Children's home run by North Lakes Children’s Service Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: SC457254 1 SC457254 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 operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children are currently being cared for in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered in November 2019 and is suitably experienced and qualified.

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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: 10 January 2023

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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: SC457254 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2023 Full Good 30/09/2021 Full Outstanding 07/01/2020 Full Outstanding 12/06/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC457254 3

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improvement to be good

Staff take appropriate action to promote children’s physical and emotional health needs. This includes input from a psychologist and a nurse who have supported staff in identifying and meeting children’s needs. Despite this, staff have not taken effective action in response to one child’s sexual health needs. As a result, the child has placed themselves in situations in which they could have harmed themselves.

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improvement to be good

Overall, staff ensure that children’s views are listened to and acted on. This includes informal conversations with children and regular children’s meetings. Before any new children move into the home, existing children are consulted. This helps children to feel listened to and involved in the running of the home. However, there was an isolated example, where a child had not been fully consulted on an important issue. This related to the child’s use of their mobile phone. This caused the child to be frustrated.

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improvement to be good

All children access full-time education and attend the same school. This gives children structure and routine and ensures that their educational needs are being met. Staff work closely with the school, and communication links are strong. This helps the staff in the home and the school to work in a consistent way to support the children.

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improvement to be good

Staff are creative in finding activities that support children’s sensory needs and routines. For example, staff have identified that one child can become overstimulated when the school day has ended. To manage this, staff take the child to visit a farm, which is a calm and relaxing environment. This approach has proved to be successful.

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improvement to be good

The home has a calm atmosphere. Staff and children enjoy spending quality time together. Staff also help children to spend time with their families, supporting with travel and supervision for children whose families live some significant distance away.

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improvement to be good

When children move out of the home, staff plan well for this. For one child, this involved working with the placing local authority to source a new home to meet his needs and interests. Introductory visits to the new home supported the child’s transition.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a reasonable understanding of children’s risks. However, staff have been slow to support one child to develop the skills and understanding needed to keep themselves safe. As a result, the child has continued to behave in ways which have Inspection report for children’s home: SC457254 4 placed them at risk of harm. The manager did not recognise that the child’s actions were serious enough to require Ofsted to be notified.

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improvement to be good

The manager has attempted to work with a child’s placing local authority to put in place strategies to manage risk. However, significant delay by the local authority in agreeing the proposed strategies has not been challenged effectively by the manager. This delay compromises the child’s safety.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are generally thorough and provide detailed strategies for staff to use. However, staff have not fully considered what impact one child’s behaviours has had on the other children living in the home. For example, when one child has thrown inappropriate objects into a yard area where other children spend time. This means that children may have been exposed to risk when it could have been prevented.

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improvement to be good

Key-work sessions with children are reactive to incidents with little consideration as to how planned sessions by staff or external support agencies could lead to better outcomes for children. Work with one child to support the development of safe and appropriate relationships has been limited. This means that children have not increased their understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

Despite some shortfalls in safeguarding practices, children say they feel safe and staff look out for them. Children do not go missing from the home and physical intervention is rarely used.

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good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced and qualified manager. The manager is supported by a competent deputy manager.

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good

There is a stable and experienced team of staff who feel well supported and listened to. Staff have regular supervision sessions. This provides opportunities for reflective discussion and to discuss staff well-being. Staff’s concerns are listened to and acted on effectively. An additional team meeting was held recently so that staff could share their concerns and ideas about how to provide the best care for children.

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good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. However, the manager’s monitoring of the home has not allowed them to identify and act on the shortfalls in relation to the arrangements to keep children safe.

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good

Leaders and managers promote tolerance and equality in the home, managing sensitive subjects for children with dignity and respect. There is a balanced and diverse staff team, which helps children to consider different perspectives and their own past experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457254 5 Staff undertake a range of training. The training covers a range of topics relevant to the needs of the children. The training sometimes includes sessions with staff from other homes to promote shared learning. The manager has identified a need for refresher training in relation to sexually harmful behaviour and this has been scheduled. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457254 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, The 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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person having a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. 1 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

if they, 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 (c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that there is no unnecessary delay caused where a decision about a child’s care would reduce the risk they are exposed to. 1 December 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that measures are put in place to support children’s physical and emotional well-being and are carried out in a timely way to ensure that children are not exposed to unnecessary risk.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that staff engage with children in a planned way to support them with 1 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC457254 7 their behaviours and understanding of risks rather than only in response to specific incidents.

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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 each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that support is in place to help children develop the skills to build safe and healthy relationships with other children. 1 December 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are aware of when reviews will be undertaken around aspects of their care, such as their access to mobile phones and social media, so they have an opportunity to be consulted on their views, wishes and feelings. Children should be kept informed about the outcome of reviews so they can see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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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: SC457254 8

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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

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457254 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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