Children's Home run by Lincolnshire County Council in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC042967 1 SC042967 Registered provider: Lincolnshire County 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 by a local authority and can provide care for up to six children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, the home has been led by an interim manager. A new manager started in the role in March 2022. They are applying to register.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC042967 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/04/2021 Full Inadequate 12/12/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/08/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC042967 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress and are settled. They have benefited from a stable staff team who support them well. Staff provide children with consistent care, healthy routines and clear boundaries. This has enabled children to build secure and trusting relationships with the staff team. Consequently, children feel safe and happy in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children all attend suitable education provision. The manager has been a strong advocate for children by ensuring that they attend schools that can meet their specific needs. Children have good attendance and also take part in a range of extra-curricular activities, such as cheerleading and football.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive effective support to maintain relationships with their families. This has ensured that they can spend good-quality time with family members and people who are important to them. Some children are starting to build friendship groups outside their home, which helps them to develop social skills and feel part of their community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a range of services that address their physical and emotional health needs. Staff have received additional guidance and training to help them better understand some of the complex health needs of the children. Regular multi-agency meetings are undertaken to review children’s healthcare plans and to identify where additional support may be needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been careful planning and risk assessment for new children moving into the home. Children are gradually introduced to their new home through regular visits and by spending time with staff before they move in. This means that new children settle quickly and feel well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a range of activities in the home and the community. Staff are good at supporting children to develop hobbies and interests. For example, staff have used forest activities and camping trips to help children to develop greater confidence and to communicate better.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is clean and welcoming. Children’s bedrooms are decorated and furnished to their individual tastes. Photos and artwork around the home contribute to the homely feel. Children have been consulted about the development of the home and the creation of a new sensory room and games room.

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

Children are confident to talk about any concerns or worries that they may have. Trusting relationships between staff and children have enabled children to reflect on Inspection report for children’s home: SC042967 4 the underlying causes of poor behaviour. Any complaints or concerns that children raise are taken seriously and responded to promptly.

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

The management of allegations and disclosures is good. When addressing safeguarding concerns, the manager has involved a multi-agency team, including the local authority designated safeguarding lead professional. When learning points have been identified, the manager has addressed these fully. The manager is aware that safeguarding practice can be improved further. For example, on one occasion, staff did not report a safeguarding concern to external professionals in a timely way. Also, the policy for reporting safeguarding concerns out of hours is not sufficiently clear.

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

Missing-from-home episodes significantly reduce as children settle into the home. Staff are working effectively to help children to develop a better understanding of their vulnerabilities and risks that they might face when they leave the home without permission. However, on occasions, staff have not followed some risk management protocols. For example, on one occasion when children left the home without permission, a staff member returned to the home rather than continuing to follow and observe the children as expected. In addition, a safety plan in place for one child contains conflicting information and this could be confusing for staff.

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

Behaviour management strategies are generally effective. Staff support children well to develop safer behaviours. Bullying in the home has reduced since the last inspection as a result of creative work by staff. For example, children have agreed a ‘kindness contract’ and can earn ‘kindness rewards’. However, an isolated incident in which a child used inappropriate language towards another child has not been responded to thoroughly enough. Follow-up work has not been carried out to help the child understand the potential impact of their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The newly appointed manager has quickly grasped the strengths and weaknesses of the home. A realistic but ambitious development plan is in place, which is likely to lead to further improvement. The manager is dynamic and child-focused in her approach and has high aspirations for the children, the home and the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New management monitoring and quality assurance systems have been implemented. These have improved the quality of record-keeping and ensured that managers understand the progress that each child is making. However, the management oversight of incidents could be strengthened to provide more evaluation and analysis of events.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has started to build a support network with internal and external professionals, and this has led to improvements in communication and multi-agency working. Peer reviews, in collaboration with other local authority services, have been undertaken regularly to audit and improve the quality of care. External professionals gave unanimously positive feedback about the improvements they had seen in the home and the care provided. Inspection report for children’s home: SC042967 5 Staff have been well supported through regular supervision and training and development activities. All staff now hold the relevant qualification for their role. All staff have had an annual appraisal of their work practice. However, appraisals have not generated improvement objectives for staff, so they are not wholly effective. Inspection report for children’s home: SC042967 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to staff adhering to risk assessments and reporting any safeguarding concerns relating to children. 1 June 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should implement a policy setting out clear procedures for referring child protection concerns to the placing authority. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19)  The registered person should use information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children’s home: SC042967 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 for children’s home: SC042967 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lincolnshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Offices, Newland, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN1 1YL

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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC042967 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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