Children's Home run by Lincolnshire County Council in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC042950 1 SC042950

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Registered provider: Lincolnshire County Council

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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 operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to six children with social and emotional difficulties. The home’s aim is to provide a safe, nurturing and homely environment.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is qualified and experienced.

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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: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC042950 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/10/2022 Full Good 09/12/2021 Full Good 11/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC042950 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to form positive relationships with children, who value the staff and the care they provide. Children feel able to approach staff and ask for help. Staff are nurturing in their approach and patient with the children. As a result, children feel safe and well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are making progress in education. One child has experienced difficulties with accessing education. The manager has worked closely with the child’s network of professionals to support the child to attend on a reduced timetable. When the child is not in school, they are encouraged to do their artwork and explore their future aspirations. Staff encourage children to attend education because they know how important this is for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from a family member outlines the nurture and care the children receive. A family member said, ‘The impression I get is that the staff absolutely love her and are incredibly invested. I could not wish for her to be in safer hands. We feel she has started to love herself more and realise she matters. They have done that and achieved that. She has a future now because of them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to explore and understand their identity. One child has been supported to celebrate important anniversary dates for her parent that passed away. Staff were able to take another child to places with childhood memories and put together messages and gifts of importance. This has allowed children to process trauma and has improved their self-esteem and identity awareness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child said, ‘[Staff] always help me in tricky times. They give me a cuddle, talk to me and sort it. If I had a worry, I could go to them and tell them. They would help me.’ The children enjoy a wide range of activities, such as clubs, swimming and judo. They view the staff as trusted adults and are happy and relaxed in their company.

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

There has been a thoughtful and positive response to address group dynamic issues and concerns. This has been achieved using preventative strategies and relationship building with the home’s ‘kindness project’. There is evidence of the positive impact on children. One child said, ‘We do not always get on, but we still love each other.’

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

Missing-from-home incidents have significantly reduced. Missing-from-care risk assessments are detailed and thorough. There has been a focus on building relationships to help children feel safe. Staff are not fully aware of what to do if a child goes missing. This could put children at risk of harm. Inspection report for children’s home: SC042950 4 Children are educated on topics that relate to everyday life, such as online safety, feelings, emotions and staying safe. They are supported to reduce online risks. Children work with staff to understand risks and how to keep themselves safe. This enables them to take age-appropriate risks safely.

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

Physical interventions are only used as a last resort to keep children and staff safe. They are not always used in a proportionate response to children’s age and behaviour. Records for physical interventions are not always thorough or detailed. This impacts the manager’s ability to learn and reflect following incidents.

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

Consequences are not used in the home. There is a focus on restorative practice and educating the children. Following incidents and physical interventions with children, debrief meetings take place with children and staff involved. This helps children and staff learn from what has happened and reduce the number of further incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is enthusiastic about providing children with love and nurture. Managers have created a culture of safe and caring relationships, which has filtered through the staff team. They lead an enthusiastic and motivated team. The manager is held in high regard by children, staff and other professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported by the manager in their day-to-day practice. The manager is visible and approachable, which has helped to create a stable staff team. Staff receive regular supervision, including individual development plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home. Effective monitoring and quality assurance systems are in place. Positive changes have been made to ensure this is robust. The manager is aware of what is happening in the home daily and is aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager seeks training for the staff to meet the children’s individual needs. This includes working with external agencies to use their knowledge to develop staff to have a greater understanding of children’s needs. The manager needs to ensure that all staff have the qualifications required. This will provide staff with the fundamental training to make sure they feel fully equipped to provide children with the best possible care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are taking place to a good standard, and staff are engaging in discussions and voicing opinions. They explore risks to children and issues affecting them. The child is always at the forefront of thinking to reflect and learn. Inspection report for children’s home: SC042950 5

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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

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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the use of physical restraint is clearly recorded to outline the child’s behaviour and the proportionate response of the physical intervention. There needs to be continual reflection in place to ensure that the use of physical interventions are proportionate and least restrictive to the child’s behaviour and age. 11 October

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or 10 January Inspection report for children’s home: SC042950 6 in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that if there is a risk that a child may run away or go missing from home, staff should do their best to help them understand the risks and dangers involved and make them aware of how to seek help if they do run away. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.27)

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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: SC042950 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lincolnshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL

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Inspector

Eleanor Quanbrough, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC042950 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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