Children's home run by North East Lincolnshire Council

Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 1 SC069618 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 care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children moved out from the home since the last inspection, and a child recently moved in.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2023.

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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

Date of last inspection: 5 September 2022

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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: SC069618 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/06/2022 Full Inadequate 20/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/07/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 3

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improvement to be good

Staff work to forge strong relationships with children. However, several shortfalls in the effectiveness of leaders and managers and in how children are helped and protected were found during the inspection. These shortfalls have affected children’s overall experiences and progress.

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improvement to be good

Children’s physical health needs are met. The staff help the children to attend their appointments and receive all necessary and routine medical treatment. Children receive specialist support for their mental health and well-being. When concerns about a child’s mental health are heightened, staff source additional support through the crisis team.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to understand the importance of attending school. When children do not engage in education, staff try to find alternative placements that better reflect their learning needs. This approach promotes children’s success and broadens opportunities for later in life.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to build positive memories of their stay in the home. Children enjoy a range of activities, such as horse-riding, fishing and going on trips to places of interest. This helps to build children’s confidence.

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improvement to be good

Staff are proactive in encouraging children to safely see friends and family. When barriers occur, staff work well with the family to try to find solutions. This helps to ensure that the children maintain close connections with important people in their lives.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care is not always planned effectively in this home. Leaders and managers do not always ensure that when children move on from the home, that this is carried out in a sensitive and planned manner. For one child, this meant that they were informed the day before of their move from the home. This does not promote a positive ending to their stay in the home and may affect the child’s emotional well- being.

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improvement to be good

Children have been physically held by the staff to prevent injury to themselves or others. Not all physical intervention records show that children and staff have been offered an opportunity to reflect after the incident. In addition, there are many occasions when leaders and managers have not evaluated whether physical intervention has been necessary to keep children and others safe. This does not ensure that the measures used have been fair and proportionate. Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 4 When children go missing from the home, staff follow children’s missing-from-care plans to inform their response. Staff have a good understanding of the home’s missing-from-care procedures and fully understand the actions expected of them in these circumstances. This ensures that children are safeguarded effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are reviewed and updated. These provide clear guidance for staff on how to manage children’s behaviours. This ensures that the staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs and vulnerabilities.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers ensure that any concerns raised about staff practice are appropriately referred and addressed in line with statutory safeguarding procedures. The registered manager works closely with other professionals to ensure that information is shared effectively.

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good

There has been a period of instability in the management of the home. Constant changes in the day-to-day management of the home affect children’s progress and overall experiences. The management monitoring systems have been ineffective, with some gaps evident in the recordings. However, a new registered manager is now in post. They have a clear vision for the home, with a good retention plan. However, this is not yet fully embedded into the home’s management and review systems.

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good

The staff have varying levels of experience and qualifications in relation to caring for children. Some staff, who have been employed to care for children for over two years, have not yet gained the necessary level 3 qualification. This limits their knowledge of residential care for children, which is relevant to their role. The new registered manager has implemented learning plans to address this shortfall.

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good

The home’s statement of purpose outlines the home’s objectives clearly. However, it currently contains out-of-date information and has not been reviewed annually as it should be. Similarly, managers do not always review significant events and incidents of concern. This lack of management oversight prevents an effective and accurate review of the quality of care that children receive. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that staff practice continually evolves to meet children’s needs and influence the development of the service.

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good

Staff say that they receive good support from their colleagues and the registered manager. They benefit from regular team meetings, development days and training courses and training courses for staff that reflect children's complex needs. However, not all staff receive regular formal supervision. This prevents staff from reflecting on their practice and leaders and managers from identifying and addressing shortfalls in staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 5 The registered manager works closely with social workers and other professionals. The positive relationships between services mean that communication is effective. This helps to ensure that children receive the support they need promptly.

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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 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)) 6 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 6 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 6 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 6 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 6 For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32 (1) (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 6 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 7

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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: SC069618 8

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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

Evelyn Chafota, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC069618 9 regulates and inspects 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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