Children's Home run by Lincolnshire County Council in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC042950 1 SC042950 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 and operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to six children with social and emotional difficulties. The home’s aim is to provide a safe, nurturing and homely environment.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced but not yet registered.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 9 December 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC042950 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2021 Full Good 11/02/2020 Full Good 05/12/2018 Full Outstanding 31/01/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC042950 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their starting points when they moved to the home. The relationships between children and staff are secure and trusting. This has supported children to feel safe and led to a reduction in incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well, but children’s cultural needs and identity are not consistently considered in care planning. One child disclosed to racially inappropriate comments were being made and the impact this had on them. They isolated themselves. Although work has been carried out to develop children’s awareness, this is not yet embedded in the culture of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has advocated for children to have access to education placements that meet their needs. Some children have improved their educational attendance and, consequently, also their attainment. This has led to good progress for these children. One child is currently researching college courses and has positive aspirations for the future. However, some children have disengaged from education. The manager has worked with external agencies to try and find solutions to re- engage children in education or training.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been supported by staff to develop hobbies and interests and attend clubs in the local community. This has helped children to develop friendship groups outside the home. The staff promote and support children with these friendships because they know how important they are for the children’s development. Children are helped to maintain contact with those who are important to them, such as family members. As a result, relationships have improved and the time the children spend with their families has increased.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met and, when needed, children have access to medical professionals in the community. However, audits of the storage and administration of children’s medication failed to identify shortfalls. One child was not given their medication in line with the dose prescribed.

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improvement to be good

Children’s safety plans do not reflect information contained in risk assessments. Furthermore, verbal and written information does not align, which could be confusing to staff. One safety plan for a child has not been reviewed for a year. This does not fully safeguard children.

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improvement to be good

Some children smoke in their bedrooms. One child found a discarded lighter and used this to light paper in the home. The risk management response to this is weak and risks have not reduced. As a result, children are at increased risk. Inspection report for children's home: SC042950 4 There have been a high number of missing-from-care episodes with one child. Overall, these have been managed well and have started to decrease. The manager has worked well with a multi-disciplinary team of professionals. This has focused on identifying risks and vulnerabilities for children around exploitation, and plans are implemented to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Incidents involving the use of physical intervention are rare. When staff have had to use physical intervention, this has been used appropriately and only as a last resort. However, staff have not always documented what technique they used during the physical intervention. This prevents the manager from having a clear overview of staff actions to ensure they were appropriate. Debriefs are usually undertaken with staff and children, which supports learning from incidents.

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improvement to be good

The condition of children’s bedrooms in relation to their homeliness and cleanliness is variable. One child has had most of their belongings removed from their bedroom due to concerns with some behaviour. There is not a plan in place for the replacement of personal items. This leaves the room looking sparse and the child uncertain as to how this will be resolved.

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good

There are weaknesses in the manager’s monitoring and oversight which have led to several shortfalls. Management audits have failed to identify shortfalls in staff supervisions and appraisals, health and safety monitoring and the administration and storage of medication.

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good

The manager is well supported by a management team. She is developing into the role and growing in confidence. Members of the management team work well together and are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. However, they do not always use additional resources, such as external reports, to drive improvement and development of the home.

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good

Staff have not had regular professional supervision or annual appraisals. Some supervision sessions lack the required content or evidence of meaningful discussion. This prevents opportunities for reflection, development and learning from practice, which is not supporting staff development. The staff team has been consistent and staff work well together.

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good

The manager has worked at the home for a long time. She knows the staff and children well. She has acted as a staunch advocate for children, particularly with education services to try and ensure children have appropriate education placements. They work well as part of a multi-disciplinary team and have established good relationships with external professionals. Social workers and family members were positive about the care children receive. Inspection report for children's home: SC042950 5

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on-

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults.

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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 understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual, and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to supporting children to understand their cultural identity and ensuring any cultural needs are met. 1 January 2023

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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 children’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

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; 1 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC042950 6 that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring children’s safety plans and risk assessments are kept up to date. Additionally, to the safe storage of potential hazards in the home and ensuring that cigarette lighters are removed.

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to concerns raised by a child about racist comments, and implementing effective quality assurance and monitoring systems to improve the quality of care. 1 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)) 1 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 1 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC042950 7 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience;

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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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: SC042950 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: Lincolnshire County Council, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL

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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC042950 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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