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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033127 1 SC033127 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 run by a local authority. It provides care for up to 11 children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The home is divided into three smaller homes. Two of these provide long-term care for children, and one provides short-break services. At the time of this inspection, four children lived in the home permanently.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a new manager in post who is in the process of registering 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

Date of last inspection: 11 October 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC033127 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2022 Full Good 14/07/2021 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/12/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC033127 3

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improvement to be good

There are shortfalls in the help and protection of children and in the leadership and management of the home. These have affected the overall progress and experiences of the children who live in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff are attentive to the children. Staff use creative ways to consult with the children, taking account of their cognitive understanding and their preferred communication methods. Staff engage with children and are sensitive to their diverse needs. This helps children to feel valued and respected.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy a variety of individual and group activities. They benefit from using the sensory room in the home, which they find both stimulating and relaxing. Photos displayed around the home capture children’s experiences and memories of their time living in the home.

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improvement to be good

All the children attend education and are meeting their targets. Staff work closely with schools to ensure that there is good coordination. Good communication with education professionals ensures that children receive positive outcomes in their education.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from nutritious home-cooked meals. There is a focus on healthy eating, which helps children to maintain a good diet. For one child in particular, this has resulted in weight loss. Individualised targets help staff to focus on children’s specific needs, such as social skills, personal hygiene, sleep, emotional health and independence skills. Staff support children to attend medical appointments. This ensures that children’s health is reviewed promptly in line with their medical needs.

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improvement to be good

For those children who live in the home permanently, staff support them to see their families and friends if it is safe to do so. This helps children to maintain positive connections and relationships with those who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Children’s local authority plans and assessments are not reflected in the home’s plans and assessments that are followed by staff. This does not ensure that the actions taken by staff are fair, proportionate and agreed with children’s social workers.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are used in response to some children’s behaviours. The methods used are the least restrictive and are only used as a last resort to protect children and others from harm. However, most of the records of these incidents Inspection report for children’s home: SC033127 4 have no management oversight. This does not ensure that incidents of physical intervention have been reviewed to ensure they are necessary and appropriate.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans clearly identify the known risks and vulnerabilities related to children’s individual disabilities. Staff understand the vulnerabilities of all children, and strategies are in place to keep children safe. This provides consistency in the care children receive.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff who come to work in the home are safely recruited. Staff understand safeguarding procedures. Although, children do not go missing from this home, the staff know their responsibilities and the correct procedures to follow should they do so.

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good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has left the home. A new manager has recently been appointed and is now in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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good

The internal monitoring systems, which are in place to review the development of the service and how it meets children’s needs, are ineffective. Not all staff receive formal supervision in line with the home’s policy. This shortfall prevents staff from reflecting on their practice and does not give managers an opportunity to identify and address any shortfalls in practice or the developmental needs of staff.

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good

There is also a lack of management oversight of children’s essential documents. This gap prevents the manager from effectively reviewing the quality of care that children receive. The new manager recognises this shortfall and is taking action to address it. However, it is too early to assess the effectiveness of these changes.

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good

Feedback from professionals is positive about the care the staff provide for children. However, communication with the social work team is sometimes poor. As a result, children’s plans are not progressed in an effective or timely manner.

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good

Staff say that they receive good support from their colleagues and the new manager. Staff benefit from regular team meetings. These meetings are used as learning opportunities for staff to develop their knowledge. Training courses for staff reflect some of the children’s complex needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033127 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 person must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d)) 22 December

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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)) 22 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 22 December Inspection report for children’s home: SC033127 6 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;

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Requirement Due date

and 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;

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Requirement Due date

and 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;

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Requirement Due date

and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate;

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Requirement Due date

and 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)) 22 December

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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: SC033127 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

Evelyn Chafota, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033127 8 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or

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Inspector

medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspector

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Inspector

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