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

Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 1 SC367802 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

This home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to two children whose care plan is to live in a medium- to long-term residential setting.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2018. He was away from the home from November 2020 until July 2021. Interim management arrangements were in place during his absence.

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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.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 22 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about this children’s home

Ofsted was aware during this inspection of a police investigation into serious allegations at the setting. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered, where appropriate, alongside the other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspector’s judgements.

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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. Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 2 Date of last inspection: 15 April 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/04/2019 Full Outstanding 17/07/2018 Full Outstanding 09/05/2017 Full Good 03/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making progress and staff help the children to achieve their outcomes in relation to their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children attend school, and partnership working between the home’s staff and educational placements is a strength. Teachers and the staff work together to maintain and progress children’s educational experiences and outcomes. Children receive additional support both at home and school; this can be through formal tuition or the staff giving support with the children’s reading or GCSE revision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy time spent with their friends and on activities with staff. COVID-19 affected the children’s summer holiday plans. Although children did not go abroad, they created other memorable experiences, including going to London and staying in a country hotel. Children were consulted about the change of plans and steps were taken by the manager to ensure that children had the best experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are physically healthy. Children are encouraged by the staff to make positive choices related to their health. Children are supported to attend all necessary appointments, including those that link to their mental health. The children’s past trauma and medical conditions mean that they need support to manage their day-to-day mental health needs. The manager, in partnership with professionals, is progressing mental health support and assessments for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family relationships are important to the children. Children have been helped to reconnect with people from their extended family. This has been life-changing for one child, as Christmas and future care plans now include their family. Children like to spend time with friends. Friends are welcome to come to the home. This is important for one child, whose vulnerabilities currently prevent free time in the community with friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children live in a nice home. The home is being renovated and the children love the recent improvements. To prevent accident or injury to children, potential hazards need addressing. This includes securing window blind cords and fixing window locks. A deadlock fitted to a child’s bedroom door also needs removing.

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

Children can become frustrated by the home’s established routines and boundaries. This has led to incidents where children place themselves and others at risk of harm. When incidents occur, the manager reviews and reflects on the effectiveness of the staff approach. This enables lessons to be learned and strategies used by staff to be amended. Although the manager’s oversight is good, debriefs are not undertaken Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 5 with children who have witnessed the incident. This is a missed opportunity to check the welfare of all children.

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

Staff understand what good-quality care looks like and recognise when children appear worried about the care they receive. Children are listened to, and any disclosures are investigated. At the time of the inspection, there was an open police investigation into the practice of a member of staff.

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

Children do not go missing from this home. Children’s individualised missing-from- home plans provide staff with clear guidance should a child go missing. The staff supervision of the children varies. While one child can freely access the community, another child needs the supervision of staff to ensure their safety. Welfare checks are completed when children spend time with friends in the community. The steps taken by staff are not recorded in the child’s risk assessment. The risk assessment needs developing to ensure that the staff have clear direction about welfare checks.

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

Children are vulnerable when unsupervised in the community. To respond to a child’s risks and behavioural incidents, the internal and external doors to the home are locked. These measures have been agreed through multi-agency meetings and implemented to maintain the safety and protection of the child. The child’s social worker is applying for relevant court orders. While steps are being taken to help one child, it directly restricts the free movement of all children in the home. One child raised with the inspector that ‘Sometimes, I cannot get in the house as the doors are locked.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been a number of changes to the management and responsible individual for this home. Ofsted has routinely sent certificates of registration to the provider to reflect any changes. The correct certificate of registration was not displayed in the home as required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a clear understanding and vision for the home. Development of the home has been affected by staffing shortages, including the senior team. The senior team is now recruited, and its members are disseminating the manager’s ethos and vision for this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There continue to be staff vacancies. The instability of staffing affects the children. The manager recognises the impact of staff vacancies and has tried to bring consistency for the children by using the same casual staff. One casual staff member has been working at the home for a year. The manager has ensured that staffing ratios meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children have helped to create the local authority’s ‘promise’ to children in care. This highlights the importance of children having stable relationships with those professionals involved in their lives. Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 6 Both core and casual staff report that they consistently receive guidance and support from the manager and the senior team. However, casual staff are not routinely receiving supervision and their induction into the role is not clearly recorded. This has an impact on the manager’s oversight of the practice and professional conduct of these staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective monitoring systems in place to help him to identify any barriers to the children achieving good outcomes. The manager has been working on shift in response to the staffing shortfalls. Although this has taken him away from his managerial role, the time has enabled him to mentor and guide staff. He has also spent prolonged periods of time with the children to ascertain their wishes and feelings. The manager knows the strengths and weaknesses of this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring of the home is now routinely taking place. This provides further insight and support to the manager. However, there remain delays in the timeliness of these reports being received by Ofsted and this affects the ability of Ofsted to ensure oversight of the safety and welfare of children. Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 7

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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, the 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

A certificate of registration issued under this Part in respect of any establishment or agency shall be kept affixed in a conspicuous place in the establishment or at the agency. (Section 28 (1) Care Standards Act 2000) 4 February 2022

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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 (1) (2)(a)(1)) 4 February 2022

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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 that—

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(d)(e)) 4 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 4 February 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 8 children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should be aware that as a result of past experiences, children will have a unique understanding of their circumstances which will affect their response to restraint by adults responsible for their care. In particular, children’s feelings should be explored when they have witnessed the restraint of their peer. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 48, paragraph 9.54)  The registered provider should ensure the home complies with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene, etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered provider should ensure that the independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding

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Recommendations

and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. In particular, once completed, the compiled reports should be sent to Ofsted. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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) Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 9 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 10

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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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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC367802 11 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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