Children's Home run by Right-Trak Limited in Newcastle upon Tyne

Unique reference number SC394909 Inspection date 04/11/2011 Inspector Dennis Bradley Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 26/11/2010 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

The home provides care and accommodation for up to six young people aged between 10 and 17-years-old.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Overall this home provides a good quality of care and staff endeavour to promote improved outcomes for the young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people spoken to were very positive about the quality of the care and support staff provide as well as their relationships with staff. Staff are good at providing support to meet the individual needs of each young person. Young people benefit from having individual care plans and risk assessments setting out how their needs will be addressed. Staff demonstrate a respect for the young people in their care and are good at making sure their welfare, safety and individual needs are central to the care provided. They take appropriate action to address any bullying behaviour and young people feel safe living at the home. There was evidence that young people are making progress regarding their welfare and development.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff work closely with other professionals and agencies to ensure young people have access to a good range of opportunities and resources. This includes ensuring young people have access to a variety of positive activities to enable them to enjoy and achieve. Staff make every effort to enable young people to attend school or suitable educational placements. They also ensure the personal achievements of young people are recognised and, where appropriate, celebrated.

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Overall effectiveness

Staffing levels are good and enable staff to spend one-to-one time with each young person. There are good arrangements for the support, supervision and training of staff. These help make sure staff have the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to care for the young people.

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Overall effectiveness

The responsible individual and management team work hard to make sure the home is managed efficiently and effectively. However, one requirement and three recommendations have been made to improve practice and outcomes for 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 person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose which includes all the required details. (Regulation 17B(2)) 21/01/2012

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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 staff only carry our searches of a child’s room or their possessions in accordance with the home’s guidance and that records kept of these searches clearly demonstrate this (NMS 3.20)  ensure that the home’s missing person procedures are compatible with and have regard to the protocols and procedures maintained by the local authority (NMS.5.6)  ensure that there are clear and effective procedures for monitoring and controlling the activities of the home and that these are implemented. Ensure that appropriate action is taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring. (NMS 21.1 and 21.2)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from the good levels of support and guidance given to them by the staff. Some of the young people are successfully attending school or other educational placements and are making good progress. Staff support and encourage young people to positively engage in a variety of activities within the local community, such as attending the local gym and community centre. Young people also have the opportunity to take part in activities such as shopping and the preparation and cooking of healthy meals. This helps them to acquire some of the skills they will need for independent living. Young people confirmed staff help them to learn skills they will need in later life.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff try hard to help young people understand the importance of having a healthy lifestyle and they actively promote their health and well-being. Young people are encouraged to eat healthy meals and staff give them appropriate choices regarding the food they eat. Staff are aware of the different dietary preferences and needs of the young people. One young person said the meals: ‘… are good and we get to choose’. Staff ensure each young person is given appropriate advice, support and guidance on good health and personal care. This includes arranging for young people to access training covering a range of health related topics, such as emergency first aid. Staff are good at monitoring the health of the young people and they take appropriate action where necessary.

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Outcomes for children and young people

There are good arrangements for storing, administering and monitoring the young people’s medication. Staff who administer medication to young people have had training in safety with medicines. These arrangements help to protect young people’s health and meet their health care needs. The home makes sure there is always an appropriately trained member of staff on duty should a young person require first aid.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff are very good at supporting and encouraging young people to maintain appropriate contact with their families and friends. For example, they provide practical support such as transport when needed. A young person said that staff: ‘… are really helpful with any family problems’.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from having individual placement plans that detail how, for example, staff will address their educational and health needs. Young people are cared for in line with their placement plans. Staff encourage young people to take part in the development and review of their plans and ensure their views are fully taken into account.

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Quality of care

It is evident that young people are confident about being able to raise any issues with staff. Staff make sure the young people are aware of who they can go to if they have any complaints and they take the views and concerns of young people seriously. A young person described how they received a booklet on how to make a complaint when they moved into the home. They also said there is always one kept in the living room. Staff make sure young people have opportunities to influence the running of the home, as well as the delivery of their care. For example, staff and young people meet together on a regular basis to discuss what is happening in the home.

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Quality of care

The home is decorated, furnished and maintained to a satisfactory standard. Staff try to ensure it is homely in appearance. Young people each have their own rooms and are able to personalise these with posters and other items if they wish. Staff also consult young people about the decoration of the communal areas of the home.

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Quality of care

During the inspection staff and young people were observed interacting well together. There was overall, a positive atmosphere in the home and relationships between staff and the young people were professional but caring and friendly. Staff are good at helping young people to develop an understanding and tolerance of each others diverse needs. Young people confirmed that they have good relationships with and feel cared for by staff.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff receive regular, recorded training in child protection, behaviour management and the use of physical intervention. This training helps make sure, for example, that staff can use physical restraint in such a way that young people are not hurt. Staff help protect young people’s welfare by implementing the home’s safeguarding procedures, risk assessments and reporting procedures. However, the home’s missing person procedures are not fully compatible with the local authority’s procedures. For example, they do not adequately reflect the local authority’s guidance and procedure regarding the carrying out of welfare visits when young people return from being missing. Staff did demonstrate a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in keeping young people safe. They also have good working relationships with agencies such as the local community police. Young people confirmed they feel safe living at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The management team and staff try to make sure the home is run in a manner which respects the privacy and dignity of the young people. When staff carry out searches of young people’s rooms the reasons for doing so are consistent with the home’s written guidance. However, staff do not keep appropriate records of these searches in accordance with this guidance. In particular, staff do not record whether they told the young person about the room search, or whether they were present when staff carried it out.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff work hard at making sure young people understand that bullying is totally unacceptable and must not occur. There is a clear policy on preventing bullying in the home and it is evident that staff intervene appropriately to reduce and prevent bullying behaviours by young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff have the skills and training needed to intervene constructively and manage challenging behaviour and conflict. A young person said that if young people fall out then staff ‘calm you down’. Staff also provide encouragement and support to young people to develop positive behaviour. When staff use sanctions for poor behaviour these are generally relevant and reasonable. Staff also make sure they respond positively to acceptable behaviour by providing appropriate incentives and rewards. When staff use physical restraint on young people this is appropriate and proportionate. Young people confirmed staff treat them fairly and one said that when staff use restraint this is done properly. However, the records staff keep of sanctions and the use of physical restraint are not satisfactory. For example, some records do not clearly identify the behaviour leading to the use of physical restraint. Failure to

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Safeguarding children and young people

keep satisfactory records makes it more difficult for the registered person and staff to, for example, monitor how young people’s behaviour is managed, to ensure it is effective and sensitive to their individual needs. The Registered Manager and responsible individual took action during the inspection to address this matter by preparing new log books to record the use of sanctions and physical restraint.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are clearly aware of the factors that may trigger young people going missing and they actively try to minimise the risk. They also take appropriate action to keep young people safe if they do go missing or are absent from the home without permission. This may include carrying out a search in the local area and contacting friends of the young person.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are satisfactory systems in place to keep the young people and adults safe from the risk of fire and other potential hazards. The provider also has satisfactory staff recruitment and selection procedures that help make sure the home only employs suitable people. There are suitable arrangements for monitoring and managing visitors to the home. These help ensure they do not have inappropriate access to young people.

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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

The home has a Statement of Purpose that provides clear, accessible information about how it operates. There is also a young people’s guide that provides a useful introduction to the home as well as important information such as how to complain or contact an independent advocate.

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Leadership and management

There are good arrangements for providing staff with support, supervision and training in caring for children and young people. For example, staff undertake core training such as emergency first aid and can access training that covers the specific needs of young people. The responsible individual and manager provide effective leadership for the staff team to enable them to provide good outcomes for the young people.

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Leadership and management

Staffing levels are good and enable staff to spend time meeting the individual needs of the young people. Whenever it is possible there is a mix of male and female staff on duty. Regular staff meetings and handover arrangements between shifts help ensure there is effective communication within the staff team. The majority of the staff team are very experienced and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to meeting the complex and diverse needs of the young people living at the home.

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Leadership and management

The promotion of equality and diversity is good. The young people receive an individual service designed to meet their personal needs and preferences. Staff have a good knowledge of the young people and their diverse needs and they try to make sure their needs are being met at all times.

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Leadership and management

There are satisfactory arrangements for the internal monitoring of the home and the care and welfare of the young people. The responsible individual carries out monthly visits to, for example, inspect the premises and some of the home’s records. The Registered Manager also monitors the home’s records each month to identify any patterns or issues that may need addressing. However, this monitoring is not sufficiently robust or effective. For example, it has not identified or addressed the shortfalls in the records of sanctions and restraints.

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Leadership and management

The responsible individual and Registered Manager have taken action to address the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection of the home by Ofsted.

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Leadership and management

Staff ensure young people’s case files are properly kept and that the records of their needs, development and progress reflect their individuality.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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