Children's Home run by North East Autism Society in Durham

Unique reference number SC458754 Inspection date 15/05/2013 Inspector Stephen Graham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 01/02/2013 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 for up to eleven young people with learning disabilities. The home is operated by a private provider.

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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 inadequate .

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness of the service in meeting the needs of young people living at the home is inadequate. Young people, their parents and carers receive support from the staff team to discuss their individual care needs. However, some young people receive inadequate support with regard to their personal health care needs. Young people can participate in a range of leisure activities in their local community. They are encouraged and supported to attend their education regularly. The building overall is decorated and furnished to a satisfactory standard. However, some improvement is required to some of the equipment in place at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The arrangements to keep young people safe and to share information with other social care professionals, particularly where concerns regarding their safety have arisen, are inadequate. The arrangements in place to lead and manage the home have not been effective. There are significant shortfalls within the arrangements to check that all staff are properly vetted and are suitable to work at the home. Not all of the staff team have received the training, supervision and support they require to ensure that young people are cared for safely.

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Overall effectiveness

The arrangements to monitor the care provided to young people living at the home are not fully effective. There are significant shortfalls within the documents, records and procedures in use at the home. Some of these shortfalls have impacted significantly on the overall quality of care that young people receive from the staff team and managers.

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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) maintain in the children’s home the records specified in Schedule 4 and ensure they are kept up to date. In particular, ensure that the admissions register is maintained in accordance with Schedule 4 (Regulation 29 (1)) 20/06/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that at all times, at least one person on duty at the children’s home has a suitable first aid qualification (Regulation 20 (2) (e)) 07/06/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all staff employed by the registered person receive appropriate training and supervision (Regulation 27 (4) (a)) 20/06/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that any medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed, and to no other child (Regulation 21 (2) (b)) 20/06/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the prompt referral to the local authority in whose area the children’s home is situated, of any allegation of abuse or neglect affecting any child accommodated in the children’s home (Regulation 16 (2) (b)) 20/06/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure full and satisfactory information is available in relation to each person working at a children’s home in respect of each of the matters specified in Schedule 2 (Regulation 26 (3) (d)) 07/06/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) keep under review and, where appropriate, revise the statement of purpose and the children’s guide. In particular, include the number, relevant qualifications and experience of persons working at the children’s home (Regulation 5 (a)) 20/06/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) monitor the matters set out in Schedule 6 at appropriate intervals. In particular, monitor the use of measures of control, restraint and discipline and risk assessments for health and safety purposes (Regulation 34 (1) (a)) 20/06/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that if any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table (Regulation 30 (1)) 20/06/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the person carrying out visits on behalf of the provider shall inspect the records of any complaints. (Regulation 33 (4) (b)) 20/06/2013

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  maintain a clear written record of all medication, treatment and first aid given to children during their placement (NMS 6.15)  ensure that the written information provided to young people in advance of their arrival includes photographs of the home (NMS 11.3)  ensure that children’s health, safety and well-being are promoted by having effective arrangements to alert the staff to any visitors arriving at the home (NMS 10.3)  ensure that arrangements to allow young people to access the communal areas of the home are effective and do not act to restrict their liberty (NMS 3.19)  ensure that staff understand and apply the written policy on managing behaviour at all times (NMS 3.3)  ensure that the staff implement the home’s policy on the completion of fire and health and safety checks (NMS 22.1)

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Recommendations

 ensure that young people receive a Children’s Guide at the point of placement (NMS 13.4)  ensure that visits to the home carried out under Regulation 33 include relevant checks set out in regulations and guidance, in particular checks of any disciplinary measures and use of restraint. (NMS 21.7)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are adequate .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people along with their parents and carers discuss their personal care needs with the staff team. Young people benefit from the close liaison between a range of professionals which ensures that the outcomes agreed in the care plans of each young person are achieved.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people achieve adequate outcomes in their education. They benefit from good links between staff at the home and local education staff. This supports improved educational outcomes for the young people living at the home. All young people attend school regularly and they benefit from individual education programmes. One social care professional describes how in their experience, children and young people’s educational outcomes are supported by the care they receive. The staff team ensure that the individual achievements of young people are celebrated.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy participating in a range of activities within the local community, in accordance with their choice. They enjoy a healthy diet. However, procedures to ensure young people receive appropriate medicines are not always followed and this has resulted in at least one young person receiving the wrong medication. The staff team also provide young people with some support and practical advice to help them practise and develop their self-care skills. There are good facilities available at the home to support this. Young people benefit from regular contact with their families and friends.

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Quality of care

The current arrangements at the home to provide the young people who live there with the care and support they need are inadequate. Care plans are monitored by the manager and staff team. Work is taking place to improve these documents and to ensure that they are fully up to date. This will further ensure that the individual needs of each young person are known and addressed positively in their individual care arrangements. Social care professionals linked to the home believe that the staff team do ‘work well’ with them. They also believe that overall, improving outcomes for young people is the ‘clear priority’ of the home.

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Quality of care

The staff team work with young people and their parents and carers to encourage them to be directly involved in their own care planning. Social care professionals describe the current service provided at the home as ‘OK’ to ‘good’. Regular meetings are organised to review the effectiveness of care plans. Parents and carers are encouraged to attend these meetings and to give their views directly on the quality of care they believe their children are receiving. The manager and staff team members also attend and provide the meetings with good information regarding the progress being made by young people.

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Quality of care

The home has agreed admission procedures in place; these are used by staff to help young people coming to live at the home to settle in quickly. Individual risk assessments are completed by the manager and staff team in partnership with placing social workers. These arrangements help to ensure that young people are admitted safely. However, the admissions register which records the details of young people coming to live at the home is not maintained accurately. Also, the written information provided to young people in advance of their move to the home does not include any photos of the building and its interior.

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Quality of care

The home is appropriately furnished and decorated to meet the needs of the young people who live there. However, arrangements to alert the staff to any visitors arriving at the home are not currently effective. Also, some of the current arrangements to allow young people to access the communal areas of the home are not effective and may act to restrict their liberty. The location of the building provides young people with access to a range of local community facilities and recreational opportunities.

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Quality of care

Young people, their parents and carers can be involved directly in menu planning and food preparation as they choose. The staff team confirm and record the individual food preferences of young people. They are encouraged to eat well and to enjoy a healthy diet. The food they enjoy includes healthy choices and examples of food from a variety of cultures. Some of the staff team are trained in safe food hygiene. However, the majority have not yet completed this training so the home cannot demonstrate that staff know how to prepare and store food safely. Some members of the staff team are trained in first aid and the safe administration of medication. However, the number of staff trained in these areas is not sufficient to ensure that young people’s health care needs can be met. A record of any accidents occurring at the home is maintained. However, this is not always completed in sufficient detail so that the record does not

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Quality of care

demonstrate how well incidents are monitored and managed. There are agreed procedures in place to ensure that all medication is administered safely. However, these arrangements have not always worked safely or effectively in practice for all of the young people living at the home.

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Quality of care

The staff team work to promote and sustain positive and constructive relationships with young people who live at the home. There is a range of agreed sanctions available to staff. However, their use has not been necessary. Young people, their parents, carers and social care professionals are asked what they think about the service and how it might improve. Young people are also supported to maintain contact with family and friends as agreed in their care plans.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Most of the staff team have received training to help them protect young people from abuse. There are agreed safeguarding procedures and guidance in place at the home for the reference of managers and staff. However, these procedures and guidance have not been followed on every occasion. For example, the home has not always shared information with the Local Authority Designated Officer where concerns have arisen to ensure independent oversight of safeguarding matters.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff team have agreed procedures in place to help ensure that if young people were to go missing from the home, they would be found and kept safe, as quickly as possible. Positively, no young people have been missing from the home. The staff team work to promote and sustain positive and constructive relationships with young people who live at the home. However, the use of restraint has been necessary at the home on some occasions but not all of the staff have been trained in the appropriate use of restraint. This puts children at risk of injury from the possible inappropriate use of restraint.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The manager and staff team work to ensure that the home provides a safe and comfortable environment to the young people who live there. Health and safety checks are completed to help minimise any risks to young people. However, these checks are not always completed in line with the home’s policies and this does not ensure young people’s safety.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Arrangements to complete checks on new staff team members to ensure they are suitable to work with children are not robustly followed and the home cannot demonstrate that good recruitment practice has been followed, particularly with agency staff. Any visitors to the home are 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 inadequate .

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Leadership and management

The Statement of Purpose does not include all of the information required and does not accurately describe all aspects of the service provided. For example, staffing arrangements are not included. This does not provide placing authorities and families with important information about the experience and qualifications of the staff team.

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Leadership and management

The home cannot demonstrate that a summary guide to the home for young people has been provided to the young people living at the home or their parents and carers. This means that young people do not have good information about the home before they move to live there. Nor do they have adequate contact information for safeguarding and advocacy agencies which they may need if they were unhappy with the services they receive.

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Leadership and management

The manager creates reports regarding the quality of care provided to young people. However, these do not report on all matters required by regulation. The arrangements to plan and implement improvements to the service, where these have been needed, have not been effective. In addition, not all significant events occurring at the home have been shared or provided within the timescales required.

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Leadership and management

Some training opportunities are provided to the staff team. However, the current levels of staff completing required and recommended training is low. In addition, not all of the staff team have received appropriate supervision during their employment at the home. This impacts negatively on the development of the staff team and the development of the knowledge and skills they each require to care for young people successfully. Staffing levels are monitored and adjusted to help ensure that young people receive the care and support they need.

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Leadership and management

Independent monitoring visits to the home are completed regularly on behalf of the registered provider. However, the reports from these visits do not always report in sufficient detail on all of the matters required and recommended, for example, any complaints received and the use of any sanctions and restraints by the staff team. The home has a written procedure for considering and responding to complaints. Managers have worked positively to resolve any complaints received at the service.

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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 and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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