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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 1 SC472449 Registered provider: North Lincolnshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by the local authority and can provide care for up to six children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. This includes up to one child with a physical disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in September 2013.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021. A monitoring visit was completed of the home on 26 January 2021. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 27 November 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/11/2019 Full Good 05/02/2019 Full Good 07/02/2018 Full Good 14/12/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 3

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outstanding

The children in this home build trusting relationships with the staff, who provide the children with a high level of individualised care. The staff know the children well and provide a nurturing and caring environment for the children. This enables the children to enjoy stability and make excellent progress.

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outstanding

Children make positive progress from admission to the home. They benefit immensely from the positive relationships they have with staff. These relationships provide a firm foundation to help children to process and work through their worries and fears, and begin to make sense of their emotional needs.

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outstanding

Staff support the children to follow their interests and hobbies. Children have enjoyed camping, fishing, cycling and swimming. One child was supported by his link worker in completing a rap which was recorded in a music studio to help the child express their views around their care experience. These opportunities enable children to build their self-confidence.

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outstanding

All the children have excellent attendance in education. Staff also support children with education in the home when needed. For example, staff have supported one child with online booster lessons after school. This helped to ensure that the child remained on track to achieve their full potential.

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outstanding

Children’s health and developmental needs are well understood and supported. Staff make effective referrals and work in partnership with child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), disability nurses and the children in care nurses. Excellent partnership working ensures that children can receive the support that they need.

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outstanding

Children are helped by staff to develop their independence. They are supported to learn how to cook, budget, shop, clean and travel independently. Children’s confidence and resilience grow because of these experiences.

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outstanding

Children have a monthly ‘teen meeting’ which they named. The children use these meetings alongside link work sessions, group work and engagement with the children in care council to ensure they have a voice in the running of their home. These opportunities have helped the children to develop a wider understanding of social issues such as equality and diversity, sexual health, and identity.

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outstanding

Staff ensure that children remain connected to their families and friends. Staff support family time and help the children to rebuild positive relationships with their family members. A social worker told the inspector that the staff listen to children’s wishes and feelings and act on them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 4 Professionals told the inspector how the staff work in partnership with them, are ambitious for the children, child centred and knowledgeable about the children’s needs. Professionals unanimously said that children experience stability and experience positive outcomes in all areas of their lives.

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outstanding

Children have robust risk assessments and behaviour support plans in place. These are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the evolving needs of the children. There is effective management oversight of children’s risk assessments. This means that children risks are well understood, and the children are better protected.

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outstanding

There is effective matching of the children, and children have planned transitions in and out of the home. This means that children are consulted about new admissions and they have a say about their future.

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outstanding

Staff work in partnership with the social workers, police, youth offending team and CAMHS to help safeguard the children. This multiagency work enables risk to be assessed in partnership, and positive interventions are put in place to help reduce risks to the children.

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outstanding

Staff provide the children with positive routines, boundaries and structures which enable the children to develop social skills and progress in developing their independence skills. As a result, the children engage in education and in planned activities in the home and in the wider community.

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outstanding

The children fully engage with focused link work sessions with staff. These sessions enable the children to develop positive strategies to help keep them safe.

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outstanding

Staff access specialist trauma and restorative practice training as well as mandatory training. All staff are trained in de-escalation strategies. This helps to ensure that physical intervention is rarely used. When incidents happen, staff use their training to good effect. Staff fully understand the children’s emotional and behavioural needs and work restoratively to support the children to regulate their feelings.

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outstanding

When children go missing, staff follow protocols. Staff work in close partnership with the police to ensure the safe return of children.

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outstanding

There are regular weekly team meetings, daily handovers, and communication systems in place to support the staff in providing continuity of care for the children. These systems enable staff and managers to have robust oversight of the children’s progress and needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is experienced and ambitious for the children in her care, and for her staff team. The culture in the home is aspiring and motivated. Consequently, the children benefit from living in a positive environment and they are flourishing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff training, supervision, and performance development reviews are prioritised by the manager. For example, she ensured that all staff had completed bespoke training to meet the needs of a disabled child prior to the child being admitted to the home. As a result, the staff developed an understanding of the child’s needs from the moment she arrived at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has developed positive links with key professionals to ensure that she can access support to meet the holistic care and developmental needs of the children. These relationships with key professionals ensure that the children can access resources and support when required to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff are supported to be resourceful and given autonomy by the manager to be creative with their practice in meeting the needs of the children. As a result, staff are empowered to do their very best, and the children experience lots of positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and deputies are child centred. They model child-centred practice and have implemented recording systems to enhance the voice of the child. This means that children’s records are accessible and written in a way that is helpful to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There are high levels of staff retention. Staff have positive inductions and probation periods. Staff spoken to by the inspector said that they are supported by the managers who are accessible, dependable and knowledgeable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals told the inspector that the staff have great relationships with the children. One social worker said, ‘Staff have stuck by the child, raised the child’s aspirations, and the child is now making excellent progress as a result of the work the manager and staff have done.’ This further demonstrates that staff and managers advocate for children and want them to do well in their lives. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 6

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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 for children’s home: SC472449 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Lincolnshire Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Church Square House, 30-40 Church Square, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire DN15 6NL

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Inspector

Noel Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 8 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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