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

Unique reference number SC394909 Inspection date 19/06/2013 Inspector Stephen Graham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 05/03/2013 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

The home provides care and accommodation for up to six young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. 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 effectiveness of the service in meeting the needs of young people living at the home is good. Young people enjoy some good outcomes in their care. They discuss their individual care needs with staff regularly and receive effective support from them. They receive good support and advice with regard to their personal health care needs. They participate in a broad range of healthy leisure activities in their local community. They receive good encouragement and support to help them attend their education regularly.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is decorated and furnished to a good standard overall. However, some areas of the building would benefit from routine re-decoration. The building provides a safe and comfortable environment for the young people who live there. The staff team give young people good advice and support to help keep them safe. The home is well led and managed. However, there are some shortfalls within some of the records in use at the home. These shortfalls, although significant, have had no impact on the overall quality of 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

17B (2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any restraint within the home, a full written record is made in the volume kept for that purpose. (Regulation 17B (4) (a)) 21/07/2013

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 ensure that the home is well maintained and decorated. (NMS 10.3)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people discuss their progress and achievements very regularly with the staff team at the home. The staff team also talk very regularly with placing social workers to ensure that the outcomes agreed in the care plans of each young person are achieved. Young people interact well with staff and enjoy the care they receive. When asked, ‘what is good about the home’ young people reply ‘the manager and staff’.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The individual achievements of all young people living at the home are documented very clearly by the care staff team and are celebrated with them. Social care professionals with links to the home believe that the needs of all the young people are considered appropriately, irrespective of their age or gender. Young people living at the home enjoy a healthy and active lifestyle. They can participate in a very good range of activities within the local community. One parent describes how in their experience, ‘the staff team try to keep the children involved with lots of activities inside and outside the home.’ Young people enjoy a healthy diet. They have achieved and maintained some very good health outcomes. Young people confirm that the staff team look after them if they are ever unwell. Social care professionals believe that young people are benefitting from the good access and support they receive from appropriate specialist health care services.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people also enjoy good outcomes in their education. The staff team have good links with local education providers. They work effectively to support good educational outcomes for young people living at the home and work to improve arrangements should any disruptions or changes occur. The staff team provide older young people with very good support and practical advice to help them develop their self-care skills and to be confident in using them.

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Quality of care

The staff team at the home monitor the care plans for each young person living at the home very regularly. They work in close partnership with young people and their placing social workers to achieve this. This ensures that the individual care needs of each young person living at the home are known and are addressed in their individual care arrangements. Social care professionals linked to the home describe how the staff team work well with them. They believe that improving outcomes for young people is the ‘clear priority’ of the home. One comments positively how ‘the staff team do their best.’

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Quality of care

Meetings are held regularly to review the effectiveness of the care plans for each young person. These meetings involve a range of professionals and young people are encouraged and supported to attend these meetings to give their views in person. The manager and staff team members also attend these meetings. They prepare detailed written reports which provide those attending with very good information regarding the progress being made by young people.

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Quality of care

There are agreed admission procedures in place at the home which work effectively to help young people coming to live there to settle in quickly. Individual risk assessments are completed by the manager and staff team in partnership with placing social workers and young people themselves where this is possible. These arrangements help to ensure that young people are admitted safely. One social worker describes how the young person they had placed at the home ‘has settled well’.

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Quality of care

The quality of the furnishing and decoration at the home is good overall. However, some areas of the home require routine re-decoration to help ensure that it remains well decorated. Young people enjoy living at the home. It provides them with a comfortable and safe environment to live in. The location of the home provides them with very good access to a broad range of local community facilities and recreational opportunities. Young people are encouraged to eat well and to enjoy a healthy diet. They are involved directly in menu planning and food preparation. The food provided includes a range of healthy choices and foods from a variety of cultures.

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Quality of care

The staff team at the home are trained in first aid. This helps to ensure that the health needs of young people are met in any emergency. The manager monitors the arrangements in place to administer medication. This helps to ensure that this is always done safely.

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Quality of care

The staff team develop and sustain very positive and constructive relationships with the young people who live at the home. There are a range of agreed sanctions available to staff. However, their use is only occasionally necessary. A range of agreed incentives are used very regularly and effectively with young people to encourage their positive behaviour. Young people are also encouraged and supported to give their views on how the home is run. One young person describes the ‘young person’s meetings’ as being one of the best things about living at the home. Young people also receive good support from the staff team to help them maintain contact with family and friends as agreed in their care plans.

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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

The staff team working at the home is experienced and stable. They have access to agreed safeguarding procedures and guidance to help them protect young people from abuse. They use their experience and training to ensure that young people receive the advice they need to help them understand how they can protect themselves. Social care professionals with links to the home believe that the staff team understand how to protect children and safeguard their welfare.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The manager and staff team complete detailed care plans in partnership with young people and their placing social workers. These plans are completed to a good standard and identify risks and protective factors for each young person clearly. Care plans are monitored and reviewed very regularly. This helps ensure that they work effectively to keep young people safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff team use the agreed procedures in place to help ensure that when young people have gone missing from the home, they have been found and kept safe, as quickly as possible. There are agreed strategies in place which are working to reduce the number of absences from the home and to minimise any potential safety concerns. One placing social worker describes very positively how ‘instances of the young person going missing have reduced since being at this home.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff team are trained to use physical restraint where this is necessary to keep young people safe. This has been necessary on some occasions at the home. However, in some examples the records maintained of restraints occurring do not present clearly all of the information required. There are a range of agreed sanctions and incentives in place which the staff team use to promote the positive behaviour of the young people living at the home. Overall, the relationships between the staff team and young people who live at the home are very positive.

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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. The staff team practice what to do in any emergency with the young people themselves. There are good arrangements 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 when they are present.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good . The arrangements in place to lead, manage and monitor the quality of the service provided at the home are well organised. The manager creates regular reports regarding the quality of care provided to young people. They plan and implement further improvements to the service in partnership with the staff team and the young people living at the home. Social care professionals with links to the home believe that improving outcomes for children is the clear priority of the manager and staff team.

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Leadership and management

There is a Statement of Purpose in place which accurately describes the service provided at the home. Young people receive their own summary guide to the service which contains some good information. Members of the staff team are very experienced and well qualified. They use their experience to help young people achieve some good outcomes. The staff team can access additional training which helps the service overall to maintain the knowledge and skills needed to care for young people successfully. The manager ensures that the staff team receive regular supervision and appraisal. They monitor the daily staffing levels at the home closely to further 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. These report in good detail on all matters required. The manager reviews the contents of these reports and also consults regularly with young people, the staff team, parents, social workers and other professionals. This helps them to gather views on the effectiveness of the service provided to young people and to plan further improvements to it. One parent describes how in their experience the home, ‘communicates well with parents’.

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Leadership and management

There were no actions raised or recommendations made at the previous inspection visit.

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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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