Children's Home run by Gateshead Council in Gateshead

Unique reference number SC036773 Inspection date 30/07/2012 Inspector Stephen Graham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 20/12/2011 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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Brief description of the service

This children’s home provides care and accommodation to young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by the local authority.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people living at the home receive outstanding encouragement and support to help them to attend their education and employment opportunities regularly. They receive outstanding support and advice regarding their personal health care needs and participate in a range of healthy leisure activities in their community. Young people practice their self-care skills regularly. They receive outstanding individual support from the manager and staff team and are encouraged to discuss their care needs. The building provides a very homely and comfortable environment for the young people who live there.

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Overall effectiveness

The staff team provide young people with outstanding support to help keep them safe. Young people feel safe living at the home. The home is very well led and managed. The arrangements used to monitor and further improve the service are good. However, there are some shortfalls within the monitoring records and other records available at the home. These shortfalls have only a limited impact on the good quality care that young people receive overall from the staff team and manager.

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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) ensure that visits to monitor the conduct of the home report on all matters required. (Regulation 33 (4) (b)) 30/09/2012

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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

 include photographs of the home in the information provided to young people prior to their arrival. (NMS 11.3)

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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

Young people living at the home receive care which is personalised and planned to meet their individual needs. Young people themselves describe ‘the staff’ as being one of the best things about living at the home. The individual achievements of each young person are clearly documented by the staff team. Young people know about their individual care plans and they can help to write them. The staff team also work well with social work professionals to achieve good outcomes for young people. One social care professional describes very positively how ‘the staff team are really skilled and able’. They add that the young person they work with is ‘very settled and happy’ living at the home. Another gives the view that the manager and staff team provide young people with ‘a real quality service’.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy a very healthy and active lifestyle. They participate regularly in a broad range of healthy activities within the local community. The staff team ensure that young people access the health services and support that they need. Young people confirm that the staff team look after them if they feel unwell. They also ensure that young people access the information, resources and independent advice they need to help them maintain their good health.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people also enjoy very good outcomes in their employment and education. They agree that the staff team make sure that they attend their education or employment regularly. Their learning is supported and the staff team celebrate their individual achievements with them. The staff team also work very closely with employers and education staff to ensure that information is shared effectively in support of good employment and educational outcomes. Social care professionals agree strongly that staff work well with them and also confirm that ‘children speak well of the staff’. Young people practise and develop their self-care skills whilst living at the home. They are confident, as appropriate to their age and understanding, about their readiness for independence and adult life.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people living at the home receive outstanding support and care from the staff team. One young person describes how the staff team are ‘nice’ and are ‘fair’. Social care professionals with links to the home describe the service provided to young people as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’. They also believe that equality and diversity is ‘central’ to everything the children’s home does. Equality and diversity issues are identified clearly in the individual care plans for each young person and these are positively addressed in their daily living arrangements. Regular meetings are organised to review the effectiveness of care plans. Young people agree strongly that they are encouraged to participate fully in these meetings. The home provides detailed reports to these meetings. These reports clearly demonstrate the outstanding progress being made by each young person living at the home.

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Quality of care

The home has well-organised admission procedures in place. These are used very effectively by the manager and staff team to ensure that each young person is admitted safely. Introductory visits are organised for each young person to help them become more familiar with the service. However, the written information provided to young people in advance of their arrival does not currently include any photographs of the home. Admission documentation, including placement agreements and risk assessments are completed in very good detail.

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Quality of care

The home is furnished and decorated to a very high standard. It comfortably meets the needs of the young people who live there. The shared communal space is very well presented and each young person has their own bedroom. There are sufficient bathroom facilities. One young person describes how ‘I got to choose how my room is decorated’. Another describes the home as being ‘clean and tidy’. Young people enjoy very good access to a broad range of local community resources and facilities. They are also supported by the staff team to enjoy healthy diets. The home has a dedicated cook. The food provided is of a very high standard and includes a range of healthy choices and examples of food from different cultures. One young person describes how the home provides ‘nice food and if I don’t like what’s on the menu I can have what I like’. Young people are encouraged to practice and improve their cooking skills and they are regularly involved in menu planning. To further meet the

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Quality of care

health needs of each young person living at the home, the staff team are trained in first aid and the safe administration of medication.

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Quality of care

The staff team work very hard to develop and maintain very positive and constructive relationships with young people living at the home. There are written behaviour management plans in place for each young person. These are used by staff to help manage behaviours very positively and effectively. Young people receive outstanding encouragement to give their views on how the home is run. The manager consults very regularly with young people, their parents and social workers. Good records are maintained which demonstrate clearly how the ideas and suggestions received are incorporated into overall care arrangements at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has outstanding arrangements in place which safeguard the young people who live there. Detailed risk assessments are completed to help minimise any risks to young people and these are monitored regularly and thoroughly by the manager and staff team in partnership with placing social workers and young people themselves. The individual care plans put in place for each young person also help to identify any risks and protective factors. The home has clear reporting procedures in place should any safeguarding concerns arise. The staff team have access to agreed safeguarding guidance and are trained to help protect young people from abuse. Social care professionals believe strongly that the staff team understand how to protect children and safeguard their welfare and also help children to understand how to protect themselves. These arrangements are effective in helping to ensure that young people are cared for safely. Young people themselves confirm that they ‘feel safe’

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff team use the agreed protocols and procedures in place to help ensure that if young people go missing from the home, they are found and kept safe, as quickly as possible. Some young people have gone missing from the home. Where this has occurred the staff team have worked consistently with placing social workers and family members where possible to reduce the number of events and to minimise any risks to young people. Overall, young people living at the home enjoy very positive and constructive relationships with the staff team. There has been no use of restraint at the home. The staff team use a range of agreed sanctions and incentives very effectively to promote and support positive behaviour by young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are robust and effective arrangements in place which help to ensure that the home remains a safe place for young people to live. Regular safety checks and risk assessments are completed by the staff team to help minimise any risks to young people. The staff team are also trained to know what to do in any emergency and they practice this with young people. There are good arrangements in place to complete required checks on any new staff team members that may come to work at the home. Visitors to the home are closely supervised by staff to help ensure that children are kept safe when they are present.

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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 management arrangements in place at the home are good. There is a Statement of Purpose in place which is regularly reviewed and amended where necessary to ensure that it provides an accurate description of the service provided. Young people receive their own summary guide to the home which provides them with some good information.

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Leadership and management

The staff team participate regularly in a range of additional training opportunities. This helps to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills required to care for young people successfully. The staff team overall are very experienced in working with children and young people. They receive regular supervision to support their work and their overall performance is appraised annually. The manager closely monitors the daily staffing levels at the home to help ensure that young people receive the care and support they need. Overall, the home maintains a good relationship with the local community.

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Leadership and management

The manager has detailed systems in place which they use to monitor the home's records and to create reports regarding the quality of the service being provided to young people. Independent monitoring visits are also completed on behalf of the registered provider. However, these do not always report on all required matters, for example any complaints received at the home. The manager uses the information gathered through these monitoring arrangements to help plan further improvements to the service. Social care professionals strongly agree that improving outcomes for children is the clear priority of the manager and staff team.

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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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