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

Unique reference number SC394909 Inspection date 30/08/2012 Inspector Stephen Graham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 28/03/2012 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

The home provides care and accommodation for up to six young people. This home is privately owned by a small company.

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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

The overall outcomes for young people living at the home are good. They are encouraged and supported to discuss their care needs with the manager and staff team. They participate very regularly in a good range of leisure activities in the community. They receive good advice regarding their personal health care needs. Young people develop self-care skills with the support of staff. They attend their education and employment placements regularly. The building provides a very comfortable and homely environment for young people to live in.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people receive very good individual support from the manager and staff team. They feel safe living at the home and the staff team provide them with the advice and support they need to help keep them safe. The home is well led and managed.

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Overall effectiveness

There are some minor shortfalls within records and documentation and in the arrangements to monitor and further improve the service. These shortfalls have only a limited impact on the good quality care that young people receive 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 the statement of purpose for the home includes each of the matters listed in Schedule 1 (Regulation 4 (1) Schedule 1) 31/10/2012

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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) (a)) 31/10/2012

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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 that the children’s guide to the service includes all of the information recommended, particularly how a child can contact their independent reviewing officer (NMS 13.5)  ensure that staff are provided with regular supervision. (NMS 19.4)

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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

The outcomes achieved by young people living at the home are good. Young people regularly discuss their care plans with staff. This helps ensure that the care they receive is personalised and meets their individual needs. The staff team document young people’s individual achievements very clearly. One young person describes the staff team as ‘kind’ and describes the ‘good banter’ they enjoy with them. Another describes what they feel is good about the home as ‘everything’.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The staff team work well with parents, carers and social work professionals to achieve good outcomes for young people. One social worker commends the staff team overall, describing how in their experience they ‘always go the extra mile’ to support young people. Another describes the quality of the service provided by the home to the young people who live there as deserving ‘ten out of ten’. Another commends the ‘very strong’ communication they have enjoyed with the home and adds how they had been ‘really impressed’ with the care provided by the manager and staff to the young person they had placed.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people living at the home enjoy an active lifestyle. They participate in a range of healthy activities within their local community. The staff team have access to a good range of independent support and advice which they use to encourage young people to improve and maintain good health. Young people have access to the health services and support that they need. They agree strongly that the staff team at the home look after them if they are ever unwell. Social care professionals also agree that young people living at the home enjoy access to appropriate health care.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people also enjoy good outcomes in their education and further training. A number of social care professionals commend the work of staff in both improving young people’s attendance and positive participation. One describes how a young person had enjoyed their arranged attendance in a work experience scheme for which they had received an achievement award and that the young person is now ‘excelling’ in their education. The staff team have close links with education and employment staff which they use effectively to improve educational and employment outcomes for young people overall.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home has well-organised arrangements in place to support young people to practice and develop their self-care skills. Young people confirm that the staff team help them to learn how to look after themselves and to prepare for their independence.

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Quality of care

Young people living at the home receive very good support and care from the manager and staff team. One social care professional describes the ‘positive development’ enjoyed by a young person during their time living at the home. They also describe the ‘good rapport’ the young person enjoys with staff. Regular meetings are organised to review the effectiveness of care plans. Young people are encouraged to participate fully in these meetings. They can contribute their views personally or in writing. They feel that their views are listened to. Staff team members also attend these meetings and provide very detailed reports regarding the progress being made by each young person. One social care professional describes the ‘good standard’ of reports provided to review meetings. Equality and diversity issues are identified clearly in care plans and are positively addressed in daily living arrangements at the home.

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Quality of care

The home has agreed admission procedures which are used effectively by the manager and staff to admit young people safely and to help them settle in quickly. Introductory visits are organised where possible. The home is well furnished and decorated, comfortably meeting the needs of the young people who live there. The communal spaces within the home are presented to a good standard. Young people are encouraged to share their views regarding the choice of decoration and furnishings. Each young person has their own bedroom and there are sufficient bathroom facilities. The location of the home provides young people with easy access to a broad range of local community facilities.

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Quality of care

Young people are encouraged to eat well and to enjoy a healthy diet. They are regularly involved in menu planning and food preparation. The food prepared at the home includes a range of healthy choices and examples of food from a variety of cultures. The staff team receive training in first aid, safe food hygiene and the administration of medication.

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Quality of care

The staff team promote and work to sustain very positive and constructive relationships with each young person living at the home. Agreed plans are in place which the staff team use to help manage the behaviours of young people positively and effectively. Young people are encouraged and supported to be involved in the overall running of the home. Records are maintained which demonstrate how the ideas and suggestions they make are considered and incorporated into overall care arrangements at the home. Social care professionals, parents and carers are also asked what they think about the service and how it might improve.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are agreed arrangements in place at the home which help to safeguard the young people who live there. Young people themselves agree that they feel safe living at the home. The staff team receive training to help them protect young people from abuse and they have access to agreed safeguarding procedures and guidance. Detailed care plans are completed by the manager and staff team. These plans identify risks and protective factors for each young person clearly. They are monitored and reviewed very regularly to ensure that they remain effective in helping to keep young people safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff team have access to procedures which they use to help ensure that where young people go missing from the home, they are found and kept safe as quickly as possible. These procedures have been shared with the local authority and police to help ensure that they are compatible with locally-agreed protocols. Where young people have been missing, the staff team have worked very positively with them, their placing social workers and the local police to reduce the number of reoccurring events and to minimise any further risks. One social care professional described how they had held ‘huge concerns’ regarding the future of one young person they worked with prior to their placement at this home. However, they describe that since moving to the home the young person is ‘far more stable’. They describe the ‘fantastic transformation’ with the young person and that they are ‘excelling’ living at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There has been some use of physical restraint at the home as well as the use of a range of agreed sanctions. However, overall, young people enjoy generally positive and constructive relationships with the staff team.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home provides a safe and comfortable environment that meets the needs of the young people who live there. Risk assessments and health and safety checks are completed to help minimise any risks to young people. The staff team know what to do in any emergency and they practice this with young people. Arrangements are in place to complete checks on new staff team members to ensure they are suitable to work with children. Any visitors to the home are supervised by staff to help ensure that children are kept safe.

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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

There are good arrangements in place to lead and manage the home. The manager monitors the quality of care provided to young people. They work effectively to plan and implement further improvements to the service. The home has a Statement of Purpose in place which is reviewed regularly. However, some of the information it contains does not accurately describe the service provided. Young people receive their own summary guide to the home which is well presented and contains some good information. However, the current guide does not clearly describe how a child can contact their independent reviewing officer, should they wish.

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Leadership and management

The staff team working at the home are experienced. They participate in a range of training opportunities. This helps them to maintain the knowledge and skills they require to care for young people successfully. There are arrangements in place to help ensure that the staff team receive appropriate supervision. The manager has revised and strengthened these arrangements to further ensure that supervision is provided to staff regularly. Daily staffing levels at the home are closely monitored by the manager to help ensure that young people receive the care and support they need. Overall, the home has a good relationship with the local community and their neighbours.

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Leadership and management

The manager has detailed systems in place which they use to monitor the service and to create reports regarding the quality of care provided to young people. Independent monitoring visits are also completed on behalf of the registered provider. However, these visits do not always report in sufficient detail on each required matter. Overall, the information gathered through each of these arrangements is used effectively to help plan further improvements to the service. Social care professionals with links to the home believe that improving outcomes for children is the clear priority of the manager and staff team at the home.

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Leadership and management

The one action and one recommendation made at the previous inspection have each been fully implemented by 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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