Children's Home run by Gateshead Council in Gateshead

Unique reference number SC036773 Inspection date 09/07/2009 Inspector Shaun Common Type of inspection Random

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Date of last inspection 12/11/2008 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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You can obtain copies of The Children Act 2004, Every Child Matters and The National Minimum Standards for Children’s Services from: The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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About this inspection

This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004 and the relevant National Minimum Standards for the service.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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Brief description of the service

The children's home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people aged from 12 to 17 years. The home is a detached house with an enclosed garden at the rear. The ground floor comprises of a staff office, lounge, dining room, laundry, toilet and kitchen. On the second floor there are five individual bedrooms for young people, a further two bedrooms are used as staff sleep in rooms and there are two bathrooms. The home is a short distance from local shops. Local bus routes are nearby which provide easy access to the city centre and a range of amenities.

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Brief description of the service

There were five young people living at the home at the time of the visit and three were present during the inspection.

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Summary

The overall quality rating is inadequate - notice of action to improve.

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Summary

This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Summary

This interim inspection assessed the progress of the home with the statutory requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. These related to care and leaving care plans containing young people's holistic assessed needs, provision of a healthy balanced diet, evidence of staff receiving essential training, robust monitoring of the home to improve provision to young people and recording action taken after any absence of a young person. They also included gaining permission for use of surveillance equipment, risk assessing known and likely activities, ensuring medication is administered and recorded appropriately, feeding back to young people about their expressed views and seeking the views of placing authority social workers about the care provided and the operation of the home.

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Summary

The inspection assessed all key standards in the outcome area of staying safe as well as some standards in the areas of positive contribution and organisation. The inspection did not assess outcomes in the areas of being healthy, enjoying and achieving and economic wellbeing. The home has a strength in the way it manages bullying in order to keep young people safe. Improvement is needed in ensuring the home only admits young people it is registered for and whose needs it can meet and in medication administration and recording. Improvement is also needed in robust risk assessment, monitoring to improve provision and in recording action taken as a result of any absence of a young person.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The Registered Persons were asked at the last inspection of the home to make a number of improvements. They were asked to revise care and leaving care plans to set out all young people's needs, provide young people with a balanced, healthy diet and ensure there is evidence of all required staff training. They were asked to obtain written approval for any surveillance, provide feedback to young people on their expressed views in house meetings and seek the views of placing social workers about the operation of the home and care of young people. All these matters have been addressed and help to ensure young people's needs are met, staff are trained to meet those needs, young people's rights and views are promoted and views of the placing authority help to improve the home.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The Registered Persons have not improved in a number of areas highlighted at the last inspection. These include devising robust risk assessments of young people's likely and known activities, ensuring medications are administered and recorded as prescribed, that monitoring is robust and improves the service and actions are recorded regarding any absence. Further actions and recommendations will be raised in this report about these matters.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Young people's privacy is respected and they have free access to a telephone to keep in touch with people important to them. Their information is stored securely which protects their rights. The home has a complaints procedure and information for young people so they can access a system that promotes and protects their rights. Staff are trained in complaints to support young people if required.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has a copy of the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures and their own child protection procedure, which are accessible to staff in the home. Staff are trained in the procedures and know and understand them, and these matters help them keep young people safe. An anti-bullying policy is in place and staff are trained in order to safeguard young people. There have been no bullying incidents at the home since the last inspection. The home has an appropriate absence without authority procedure, which is followed by staff to help keep young people safe. However, records relating to any absence do not always contain the action taken to further safeguard young people.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has a policy for supporting staff in behaviour management. The sanction record is fully completed and demonstrates appropriate measures to help positively shape young people's behaviour and support them to develop responsibility. There have been no restraints at the home for a long period of time, however, the home has a record for the purpose if needed and staff are trained.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Health and safety matters are managed well and help to keep young people safe. For example, gas installations are checked as are portable electrical appliances and fire equipment. Fire drills are carried out regularly and fully recorded to show everyone knows what to do and how to keep safe.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Risk assessments that relate to young people's known and likely activities are in place but lack sufficient detail in some cases and are inadequate. Not all risks have been assessed and leave the potential of harm to young people as action has not been taken to identify them in written records, minimise them or put in place appropriate safeguards until a risk or potential risk has been fully explored and assessed. Those risk assessments that are in place are not robust and do not always show the action to be taken by staff to reduce or eliminate risks.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The home has in place a policy and procedure for the safe recruitment of new staff to work with young people. No new staff have started work at the home since the last inspection.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The home's care planning for young people is satisfactory. Young people have care plans that set out how the home will support and care for them on a day-to-day basis. Information from a local authority core assessment that sets out the needs of young people and informs planning was not fully used to determine planning in one case. The assessment stated clearly specific types of placement that would best meet a young person's needs and this was disregarded.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Looked after reviews take place as required and key workers ensure care plans are kept up-to-date from any recommendations or decisions in order to meet young people's needs. Contact arrangements are clearly recorded on young people's files as are contact events, and this shows young people are supported to keep in touch with people important to them.

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Organisation

There is good information in place for young people, parents and others regarding the services the home provides. However, the home has not complied with its statement of purpose or registration conditions. The home has undertaken an admission where there are no assessed emotional or behavioural difficulties. Admissions such as these have the potential to impact on the welfare, safety and care of all young people. They are outside the services described in the statement of purpose and contrary to the specific registration conditions of the children's home.

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Organisation

Staff are experienced and trained to care for young people admitted in line with the home's statement of purpose and conditions of registration. They have received essential training that helps them provide a good level of safe care to young people.

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Organisation

Internal monitoring of the home takes place each month. However, there remains a lack of robustness in that there are still shortfalls in risk assessments, adhering to the home's statement of purpose and conditions of registration and in medication administration that have not been identified and action taken to improve provision to young people.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions, which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The Registered Provider(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Std. Action Due date

1 ensure that the children's home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose and conditions of registration (Regulation 4 and The Care Standards Act 2000, Section 24) 09/07/2009

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Std. Action Due date

13 keep an accurate record of all medication, prescribed and non- prescribed (Regulation 21) 10/07/2009

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Std. Action Due date

26 ensure unnecessary risks to the health and safety of young people are identified and so far as possible eliminated, specifically by carrying out risk assessments as set out in NMS 26 relating to all children's likely and known activities (Regulation 23) 15/07/2009

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Std. Action Due date

33 ensure the matters set out in Schedule 6 are robustly monitored each month with any shortfalls being identified as well as action to be taken to improve provision to children, specifically in 09/07/2009 medication administration records and in young people's risk assessments (Regulation 34)

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure written records of the circumstances of all incidents of absconding specifically include the action taken (NMS 19)

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