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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 1 SC477428 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

The home is run by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to two children with learning and physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 12 December 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2022 Full Good 05/01/2022 Full Good 09/07/2019 Full Good 07/08/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have close relationships with staff. Most staff have worked in the home with the children for several years. The staff know the children well and talk passionately about them. Staff spend time with the children according to the children’s wishes and use different approaches to support children who use alternative methods of communication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the children have positive care routines and work hard to help them understand events in their lives. The support from staff helps the children build trusted relationships and reduces any potential anxieties around the care they receive. All professionals and family spoken with said that staff are skilled in meeting the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have healthy lifestyles and work with professionals so children access specialist support when needed. Staff also work with professionals to develop plans for children when they move on from the home, and children are supported to develop their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a variety of activities, such as playing in the garden, going to local parks and the cinema, going away on holiday with staff and playing computer games. Staff capture these memories in photos which are displayed in memory books for the children to look back on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support children to attend education. Staff are involved in children’s transition plans to further education and work with education professionals to address any challenges the children face. This support helps reduce the children’s anxieties and overcome any barriers to their attendance at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children seeing their families and arrange family time in the home. Staff also help the children to see significant others away from the home. The staff ensure that family time meets the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager is aware that some areas of the home require refurbishment as they have not been maintained to an acceptable standard. The children’s bathrooms need some improvements to address wear and tear. Some children’s bedrooms required attention, and this was addressed during the inspection.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff help to keep the children as safe as possible. One child talked about how they can talk to staff if they have any worries. The children have access to regular advocacy support. The advocate spoke positively about the relationships staff have with the children and the care offered. Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 4 Children’s risk assessments identify all the children’s associated risks and give staff guidance to safeguard the children. The children have detailed plans that support staff’s understanding around how to meet the children’s individual needs. Some information in the children’s plans requires updating. However, this does not affect the support provided by the staff.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

No children have gone missing from the home, but there are clear procedures in place if this happened. Some children in the home have close supervision due to their complex needs. The staff use their relationships with the children to promote positive behaviours. Staff support the children to understand specific risks, such as internet and road safety. Staff are reflective and seek to understand the triggers for the children’s behaviour. This approach has led to fewer incidents of concern and helps the children stay safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff rarely need to hold children as a safety measure. On one occasion when staff needed to hold a child, this was proportionate to prevent the child harming themselves. However, gaps in the records and attention to detail of the incident meant that this was not recorded as a physical intervention. This can affect leaders and managers having all the required information to have effective oversight of such incidents.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager has allegation management systems in place and effective links with the local authority designated officer. On one occasion, there was a delay in the manager gathering all the required information to be assured that there were no safeguarding concerns. This did not affect the children’s well-being on this occasion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run effectively by a permanent, suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. Since the last inspection, there have been changes in the home’s leadership. The manager has oversight of this home and another of the provider’s homes and divides her time between them both. Some staff said that the overall changes in leaders and managers have been challenging at times. However, staff said that they feel supported and have positive relationships with the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has monitoring and reviewing systems which support general oversight of quality of care for the children. The local authority has introduced additional tools to strengthen leadership and management oversight of the home. These tools require further embedding to identify some of the shortfalls identified during the inspection. All professionals and family spoken with said that they are regularly updated about the children and said that communication from staff is excellent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the children’s plans and supports staff to progress these plans to enable the children to make progress. The home has some staff vacancies, Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 5 but the manager is recruiting to these and ensures that staff sufficiency does not hinder the quality of care offered to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff currently working in the home access all required training. Staff have access to consistent supervision sessions where they discuss the children’s needs and reflect on their own development. However, some staff were not supported in line with the home’s probationary procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not ensured that a notification of a significant event was sent to Ofsted in a timely manner. This meant a delay in Ofsted having oversight of the incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose is out of date and does not include updated information regarding all children’s care arrangements. This means that the manager is not able to be confident that all parties have the required information regarding the care offered to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not ensured staff have access to regular team meetings. This means staff do not have the opportunity to consistently reflect as a team on the children’s care or discuss changes to staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 6

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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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose

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Requirement Due date

ensure staff work as a team were appropriate

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and reviewing systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that prompt action is taken to clarify staff’s suitability to work with children.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, ensure that clear and updated records are kept of significant incidents, children’s plans, the home’s statement of purpose and probation records.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, ensure that support staff have consistent team meetings. 12 May 2024

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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 an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 12 May 2024

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Recommendation

Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 7  The registered person should ensure that the home is well maintained to meet the children’s basic care needs and ensure that required maintenance and refurbishments of bathrooms are undertaken in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, paragraph 3.9, page 15)

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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: SC477428 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 DN35 8LN

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Inspector

Gina Lightfoot, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC477428 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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