Children's home run by North East Lincolnshire Council

Inspection report for children's home: SC069618 1 SC069618 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 who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no manager registered at this home since July 2021. A manager was appointed and submitted her application in October 2021. This application is now on hold as she is not in work. There is a new acting manager in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account inadequate

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of last inspection: 20 October 2021

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/07/2021 Full Inadequate 03/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 3

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inadequate

When new children are placed in this home, the matching of their needs with those of the child already living in the home is poor. This means that placements quickly break down causing significant distress to children. The failure to plan for and assess the suitability of children to live together results in inadequate experiences and care. When children’s needs are not well matched, their progress stops. Only one child now lives in this home. Staff are working to try and stabilise their experiences and bring progress back on track. However, poor decision-making by the responsible individual was detrimental to this child’s development.

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inadequate

The child now has good relationships with some of the staff. However, changes to managers and the frequent use of relief staff working in the home, results in inconsistency for the child. These changes affect the child’s ability to develop secure bonds with others. The child reported to one professional, ‘Everyone is disappearing in my life. New faces suddenly came and have suddenly gone again’.

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inadequate

The staff do not promote education effectively. Although an alternative education placement was arranged for the child following a placement breakdown, this is for a very limited number of hours each week. Outside of this timetable, staff do not ensure that there are meaningful plans in place to support the child to continue with their learning. This is a missed opportunity to help the child to meet their educational targets.

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inadequate

The child’s bedroom is cluttered with rubbish on the floor, and does not contain suitable furniture for them to store their clothes in. There is also distressing writing on the wall that staff have not spoken to the child about. The front of the home is untidy and the grass has not been cut. The lack of attention to parts of the home does not protect the child or promote their welfare.

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inadequate

The staff help the child to make healthy lifestyle choices. They help them to learn about a healthy diet and the importance of exercise. The child attends all medical appointments to make sure they maintain good health.

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inadequate

Staff support the child to learn skills that will help them to become more independent as they move towards adulthood. The child also takes part in a range of social activities, including climbing sessions and swimming, that support the development of their social skills. Learning these practical and emotional skills helps the child to prepare for their future. Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 4

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

The staff are not always able to manage children’s behaviours. Consequently, children are involved in serious incidents that affect their safety and well-being. Some of these incidents have resulted in the police and other emergency services attending the home to calm and settle the children. One serious incident escalated beyond staff control. After this event, a member of the emergency services who attended the home commented, ‘The entire night could have been prevented or de- escalated much sooner had carers handled the situation better.’

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

During serious incidents, children are at risk of significant harm. On some occasions, these incidents result in children being arrested and needing to complete work with the youth offending services. Since the last inspection, there have also been incidents of children self-harming, going missing from the home, assaulting staff and causing damage to the home. Following one incident, the damage to the house was so bad a child was moved to temporary accommodation while the damage was repaired. After this incident, a child told the police, ‘I thought I was going to die.’ These poor day-to-day experiences mean that children’s safety, protection and welfare are not promoted.

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

The child’s risk assessment is not quickly shared with all staff. This means that staff, including relief staff, do not have access to all of the information that they need to support the child, and to manage and reduce risks to the child’s safety. Furthermore, the child’s behaviour management plan does not correspond with the child’s risk assessment. This inconsistency does not help staff to manage risks to children’s safety effectively.

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

Staff complete training to help them to understand how to report any concerns and they feel confident to do this if they need to keep the child safe. When allegations are made against staff, managers share this information with appropriate professionals and take necessary action to prevent harm to the child while investigations are completed. This gives children confidence that their concerns are taken seriously.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since July 2021. Ofsted received an application for a new manager in October 2021, however, this application is now on hold as the manager is not in work. Another manager has recently come into post and said that they intend to submit an application to register with Ofsted. The constant changes in management does not promote consistency for children or the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The expectations of staff are not always clear. This has recently resulted in situations when staff have failed to ensure that their personal possessions and bags are stored securely. A child was able to remove items from a staff bag that potentially exposed Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 5 them to harm. Furthermore, staff members smoke outside the back door of the home, in the garden. There are cigarette ends in a bin and on the floor. This is unacceptable practice, is poor role modelling for the child and is not in line with the local authorities policy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Internal monitoring systems are poor quality and ineffective. These do not support managers to identify gaps in practice, address poor quality records and documents, or to effectively monitor children’s progress. In addition, managers have failed to review the quality of care as required, and submit this review to Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Of significant concern is the continued failure of the responsible individual to ensure that reports by the external independent visitor are sent to Ofsted as required. Currently, Ofsted has not received a report for this home since January 2022. The lack of information does not allow Ofsted to monitor the children’s safety and well- being. These failures prevent leaders and managers making necessary improvements to this service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not always notify Ofsted when serious incidents occur in the home. When Ofsted are notified of these events, some of these required notifications lack accurate or sufficient detail. This hinders Ofsted’s oversight of safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff have supervision which helps them to reflect on their role. Regular team meetings help the manager to share important information with staff and the meeting provides time to reflect on any issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders, managers and staff work with a range of professionals, including social workers, independent reviewing officers, the youth offending service and educational professionals. However, not all managers, staff and professionals feel that their views are listened to by senior managers and this prevents the ongoing development of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

protect and promote each child’s welfare. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)) 17 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)) 17 July 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

that staff— 17 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 7 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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 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;

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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)(a)(b) (2)(d)(e)(h)) 17 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

*The care planning standard is that children— 17 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 8 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to,

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 17 July 2022

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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 (7)(a)) 17 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children; 17 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 9 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

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; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC069618 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

Jamie Richardson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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