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

Inspection report children’s home: 2563216 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 provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children have recently left the home and one child is currently living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children are not protected and their welfare is not promoted. The care and experiences of children are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted carried out a full inspection of this home on 24 and 25 May 2022. The home was judged inadequate. Failures to help and protect children and in the leadership and management of the home meant that children’s overall experiences were poor. Ofsted issued one compliance notice under regulation 32 in relation to the safe recruitment of staff. This notice was monitored as part of this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2563216 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/05/2022 Full Inadequate 18/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/08/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2563216 3

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inadequate

Serious and widespread shortfalls remain in staff practice, which places children at risk of harm. Children’s day-to-day experiences are poor, and incidents that occur in the home impact on their safety and well-being. Staff are unable to support children effectively to prevent them from harming themselves or others. On one recent occasion, children were able to barricade staff in the office and block the front and back doors to the home. This left the children unsupervised for a long period, during which they caused significant damage to the home and to their bedrooms. As a result, two children needed to leave the home as it was no longer safe for them to remain.

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inadequate

Children’s care is not well planned. This results in some children not making progress and their placement breaking down. Children have moved on from this home in emergency circumstances without being able to say goodbye to their friends. This is hard for those children who have lived together for a while to understand.

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inadequate

Relationships between children and staff are mixed. Since the last inspection, some children have enjoyed spending time with some staff and taking part in activities, including trips to the seaside. Nevertheless, there are frequent changes in the staff team and an increase in the use of temporary relief staff and agency staff. This prevents children from building secure and trusting relationships with staff.

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inadequate

Some children have not attended school for a long time and are slowly being reintroduced to formal learning. Staff try to support this learning by emphasising the importance of education and the positive impact that this will have on the children’s employment and career choices. Other children do not take part in any form of education. The lack of routine and structure in the home means that children are not prepared or motivated to work towards achieving their educational targets.

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inadequate

Staff prioritise children’s health. When children misuse drugs, they benefit from quick and easy access to specialist services to help them to understand the potential risks to their physical and emotional health. Children also regularly attend their routine medical appointments, which helps them to maintain good health.

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

Staff do not implement the learning and information gained through formal training to de-escalate incidents effectively or to manage and reduce risks to children’s safety. There are recent occasions when children have been physically harmed because staff have failed to respond appropriately to incidents in line with internal child protection policies. They have relied on the police to manage children’s behaviours, which has resulted in children being arrested. Staff do not help children Inspection report for children’s home: 2563216 4 to recognise risks to their safety or complete effective work with children to reduce these risks.

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

Children’s risk assessments are not up to date. These documents do not provide staff with sufficient guidance or clear strategies to use to keep children safe. Consequently, some risks, including children damaging property, continually reoccur because staff practice is inconsistent and ineffective. This chaotic approach to managing risk leaves some children feeling angry and frustrated.

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

Children sometimes go missing from the home. Staff follow internal and local authority procedures and work closely with local police teams to try and quickly locate the children.

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

Leaders and managers respond to allegations of harm or abuse. These are referred to the relevant agencies and professionals, and staff are redeployed while investigations are carried out. When children raise complaints, these are quickly addressed. This gives children confidence that their concerns are taken seriously.

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

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have taken sufficient action to address the steps raised in the compliance notice regarding staff recruitment. A new recruitment recording system has been introduced and any gaps in employment files are now checked and the staff information is updated. The new recruitment system cannot yet be fully tested as no new staff have started since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have addressed four of the eight requirements raised at the last inspection, including the compliance notice. The four unmet requirements are repeated. Ofsted has made a further three requirements as a result of this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has been in post since October 2021. Although the manager recognises and accepts the areas for development, there are insufficient plans in place currently to address these shortfalls or to improve staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Internal monitoring systems are ineffective. For example, these do not help the registered manager to identify gaps in children’s care plans or risk assessments. The registered manager’s quality of care review report does not fully evaluate children’s experiences of living in this home or consider how the care they receive affects their progress. In this report, the registered manager has not sufficiently explored safeguarding incidents to determine risks to children’s safety. This lack of analysis means that opportunities have been missed to focus development plans to improve the service and to better protect children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager’s review of the suitability of the location of the home does not consider the wider risks associated with the surrounding areas that children visit. There is no consultation with relevant professionals, including the police. The Inspection report for children’s home: 2563216 5 registered manager does not use this risk assessment to collate the information available to help reduce risks to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff say that they feel supported by the registered manager. They now receive formal supervision to help them to reflect on their practice and raise any issues that they are concerned about. Relief staff now receive formal supervision. This meets a requirement set at the last inspection. This development is recent and the impact for children cannot yet be fully evaluated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager shares information about children with other professionals, including social workers, police teams, substance misuse workers and the youth offending service. This communication means that all relevant agencies have access to important information to support their decision-making. Inspection report for children’s home: 2563216 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is repeated from the last inspection. 4 September 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;

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 4 September 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2563216 7 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)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is repeated from the last inspection.

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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 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’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is repeated from the last inspection. 4 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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)) 4 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out— 4 September 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2563216 8 how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure;

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is repeated from the last inspection because no physical restraints have occurred during this period.

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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. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)) 4 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2)) 4 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2563216 9

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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: 2563216 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Yorkshire County 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: 2563216 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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