Children's Home run by North Lakes Children’s Service Limited in Cumberland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2672877 1 Registered provider: North Lakes Children’s Service Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was first registered in March 2022. Four children moved into the home on 26 August 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager took over the day-to-day running of the home on 29 August 2022. He has submitted his application to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2672877 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2672877 3

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requires improvement to be good

The children currently living in this home moved into this home from another of the providers homes in the area. However, not all children reported that the transition had been easy. One child said, ‘The move from the other home was tough but staff were supportive.’

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requires improvement to be good

The home is well presented. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and have a range of toys, games, and equipment to suit the children’s individual interests. All children’s bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms. There are toilets on the ground floor which are not available to children. This is because potentially unsafe items are stored in this room. Leaders and managers accept that these toilets should be available for children. They plan to review what action they can take to make this toilet accessible.

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requires improvement to be good

Children said that they enjoy living in the home and feel supported and protected by those who care for them. Children understand how to raise concerns. However, on one occasion when a child made an allegation against a member of staff, the records available did not demonstrate that the child was spoken to about this incident.

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requires improvement to be good

Leaders, managers and staff support children to attend school full time; as a result, children are making progress in line with their relevant plans. However, children are presenting with risks at school that are not prevalent in the home. The manager identified that communication with school could be improved when significant incidents have occurred.

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requires improvement to be good

Children are healthy and are supported to attend appropriate medical appointments. Children have access to specialist services to meet their individual needs. A registered nurse is employed by the provider. She has oversight and involvement in children’s individual healthcare arrangements and knows the children well.

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requires improvement to be good

Therapeutic support for children is individualised and helps children to understand their past experiences of trauma and neglect. Children have weekly access to a therapist. The therapist also provides clinical supervision to staff, which promotes a consistent approach to care.

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requires improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend appropriate time with family, friends and other significant people in line with their care plans. This means children can maintain important relationships.

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requires improvement to be good

Children have memory books that reflect their time in the home. The memory books contain pictures of children enjoying activities with their families, friends, staff and each other. Inspection report for children’s home: 2672877 4

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improvement to be good

Not all staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting children from harm. Risk management plans do not consistently identify actions for staff to follow to keep children safe. Staff said that some strategies detailed in risk management plans are unclear, this can lead to confusion for the staff team.

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improvement to be good

Children have positive relationships with those who care for them. During the inspection, the inspector observed children and staff interacting. Interactions were playful and respectful. Staff respond to children with clear boundaries. Direct work with children focuses on children’s individual needs. Key-work sessions help children to understand their behaviour and discuss their feelings securely.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not consider the needs of individual children alongside the needs of other children living in the home. There have been several incidents of bullying between children. Details have been shared with relevant agencies and individuals. However, children are not consistently spoken to following incidents. The manager has had oversight of incidents but does not consistently record an evaluation or outcome.

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good

A new manager has taken over the home. The previous manager has voluntarily withdrawn her registration. Leaders and managers have implemented new systems to support management oversight and monitoring in the home. However, there has been insufficient time for these improvements to become embedded in day-to-day practice to support children’s care.

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good

The new manager understands the plans for children. However, children’s plans are not consistently updated, and it is unclear how staff are made aware of updates. Staff also confirmed to the inspector that they do not always know when a document has been changed.

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good

Children’s records do not accurately represent children’s current care arrangements. Although children now live in a new childrens home, all documents refer to their previous placement. The manager has not escalated his requests for relevant plans to be provided by the placing authorities. This means that documents do not reflect childrens journey through care.

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good

Staff said that they feel supported in their roles and receive regular supervision from leaders and managers. Records demonstrate that staff are receiving regular mandatory training and are supported to attend focused and specific training sessions to meet the needs of the individual children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2672877 5 The manager has completed a quality-of-care review. However, children’s feedback and consultation have not been included in this review. This breach in regulation means that children’s views have not been considered as part of this monitoring and review document.

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good

The statement of purpose details that the home can provide care for four children. There are three children currently living in the home. As a child’s bedroom is being used for staff to sleep in, this does not allow the home to accommodate four children at this time. Inspection report for children’s home: 2672877 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home; (Regulation 6 (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children being able to access all areas of the home. 1 April 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 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

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

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)(a)(i)(iv)(v)(b)) 1 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2672877 7 This relates to having a consistent approach to risk and clear actions for staff to take to help to minimise the risk of harm. Furthermore, ensure that staff understand how to prevent children from harming each other.

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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’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

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)(f)(g)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the requirement for leaders and managers to update all relevant plans and ensure that these plans are read, understood and followed by those who care for children. In addition, leaders and managers should address and record any concerns raised and feedback on the experiences of children. 1 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. 1 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2672877 8 (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers should ensure that the date and circumstances of any measure of control, discipline or restraint used in relation to the child are recorded. In addition, leaders and managers should ensure that children’s relevant plans are kept up to date and accurately reflect children’s current care-planning.

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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 feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it.

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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)(b) (5)) 1 April 2023

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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: 2672877 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Lakes Children’s Service Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4AD

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Inspector

Nichola Croft, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2672877 10 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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