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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 1 SC472449 Registered provider: North 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 run by a local authority, and it can provide care for up to six children who may have social and emotional difficulties. This includes up to one child with a physical disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The home does not have a registered manager. A new manager has been appointed, but they have not yet applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children and one young adult were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Due to serious and widespread concerns identified at an assurance inspection on 11 July 2023, Ofsted issued two compliance notices under Regulation 12, the protection of children standard and Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. A monitoring visit took place on 5 September 2023, and both compliance notices had been met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/08/2022 Full Good 08/11/2021 Full Outstanding 27/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children report being happy and safe in the home and having good relationships with the staff. One child said that they ‘love living in the home and feel safe’. This child said that the staff provide an ‘inclusive’ environment where they feel ‘included in decisions made about the home and their life’. Another child said that they feel ‘safe and cared for’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and professionals spoken to were positive in their feedback about the quality of relationships between the staff and the children. One parent described the staff as caring for their child with ‘care and respect’. In addition, one professional said that the child has ‘excellent relationships with all of the staff’ and that the child has said that the staff really care about, listen to and support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand the individual needs and vulnerabilities of the children by ensuring they have read and understood the children’s care plans and by spending time with the children and getting to know their likes and dislikes. This means that the staff can provide the children with care that meets their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to communicate their views, wishes and feelings in a variety of ways and the voice of the children is valued by the staff. This means that the children living in the home can actively take part in decisions about their lives where this is appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to be physically and emotionally healthy, and they help the children to access specialist health support when this is needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The headteacher of the virtual school and other professionals provided feedback that the staff help children to achieve in education. When children are not in any formal education, the staff find creative ways to support the children’s learning and advocate on the children’s behalf so that suitable educational provision is provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is in good repair. It is clean, modern, spacious and decorated to a good standard. The children’s rooms are personalised to their individual tastes and provide them with a private space in which they can spend time. The home looks and feels like a family home for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to take part in a range of activities that are aligned with the children’s specific interests, such as horse riding and boxing. This helps the children to develop interests and a support network outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of helping children to keep in touch with those that matter to them the most. This means that the children can maintain relationships with their family members and friends. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 4 The children’s individual care plans are goal-oriented and they help children to make progress. However, in the case of the young adult living in the home, the care plan has not suitably reviewed and assessed the impact of the young adult’s needs and the needs of the other children living in the home.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities of the children living in the home. The care and support that the staff provides help children to become increasingly safe. For one child, this has meant a reduction in the number of times that they have gone missing from the home.

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

The children’s risk assessments, missing-from-home plans and behaviour support plans are clear and easy to understand. The plans are reviewed regularly by the staff and are updated accordingly to reflect new and emerging risks. The plans help support staff to know what to do to help and protect children living in the home. The staff work closely with external professionals to protect children who are at risk from exploitation and other forms of harm, such as domestic abuse.

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

There is a strong response to children who go missing from the home. The staff search for children who are missing from home and go to all lengths to contact the child and locate their whereabouts by contacting the child’s family members, friends and associates. The staff work well with the police and other professionals to ensure the safe return of the child to the home.

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

Children are very rarely held in the home. Staff take steps to de-escalate situations in order to avoid holding the child. Children are supported after incidents to recover and repair relationships with staff. These are recorded and will be helpful for children to understand how the staff have helped them. However, there is no evidence of staff being offered debriefs to promote learning or their welfare following a child being held.

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

The home has a clear procedure for the safe administration and storage of medication. However, it is of concern that in the case of one child, medication that the child had chosen not to take had not been disposed of safely by the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has been without a permanent manager for a significant period. Interim management arrangements have promoted positive changes in the home and provided stability for the children and the staff. A manager has now been recruited. The manager has a clear vision for the home and is making a positive impact in all areas. However, the manager is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are passionate about the children living in the home. They speak with care, compassion and pride about the children. Leaders and managers enjoy spending time with the children, know the children well and can identify the progress they are making. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 5 Leaders and managers are aware of the strengths of the home and have clear plans in place to address the weaknesses. Leaders and managers acknowledge the journey that they and the staff have been on in the last year. They have learned from things that have not gone well and understand the need for ongoing work to further develop the home. Leaders and managers are keen to learn, and they value external scrutiny from the independent visitor and external professionals. Leaders and managers have good oversight of the home through weekly meetings with professionals and quality assurance tools.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home, and staff morale is good. The staff welcome the changes that have been introduced under the interim manager and the new manager and feel supported in their roles. The staff express confidence in the new manager and the deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The locality risk assessment is informed by the views of other professionals and the children living in the home. However, it does not assess all the risks in the local area and how these risks can be mitigated. This shortfall does not support staff to keep the children safe when they are not in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers keep the regulator up to date regarding serious incidents in the home. However, the submission of these is not always done in a timely way. This prevents the regulator from being able to assess the safety of the children living in the home in a timely way. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 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 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that arrangements are in place to—

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that for any young adult living in the home, care planning considers the needs of the young adult living in the home and the impact this will have on them and the other children who live in the home. 1 July 2024

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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. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that, following any use of a measure of control, staff are provided with a debrief to support their learning and welfare and that all debriefs are recorded and signed by staff who have used the measure. 1 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 7 The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)) 1 July 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)  The registered person should ensure that when reviewing the location of the home, that the review includes the identification of any risks and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: SC472449 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Lincolnshire Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Church Square House, 30-40 Church Square, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire DN15 6NL

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Inspector

Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC472449 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 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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