Children's Home run by South Tyneside Council in South Tyneside

Unique reference number SC032697 Inspection date 15/09/2011 Inspector Deborah White Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 14/10/2010 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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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 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

This children’s home is operated by a local authority. It accommodates and cares for up to six children, of either sex, aged 10 to 17 years who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Brief description of the service

The house is a two storey property with front and rear gardens. The ground floor is made up of a kitchen; dining room; lounge; a computer room and staff offices. The first floor has bedrooms and bath and shower facilities.

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Brief description of the service

The home is situated within the local community and is close to local amenities.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Children benefit from exceptionally positive relationships with staff. Educational achievement is a strength and children enjoy a wide range of meaningful activities. Children feel listened to and valued and are confident, well grounded individuals.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff are proactive in meeting the needs of children. They are committed to their work and feel supported. There is no bullying and children feel safe and secure. The leadership and management of the home is consistent and provides children with a stable, nurturing environment.

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Overall effectiveness

There are some shortfalls in the administration of the home. The medication and child protection procedures do not fully include all the information needed to guide and advise staff and the recording of some risk assessments lack detail.

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Overall effectiveness

Parents are not regularly consulted to seek their views about the operation of the home. Children know about their placement plans but they are not given the opportunity to include their written thoughts and wishes. Not all children’s records are stored securely.

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Overall effectiveness

The recommendations identified at the last inspection are met. Children have access to a person who is independent of the home and know about external safeguarding agencies. Fire drills are regularly held and the Statement of Purpose adequately informs children, parents and social workers how it is to live at the children's home.

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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 person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) prepare in consultation with the child's placing authority a placement plan setting out in particular how on a day-to-day basis the child's welfare will be safeguarded (Regulation 12 (1B) (a) 30/11/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) make suitable arrangements for the recording, handling, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children's home (Regulation 21 (1)) 30/11/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) prepare and implement a written policy which includes all the elements listed in this regulation (Regulation 16 (1) (b)) 31/10/2011

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) prepare and implement a written policy which sets out the measures of control, and discipline which may be used in the children's home and keep records that include the effectiveness of measures used in the home (Regulation 17B (1) and (3) (f)) 30/11/2010

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the person carrying out visits by the provider interviews with their consent and in private parents and relatives of the children living at the home. (Regulation 33 (4) (a)) 30/11/2011

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 ensure children communicate their views on all aspects of their care and support (NMS 1.3)  ensure all records are stored securely and privately. (NMS 22.3)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

The children contributed very well to this inspection. Their views about how it is to live at the home and being looked after by a local authority are invaluable. The children show remarkable resilience and courage. They are smart, confident and very good company.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children benefit from extremely positive and nurturing relationships with the staff team and have developed appropriate attachments to the adults around them. A child said; ‘This is the best place to live. There are plenty of staff that help us and we have the best of everything. I am listened to here. This is a very good place for kids, I can't think of any ways it could be better actually. It really is the best.' The children have a very good insight into their cultural background to give them a sense of belonging. They know why they need to live in a children's home and staff have talked to them about what their long-term plans are. They are supported to maintain important relationships with family and friends and can freely visit their home areas to feel comfortable in a familiar environment.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children are very familiar with their local community. During this inspection the children were seen to come and go as they pleased after they had told staff where they would be and what time they would be back. The children know where all local amenities are and where to go for good, enjoyable activities. Children contribute to the wider community by forming local friendships and relationships with neighbours are good.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children feel they are genuinely cared for. Staff regularly talk to children about how to avoid and understand risky situations and how keep themselves safe. All the children said they feel very safe and secure. A child commented ‘This is a very safe place. I think the staff do a good job and everyone is friendly. There is no bullying or anything. It’s like a family.’

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children know about being healthy and about how important it is to have a healthy diet and regular exercise. They feel staff look after them if they are unwell and help them learn about making a doctors appointment. The children have a good knowledge about other supporting healthcare services, and know how to contact these agencies independently to seek private, confidential advice.

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Outcomes for children and young people

All children attend either school or a vocational training placement. They are enthusiastically encouraged by staff to achieve their hopes and aspirations and children know that the staff will support them in their choice of career. Clear pathway plans are in place to support children into adulthood. Children know where they will move onto when they come to leave the home. They are actively involved in learning independence skills to help them learn and develop practical and self- reliance skills to equip them in later life.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is satisfactory .

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Quality of care

Staff relationships with children are good. All feedback received highlights the staff team as one of the most positive aspects of the home. The team work together to provide a consistent stable environment where children can feel safe and develop into confident adults.

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Quality of care

Staff engage children to help them understand and influence all aspects of their life. key workers develop a special bond with their child to provide one-to-one support for more private issues and all the children are included in the residents’ social group. Complaints information is made readily available to each child and staff support and enable children to talk about any concerns or complaints they may have.

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Quality of care

Case files hold a wealth of information about how each child's needs will be met, which is in places a little onerous and repetitive. Some plans are repeated in a number of formats and some important outcome areas have been missed. For example; a child's welfare risk management plan was completed prior to admission but has not been adequately updated since to reflect new concerns.

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Quality of care

Staff are good at verbally sharing information with children about how they will be looked after but children are not actively encouraged to write their views in their placement and care plans.

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Quality of care

Staff are fully involved with each child's educational needs and there is some inspiring work being undertaken to meet individual children's educational needs. Staff work with the education department and individual children to put together child-focused bespoke educational packages so that every child in the home is achieving.

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Quality of care

There is also a range of stimulating activities to encourage children to experience new and challenging adventures. This year the children have been on holiday abroad after they worked with staff at fund raising events to help finance the trip. This helps children to understand that by working for a shared goal they can achieve good outcomes and rewards.

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Quality of care

Staff work with a number of external healthcare agencies to ensure children have access to the services they need. There are good positive interagency relationships, and networks that mean children access services quickly. There are arrangements for some healthcare specialists to visit the home on an informal basis to meet children in a none-threatening way. Children report that this is a good idea so that if they need to see someone about any problems, they know them beforehand.

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Quality of care

There are some short falls in how medication is administered to children. For example there are some recording errors and although staff at the home have had some guidance from a qualified nurse they have not received any accredited training.

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Quality of care

Staff and children take pride in the home to provide a pleasant homely place for children to live. The home is exceptionally clean and tidy and is decorated and furnished to a high standard. Children see the home as their home, not the 'children's home' and can individualise their bedrooms if they chose. When asked if the children's home was a homely place to live a child said, 'What do you mean homely? I live here, this is my home.'

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children feel safe and report that there is no bullying in the home. Staff operate a zero tolerance to any forms of bullying or intimidating behaviour. They work with children to help them to understanding the impact of bullying on a vulnerable person to help develop empathy skills. Parents and carers are happy with the standard of care and feel that the safety of children is a key part of the services provided at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff know under what grounds they can carry out a room search and inform children if there is a need to search their bedroom. Records are kept to ensure each child's right to privacy is respected.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children who go missing are protected by staff actively monitoring each child's whereabouts and reporting missing children to the police. There is an agreed protocol with local police to look for vulnerable children and staff promote the police's involvement as a positive intervention to enable children to understand that police involvement is not always a punitive measure. There are child protection procedures in place but they are not as robust as they could be.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff promote positive behaviour to help children learn about what is, and what is not, socially acceptable behaviour. Children feel sanctions are fair but not all the sanctions used correspond with the home’s list of permissible sanctions. A description of each sanction given is recorded but there are no written entries to show the effectiveness of each sanction on the child concerned.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Restraints are rarely used and only as a last resort. Staff fully inform children about restraints and all the children know for what reasons staff may need to hold a child. Staff receive regular training so they can handle children safely.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children live in a safe environment that is regularly checked by staff. All utilities are regularly serviced and maintained and there are systems in place to audit environmental and fire safety strategies.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

Children benefit from living in an organised well managed home. Staff are clear about what is expected of them in their individual roles and each staff member is seen as a valuable part of a cohesive team. Staff respect one another and have positive, professional relationships. Moral is good and children respond well to appropriate adult interactions. A child's carer said: 'Staff and management are very good and my child has turned their life around with a lot of help from the staff. I don't think they can do anything better, they are very helpful in every way. I think the staff are excellent and they communicate with families. I have not got a bad word to say about them. They are great.' Another parent said: 'This home is marvellous, the staff are excellent, friendly and I have never had any problems.’

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Leadership and management

The manager regularly monitors the home to ensure staff are operating in line with the Statement of Purpose. The statement is regularly updated to include any new services provided and a copy is readily available for visitors to the home. Development plans help the manager to focus on ongoing changes to improve outcomes for children. Children feel they are given good information about how it is to live at the home. The children's guide is in a format suitable to the age and understanding of the children. A child said 'They gave me a guide when I came here and they gave me lots of other information. I think what they give you tells you what you need to know.'

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Leadership and management

The provider carries out regular monitoring visits and provides Ofsted with reports about how the home is meeting the needs of children. The reports are detailed and informative, however, parents are not regularly consulted about their views on the running of the children's home.

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Leadership and management

There are sufficient numbers of staff to meet the children's needs. The regular staff team cover most absences to provide consistency for children. Children know which staff will be on duty and who is on the sleep-in shift. Staff are supported and receive formal supervision to give them the opportunity to talk about their role and how they can develop their practice in line with individual children's needs.

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Leadership and management

The management and staff are good at notifying Ofsted about significant events at the home to allow the inspector to monitor the performance of the home between inspections. The manager provides updates where children are involved in risky situations and makes sure other agencies are kept informed of events where appropriate.

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Leadership and management

Most children's records are stored securely, however, some records and some information is not kept in a private place. For example, children's information is written on a white board in the office and some of the home's records are not stored in a locked cupboard.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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