Children's home run by North East Lincolnshire Council

Inspection report for children’s home: SC394101 1 SC394101 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

This home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides medium- to long- term care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children currently live in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC394101 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC394101 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences of living in the home are mixed. For one child, there has been a deterioration of their progress and outcomes. Staff do not always manage the child’s behaviour positively. As a result, on several occasions, the police have been called to assist.

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improvement to be good

Education attendance for children is variable. Children struggle to attend school or any informal education. Staff’s efforts to support children in these circumstances are not effective. Children often refuse to engage in education and spend excessive amounts of time in their bedrooms. This lack of structure and routine is detrimental to children’s developmental outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to attend and engage in their healthcare appointments. Additional therapeutic support is available to staff to promote the mental health and well-being of children. This helps staff to understand the children’s complex needs and respond accordingly.

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improvement to be good

A variety of activities are offered to children to encourage them to enjoy their leisure time. These activities allow children to broaden their experiences and develop their self-esteem. Leisure activities include trips away or holidays, shopping and the gym. These opportunities create lasting memories of the children’s time in the home. Staff capture these memories and create memory books. This is an important record of their life story and helps children to feel valued.

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improvement to be good

Children are welcomed into the home as part of carefully planned introductions. Time is taken to meet the child and they have visits to the home prior to moving in. Similarly, staff gradually help children to move on from the home in a planned way and support children to visit their new homes. Staff continue to keep in touch with children who have moved on. This provides children with an extended support network which benefits them.

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improvement to be good

Risk management systems are ineffective. Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are regularly updated and reviewed, but not all strategies in place ensure that children are consistently safeguarded from harm. For example, a child was able to bypass the bedroom door alarms, climb out of a window and leave the home without staff knowing. This does not ensure that children are better protected from harm.

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improvement to be good

Not all members of staff are equipped with the skills that they may need to promote the safety and well-being of the children in the home. Some staff have not Inspection report for children’s home: SC394101 4 completed safeguarding training. In addition, one member of staff who was not first- aid trained was left to support a child on shift without supervision. This shortfall means that staff are not fully equipped to undertake their roles effectively to safeguard children.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from care, the staff take effective action. They understand their roles and responsibilities, such as searching for the child and alerting relevant professionals. The registered manager carefully reviews the actions taken by staff to ensure that the correct procedures are followed.

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improvement to be good

Allegations against staff are managed well. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge of the policies and procedures relating to the management of allegations against senior staff and whistle-blowing procedures. This helps staff to keep children safer.

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good

The home is led and managed by an experienced registered manager who has a child-centred approach. She is supported in her role by a team of both experienced and new staff. The staff are building positive relationships with children and are committed to improving outcomes and experiences for children. However, there are a number of shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home that require attention.

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good

The registered manager does not have effective review monitoring systems in place to review the quality of care children experience. This lack of oversight prevents the manager from effectively identifying, actioning, reviewing and evaluating the children’s progress and experiences in a timely manner.

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good

The registered manager uses external scrutiny of the independent person to monitor the quality of care in the home. However, the independent person does not provide sufficient evaluation on how well the children are safeguarded and whether the conduct of the staff promotes the children’s well-being. This limits the registered manager’s ability to evaluate children’s outcomes and experiences.

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good

Children’s bedrooms are fitted with door alarms which are used to monitor children so staff are aware if they leave their rooms at night. However, for one child, there are no safeguarding reasons for this measure to be in place. This does not give reassurance that this monitoring system is being used purposefully.

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good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings and supervision sessions. Supervision records are detailed and evaluate both the progress of the children and the welfare of staff. This means that staff have the right support to enable them to improve their practice and promote the well-being of the children.

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good

Leaders and managers work well with other agencies and professionals. Feedback from social work teams emphasises good communication and effective multi-agency working and highlights how this approach supports children’s progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC394101 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered persons 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

and understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)) 4 August 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

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)) 4 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)) 4 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs. 4 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC394101 6 The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. (Regulation 31 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (1) (4)(a)(b)) 4 August 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: SC394101 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: North East Lincolnshire Council, Civic Offices, Knoll Street, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire DN35 8LN

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Inspector

Evelyn Chafota, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC394101 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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