Children's Home run by Gateshead Council in Gateshead

Unique reference number SC036773 Inspection date 03/02/2011 Inspector Steve Pearson Type of inspection Key

p.1

Date of last inspection 02/06/2010 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

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

p.2

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.

p.3

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.

p.3

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

p.3

Brief description of the service

The children's home is provided by a local authority and is registered with Ofsted to provide care and accommodation for up to five young people, aged between 12 and 17 years old. It focuses on supporting young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

p.4

Brief description of the service

The home is located on a large housing estate and is a detached house with an enclosed garden at the rear. The ground floor comprises 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 shops. Local bus routes are nearby which provide easy access to a city centre and a range of amenities.

p.4

Summary

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

p.4

Summary

This was an unannounced, full inspection and all the key national minimum standards were assessed. The inspection also assessed whether the registered persons had met a recommendation made at the previous inspection on 2 June 2010. This was about the recording of investigations into complaints.

p.4

Summary

At the time of the inspection, five young people were living in the children's home. Two young people spoke to the inspector about the care they receive and three young people completed written surveys.

p.4

Summary

The Registered Manager and staff provide very good outcomes for young people. They are particularly effective at promoting young people's health, safety and education. The team of staff is experienced, knowledgeable and highly skilled. The management of the home creates a high level of consistent care which provides young people with a strong sense of security.

p.4

Summary

The staff team has excellent relationships with young people and they support them to achieve their potential especially in education, sport and hobbies. This results in young people being enabled to develop confidence, knowledge and skills which in turn gives them the best chances to succeed when they are older.

p.4

Summary

However, the self-assessment of care quality is not fully effective. This is because the people conducting the unannounced monitoring visits never contact the parents and relatives of young people to seek their views about the quality of care.

p.4

Improvements since the last inspection

The registered persons now respond to formal complaints more effectively because they clearly record the evidence which they gather, they record whether the complaint was upheld or not, and they record any further actions necessary. This means the arrangements for handling complaints are very robust.

p.5

Helping children to be healthy

The Registered Manager and staff are extremely effective at promoting healthy outcomes for young people.

p.5

Helping children to be healthy

Young people receive a varied and nutritional diet which they also help to choose and prepare. They like the food, for example, one young person said: 'We get plenty of food and it’s nice.' Wherever possible, the staff enable young people to eat the food they themselves prefer. All staff involved in food preparation receive appropriate training and the environmental health department has awarded the food preparation facilities the highest quality rating achievable.

p.5

Helping children to be healthy

Young people receive health support from a wide variety of external sources. For example, one young person said: 'The staff help us to see the doctor, dentist and optician when we need to and a nurse comes here as well. The staff talk to us about how to be healthy.' Young people have access to a child psychologist, child and adolescent mental health services, a sexual health nurse, a looked after children nurse and support workers from drug and alcohol services. There is a wide variety of health booklets available to young people in the home and all young people are fully supported to take part in a wide variety of sports which enable them to keep fit.

p.5

Helping children to be healthy

All the staff have received training in administration of first aid and medication and a member of staff checks the competency of staff to administer medication on an ongoing basis. Several of the staff are fully qualified in the administration of first aid and parental consents are in place for administration of first aid and non-prescription medication. Staff also receive ongoing training in a wide variety of health-related topics. For example, since the previous inspection all the staff have received training about the misuse of drugs and alcohol, and some have received training in sexual health, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, the impact of parental mental health problems and the promotion of resilience.

p.5

Helping children to be healthy

The recording of medication is clear and comprehensive. However, when the staff administer a non-prescription medication to a young person, they do not record on each occasion the reason why the medication was given. This makes it harder to identify conditions which may require ongoing treatment and may therefore require medical attention.

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The Registered Manager and staff are excellent at promoting the safety of young people.

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

They fully promote young people's need for privacy. Room searches are only undertaken for welfare reasons and each young person is given a mobile phone and credits so that they can make and receive calls in private without asking staff. This also helps the staff to contact them when they are away from the home.

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The staff also fully support young people to raise any concerns informally or formally. Most issues are dealt with effectively at an informal level. However, the Registered Manager responds to any formal complaints in a thorough manner. Although formal complaints are rare, the Registered Manager records the findings of the investigation and the outcome is recorded clearly as well. All the staff have received training in the handling of complaints.

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The staff also receive a rich variety of training associated with promoting the welfare of young people. For example, all the staff receive training in child protection and they have recently received training in working with young people who self-harm. Some staff have also received training about how to work with survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Staff have a full understanding of how to respond to allegations, suspicions or evidence of abuse. One young person summed up the outcomes by saying: 'I think we all feel safe here.'

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There is no bullying at the children's home, as summed up by one young person who said: 'There's no bullying here, we all get on well together.' A clear risk assessment considers the risks of each young person being a bully and also a victim of bullying. The staff have also had training in countering bullying and they keep a log of any incidents arising.

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The staff adhere to a protocol devised with the police and social workers for when any young person goes missing. Risk assessments are in place to take account of ages and vulnerabilities. Any occasions are recorded clearly and comprehensively. Young people who go missing have the opportunity of a discussion with an independent person who has received training in supporting young people in such circumstances.

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The Registered Manager and staff are very effective at promoting positive behaviour. They maintain clear and consistent boundaries, they receive training which focuses on de-escalating challenging behaviour and they focus on rewarding positive behaviour rather than punishing negative behaviour. Young people said: The sanctions are fair and we get rewards as well.'

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The premises are maintained in a safe condition. Professional technicians regularly service the electrical equipment, gas appliances and equipment for preventing, detecting and extinguishing fires. Appropriate liability insurance is in place. An effective and comprehensive risk assessment procedure is in place for each young person. These consider the significant hazards any young person may face and they clarify how such hazards should be reduced. A member of staff has responsibility for promotion of health and safety. The staff undertake regular fire drills, fire training is mandatory and two members of staff are fire wardens responsible for promotion of fire safety.

p.6

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Appropriate arrangements are in place to ensure that staff recruited to work with young people are suitable and safe. The staff keep a record of all visitors to the home and the reason for their visit.

p.7

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Young people have access to a wide variety of support from external agencies. They also have regular one-to-one time with their key worker or co-key worker. This time is used to identify any concerns, opinions or wishes each young person may have and to help decide what action may be necessary. The registered provider has a clear and overt 'Care Pledge' which states its full commitment to promoting positive outcomes for looked after children. A wide variety of support is in place to enable young people to achieve their potential and to establish their identity. Such sources of support help young people to ensure their cultural needs are met and to ensure they are supported with any concerns they may have about their sexuality.

p.7

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

There is a clear ethos of promotion of education and young people achieve high levels of attendance. The registered provider, Registered Manager and staff are proactive in enabling young people to succeed in education, training and employment. This is summed up by one young person who said: 'The staff do a lot to help us with education. Some of us get extra help from a home tutor and this helped us to do well in our schoolwork.' All the young people attend school, college or work. A wide variety of extra support is available for example, young people have access to a virtual school and a virtual headteacher, the registered provider has a team who promote education for looked after children, the registered provider supplies each young person with a laptop to help them with school or college work, and £500 per young person is available for extra educational support.

p.7

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The Registered Manager and staff also fully support young people to take part in a wide range of sports and activities. Young people gain a lot of enjoyment from these activities, they are enabled to excel in them, the activities help them to be mentally and physically fit and through them they are able to develop social relationships with a variety of people in the community.

p.7

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

While young people are living in the children's home, the Registered Manager actively promotes education and leisure in order to help young people succeed in life when they are older and living independently.

p.7

Helping children make a positive contribution

The Registered Manager and staff are very effective at enabling young people to make a full contribution to the running of the children's home and to have a say in their own care plans.

p.8

Helping children make a positive contribution

Residential placement plans contain all the necessary information and they help the staff to be clear about targets and how to meet young people's needs on a day-to- day basis. Each young person's key worker ensures the plan is consistent with the statutory care plan and they update it every week.

p.8

Helping children make a positive contribution

The team is very effective at helping young people to maintain contact and relationships with their families. The Registered Manager actively enables young people to build and maintain relationships with their families as they may well rely on these when they are older.

p.8

Helping children make a positive contribution

A very clear written procedure is in place for when any young person is first admitted to the home and when they leave the home. This helps to ensure important steps are not missed. The staff team also provides effective support to young people who have left the home.

p.8

Helping children make a positive contribution

Young people are helped to have a full say in the running of the home. Once a week the staff hold a consultation event on a one-to-one basis or a house meeting. The wishes of young people are then presented to the staff team and within two days of being consulted the young people receive feedback about the issues they raised. The system is effective at enabling young people to bring about change, for example, about the rules about the use of televisions in bedrooms, menus, lunch monies and bedtimes.

p.8

Helping children make a positive contribution

The relationships between the staff and young people are excellent, being based on support, encouragement and a focus on each young person as an individual. Staff turnover is very low, and staff work flexibly and consistently to help to ensure young people's needs are met. As a result, young people develop positively, they gain self- esteem and they feel valued and secure.

p.8

Achieving economic wellbeing

Effective arrangements are in place to help young people be prepared for when they are older and living independently.

p.8

Achieving economic wellbeing

The staff use a national resource pack to help young people learn skills and knowledge which will be helpful when they are older. This covers such issues as learning how to budget money, shop and cook for food, understanding sexuality and relationships, and practical household skills. The staff help all young people to start learning these skills from when they are first admitted to the children's home. For those young people who are older, statutory pathway plans are in place and the Registered Manager ensures the home's own leaving care plan is consistent with them.

p.8

Achieving economic wellbeing

The premises of the home are clean, well maintained and suitably furnished. The Registered Manager and staff involve young people in choosing the décor and furnishings and fittings. Young people like their bedrooms, and say they are warm and suitably furnished. The Registered Manager has identified that the bathrooms are somewhat worn and in need of refurbishment.

p.9

Organisation

The organisational arrangements are strong. The Registered Manager is experienced, fully qualified and has a clear sense of purpose and direction. The staff are also experienced, consistent and skilled at promoting positive outcomes for young people.

p.9

Organisation

The home has a clear Statement of Purpose which states how the home operates. Young people receive clear and useful written information about the home when they are first admitted.

p.9

Organisation

The staffing arrangements are designed to provide the best level of cover when needed for the young people, and also to provide staff with time to complete any necessary recording. There are some concerns about the amount of recording and administration required, although some processes have been streamlined in recent months.

p.9

Organisation

The staff have access to a rich and varied programme of training and they are all qualified to level three in the National Vocational Qualification in Care. They are knowledgeable and skilled in providing consistent high quality care to young people.

p.9

Organisation

The Registered Manager formally monitors the quality of care on a monthly basis and uses the feedback from parents, social workers and young people to identify shortfalls which are then addressed appropriately. Every year the Registered Manager and staff team create a development plan for the home.

p.9

Organisation

An external person also makes unannounced monitoring visits to the children's home once a month. These visits are not so effective because the visitor never asks parents or relatives about the quality of care provided. This means shortfalls may be identified less quickly.

p.9

Organisation

Information about young people is held securely and confidentially. Young people can read their files, as appropriate, and the staff enable them to add their own comments to their records if they want to.

p.9

Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is outstanding. There is a strong ethos of treating each young person as an individual. The Registered Manager and staff aim to help each young person to achieve their potential and to develop their own unique identity. The team fully supports young people to succeed in education, employment and leisure. Young people receive regular one-to-one time with their key worker and other members of staff so that they can fully express any concerns or preferences. The team provides a wide variety of information to help young people to develop their own identity and they enable young people to experience success and to gain self-esteem. They enable young people to feel secure by providing consistency of boundaries, there is no bullying and the staff fully understand how to promote and protect young people's safety. The team is very effective at setting up young people to succeed when they have left the children's home.

p.9

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.

p.10

Std. Action Due date

32 ensure that, as appears necessary, the person conducting the external visits interviews, with their consent and in private, the children's parents and relatives in order to form an opinion of the standard of care provided in the home. (Regulation 34(3)) 02/03/2011

p.10

Recommendations

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

p.10

Recommendations

 record the reason for administration of any non-prescription medication. (NMS 13.2)

p.10