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

There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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.

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good

Date of last inspection: 8 November 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/11/2021 Full Outstanding 27/11/2019 Full Good 05/02/2019 Full Good 07/02/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children living at this home have built secure relationships with staff who are committed to delivering a high standard of care. Staff know the children well and understand their individual needs and take an interest in their lives. This helps children to develop and maintain positive relationships, which creates a sense of belonging and stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being helped to improve their health. Direct work sessions are completed around specific and relevant health issues such as the importance of diet and exercise, and the risk associated with smoking, alcohol and substance misuse. This educational approach, along with good access to health services, is helping children to make better lifestyle choices and be healthy. Where there is an identified need for therapy, those children are supported by staff to access the help they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress in their education. Managers and staff ensure that children have access to the most appropriate education setting to meet their individual needs. This has meant that children’s school attendance has improved. Staff have helped children to plan for their future education, training and employment. This helps to widen the opportunities for children as they move into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children, irrespective of disability, enjoy a range of social and recreational activities. Children enjoy taking part in a wide range of activities such as canoeing, indoor sledging, fishing and camping. Staff are keen to help children to access activities that will provide them with new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is strong partnership working at this home. This means that children receive the right help to meet their needs. The discussions staff have with the children support the help that children receive from other agencies. This means that the care and support children receive is continuous and consistent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place great importance on consulting with children. They creatively use a range of processes to engage children in meaningful discussions and activities that enable them to express their views. Staff also ensure that children have access to independent advocates. These methods help to ensure that children feel listened to, cared about and valued.

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

Children living at this home benefit from an effective multi-agency approach with regular planning and discussions on how to better protect the children. Children who are at risk of criminal exploitation receive a high level of intervention work from the police and the youth justice service. This positive approach helps to ensure that children receive the help and support they need to better understand risk. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 4 Some children continue to be at risk of being involved in criminal activity in the community. When incidents do happen, staff respond proactively and follow the steps needed to ensure that the risks to children are reduced. For example, staff work collaboratively with the local police, sharing information and ensuring that concerns are reported promptly.

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

The risks to children are known and understood by staff because they are discussed at handovers, team meetings and in staff supervisions. However, some risk assessment records do not always provide clear guidance for staff on the steps they need to follow to mitigate the risks to children. Information about the risks to one child had not been reviewed and updated. This is because information is sometimes recorded across different documents. Lack of clear guidance in risk assessment records has the potential to lead to unclear care practices.

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

The risk of children going missing has reduced. There is a strong plan of action in place with clear steps for staff to follow when a child is missing from home. Staff understand the risks to some children when they are in the community. They follow the necessary steps to search for children and to report them as missing. This helps to reduce the risk of further harm to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a wealth of experience and is well established in her role. She is child focused and role models this positive approach to her staff. This helps staff to deliver a high standard of care to the children. This helps children to make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported and listened to by the manager. The manager is committed to promoting staff well-being, for example shift patterns have been changed to improve work-life balance for staff. When there has been a serious incident, the manager has ensured staff have access to the right support. This means children receive care and support from staff who are resilient and committed to reducing the risks to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is properly staffed and resourced to meet the needs of individual children. There is an established core staff team which is suitably qualified and experienced. This means children are cared for by adults who are equipped to meet children’s complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When children move into the home, the manager completes a thorough assessment of the child’s risks, including the impact of risk to the children already living at the home. The manager identified the support and resources needed before one child could move into the home in a safe and planned way. The changing risks of all children were carefully considered, and this helped the manager to make well- informed decisions about the compatibility of children living together. Consequently, children are better protected as a result of thoughtful matching. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 5 Staff receive regular supervision that is reflective and focused on developing practice. The induction and supervision of new staff is strong, meaning that staff are helped to develop the skills and knowledge needed for their role. For example, this has helped staff to work as a team to implement firm and consistent boundaries.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This means children are provided with a sense of security and stability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager responds to serious incidents and takes the appropriate action. Information-sharing with multi-agency partners is strong. For some children, these meetings happen weekly to review the risks to children and the effectiveness of the strategies used to reduce them. However, the manager has not always shared information about serious incidents with Ofsted. This prevents Ofsted having oversight of the risks to children and the steps being taken to reduce them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff are held in high regard by the professionals they work with. The social workers for all children said that communication is good, and they are always kept informed about the children. One social worker said, ‘The child I support has additional needs, she trusts them [staff] to help and support her.’ The independent reviewing officer for one child said, ‘The manager and staff are strong advocates for ensuring the child’s needs are met.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reviews and reports monthly on the progress children are making. However, the systems in place for monitoring have not always captured poor or inconsistent recording of information. For example, serious incidents are sometimes recorded in the child’s daily information. This prevents the manager from having full oversight and being able to address any shortfalls in practice. This also hinders the manager from identifying trends and tracking the ongoing improvement or decline of the progress children are making. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, to ensure that risk assessment records provide staff with clear guidance and steps to follow to help them to mitigate the risks to children. 12 September

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, to have systems in place to ensure consistency in case records. To have systems in place to ensure that the manager has full oversight and monitoring of incidents and the risks to children. 12 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 12 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 7 an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; and

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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)(b)(e))

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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 8

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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

Rachel Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 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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