views.

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

There are occasions when staff physically restrain children to protect them or others from harm. Although physical restraint records include management oversight, they lack evidence of reflection and the details of debriefs with children and staff.

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good

An interim manager was in post for a period that exceeded 90 days. The authority did not register another manager, as required by regulation. The registered manager is now back in day-to-day charge of the home.

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good

The manager and staff embed a culture of inclusiveness. The atmosphere is both warm and nurturing, and the children are thriving. The staff achieve the home’s stated aims and objectives of providing a medium-to long-term home for the children, some of whom have lived here for several years. Consequently, the children have a stable and nurturing childhood home.

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good

Professional relationships and engagement are strengths of this home. The common themes are how fantastic this home is and how the staff go above and beyond for the children. Managers and staff want the best for the children and work in partnership with all agencies to help them to thrive, enjoy life and make progress.

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good

Children are involved in making decisions and plans regarding their care and futures. The children are encouraged by the staff to express their views to ensure that their voice is heard. Children have been active members of participation groups and have experienced interviewing candidates for senior positions in the local authority. Inspection report children’s home: 2594189 5 The staff advocate for the children and ensure that their care plans are progressed based on children’s wishes. As a result, children’s family relationships have been promoted to enable long-term rehabilitation plans.

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good

The manager has internal systems to monitor and have oversight of the home. The manager guides the staff to ensure that the language being used in the children’s records is meaningful, appropriate and helpful to the children. Nevertheless, shortfalls in the recording of incident debriefs were identified. In addition, weaknesses in the storage of children’s records were highlighted when confidential information about the children was misplaced. These errors could cause children emotional distress.

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good

The absence of good external monitoring means that managers are not alerted to possible practice shortfalls. Further, this failure means that Ofsted and senior managers within the local authority are unable to continually review the quality of care for children living in this home. Inspection report children’s home: 2594189 6

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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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager’s oversight of the children’s records must identify and address shortfalls in recording practice. 19 November

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(b)) 19 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a) (7)(a)) 19 November

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Requirement Due date

Any person who carries on or manages an establishment or agency of any description without being registered under this 19 November Inspection report children’s home: 2594189 7 Part in respect of it (as an establishment or, as the case may be, agency of that description) shall be guilty of an offence. (Section 11 (1) Care Standards Act 2000)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the person in day-to-day charge of the home registers with Ofsted.

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Recommendation

 The registered person provider should ensure that the home meets children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would. In particular, fix damage to the bathroom floor tiles and secure the window-blind cords to reduce potential hazards for children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 2594189 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North East Lincolnshire Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Yvonne Shearwood

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2594189 9 to 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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