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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 1 SC477428 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

The home is owned and operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/01/2022 Full Good 09/07/2019 Full Good 07/08/2018 Full Good 04/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are good relationships between children and the staff. Some members of staff and children have known each other for a long time. The children like to spend time with the staff. The staff know what the children like and dislike. They take time to listen to children and adapt their communication styles where needed. Where staff can, they follow children’s wishes and make sure that their voice is heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a wide range of activities and holidays. The holidays children experience include trips to cities and the seaside. They regularly enjoy visits to farms, cinemas, trampoline parks and gaming centres. These activities help to broaden children’s experiences and support them to develop their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make good progress developing skills which improve their independence. The skills children learn help to improve their self-confidence. Children learn how to cook, clean, wash, dress and use the toilet. The staff make sure that they help children to learn at their own speed and level of understanding. The skills children learn help them to be as independent as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help the children to go to school. They offer all the support they can to make sure that they do well in their education. The staff work closely with the school staff to share communication strategies and ways of best supporting the children. This helps to keep consistency and routine for the children at home and in school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are encouraged to lead a healthy lifestyle. They carry out physical activities, such as swimming and walking, which helps them to stay fit. Healthy eating is part of children’s everyday routine. The staff receive support from specialist professionals to help them to understand how to support children’s emotional well- being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

High priority is given to supporting children to develop their relationships with their loved ones. The manager is creative in finding ways to make sure that their time together is positive. One social care professional said, ‘Sibling relationships are so important and too often overlooked. The team has done excellent work promoting brother/sister relationships.’

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

The staff use their relationships with the children to support them when they are upset. There is no use of physical intervention. The staff know when children are not happy, and they do their best to help them to sort out what is wrong. The staff keep regular routines and have clear boundaries. These routines and boundaries help the children to feel safe because they know what is expected. Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 4 The staff understand the risks to the children. The children’s risk assessments are regularly updated so that staff know how to support them. The staff seek specialist advice where needed around newly emerging risks. This proactive approach helps to manage behaviours effectively, and risks to children’s safety reduce over time.

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

The staff help the children to learn how to stay safe. They do this through work that is delivered at the children’s level of understanding. The children learn how to stay safe online, in their home and when they go out in the community.

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

The staff have training that helps them to understand how to keep the children safe. They know how to report any concerns about the children. They complete training which helps them to identify wider risks to children, such as exploitation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is an active part of the staff team and balances management duties with supporting the children. The manager makes sure that the children’s voice is heard in the daily running of the home and in their care planning. She is a strong advocate for the children. She challenges other services where necessary to make sure that children’s needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring systems help her to track the children’s progress. She reviews children’s plans regularly and helps staff to set focused targets to make sure that the children keep making progress. The manager uses a monthly monitoring form to help her to identify any issues for children. She is then able to address any problems promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the need for stability to enable children to feel safe and to support them to progress. She ensures that she covers any staff shortages with staff the children know well. On occasion, due to staff shortages throughout the night, staffing levels are not sufficient. In the event of an emergency or unexpected issue, children could be left without the right staff support. The manager acted during the inspection to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel supported by the registered manager. They have regular supervision sessions where they talk about their work and how they support the children. The staff have meetings to make sure that they have up-to-date information. In these meetings, they also assess how each child is progressing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff undertake a range of mandatory training courses. They access some training around understanding some aspects of children’s disabilities. Where training is missing, the manager sources and shares information with staff around the specialist needs of some children. However, currently, staff do not have specific training around some children’s needs, which includes some specialist communication techniques and disabilities, such as Fragile X syndrome.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works closely with other professionals. The close working relationships help to make sure that the children have all the support they need. Professionals the Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 5 manager works closely with include social workers, teachers and health specialists. One social worker said, ‘The manager is brilliant and open to new ways of working and suggestions from others.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 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 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is sufficient staffing to support children throughout the night. 1 February 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. The registered person should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. In particular, staff should receive training to meet children’s specific needs, such as training in Fragile X syndrome and specialist communication needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, paragraph 10.11, page 53)

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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: SC477428 7

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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: SC477428 8 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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