Children's Home run by Stockton on Tees Borough Council in Stockton-on-Tees

Unique reference number SC035222 Inspector Julie Rimington Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered manager Glyn Armstrong Date of last inspection 07/03/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 19/11/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection There has been no Enforcement Action since the last inspection.

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people good Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management adequate

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Overall effectiveness

The outcomes for young people living at the home are good. The staff team are enthusiastic about the work they do with the young people. The Registered Manager is committed to creating an accepting, nurturing environment for young people to live in. Young people receive personalised care.

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Overall effectiveness

For most young people attendance at school is good. They make good progress educationally. Some young people are just embarking on apprenticeships and starting the transition from school to work. Young people are safe living in the home and their risk-taking behaviours have reduced significantly since the point of admission.

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Overall effectiveness

The home has an established, stable staff team, many of whom have worked there for some time. Their energy and commitment is apparent in the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the home. This approach is also evident in their interaction with the young people. The staff team often go beyond the expectations of their role to complete repairs independently and promptly. The young people therefore have a well-maintained home of a high material standard.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager has extensive experience of meeting young people’s needs 3 of 9 in a residential setting. He is enthusiastic about the care the team provides. Staff develop relationships with the young people that are supportive and genuine. Practice is child focused and helps young people to develop their skills and gain confidence. Records show the involvement of young people in their care through regular key work sessions and meetings. The way behaviour management tools are displayed in the home needs to be reviewed following consultation with the young people.

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Overall effectiveness

There are some minor shortfalls in practice, which mean recommendations have been made but the impact of these on the young people is minimal. These relate to the way that the staff team display and record behaviour management tools and the need for staff to attend child sexual exploitation training. In addition the Registered Manager needs to ensure there is consistency in the way staff supervision notes are recorded and ensure that the practice of locking communal areas relates to specific incidents rather than as part of general routines. 4 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

The children's home is provided by a local authority and is registered to care for up to three young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2014 Interim good progress 20/08/2013 Full good 26/02/2013 Interim good progress 15/05/2012 Full adequate

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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 at the end of each supervision session the supervisor and member of staff sign the record of issues that have been discussed. There should be consistency in the way sessions are recorded (NMS 19.5)  ensure all staff attend training specifically addressing child sexual exploitation (NMS 4.6)  ensure that the practice of locking the bathroom door is not part of a routine but is in response to a specific incident (NMS 3.19) 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people make significant progress from the point of their admission. They develop in confidence and become more able to take responsibility for their own actions. Their self-esteem improves, helping them to establish relationships that are more constructive. Young people also extend their life skills by completing household tasks such as cooking for themselves and doing laundry. These achievements increase their personal resilience and prepare them well for adult life.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people’s educational outcomes are good. They achieve from the point of their admission, developing particular interests and achieving a level of stability, which they did not have where they previously lived. Young people benefit from the staff team’s efforts to facilitate new educational opportunities, including work experience and apprenticeships. This contributes to their chances of securing employment in the future.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are in good health. They have an understanding of what is meant by a healthy lifestyle and the choices they need to make to achieve it. Relationships between young people can sometimes be difficult and young people do not always demonstrate tolerance for each other’s behaviour. This has resulted in times when young people have felt unhappy. The staff team have provided support and the young people are beginning to gain insight into their behaviour, and to make choices that are more positive.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Many of the young people have experienced trauma and disruption in their family lives, which means that contact arrangements with their family are complicated. However, all young people are able to keep in touch with those that are important to them. This helps them to establish and maintain relationships, which will be important in later life. The staff team are creative in helping some young people to re-establish contact with family. For example, the staff team have worked with a young person to enable her to travel safely to contact with her family.

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Quality of care good

Young people benefit from nurturing relationships with staff. The Registered Manager works hard to create a positive and accepting home for the young people. The staff team are skilled in handling potentially difficult situations and are able to encourage young people to behave appropriately.

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Quality of care good

The staff team are proactive in seeking professional guidance in how to respond to these challenges. For example, psychology professionals have given support to the 6 of 9 staff team in how to understand, and manage, the behaviour of some young people. This has assisted in altering the approach to behaviour management, specifically the use of sanctions and rewards. It is too early to tell whether this change in approach will have a positive impact, but it is evidence of the willingness of staff to try different ways to engage young people. The decision to display behaviour management charts in public areas needs to be reviewed, as this is not age appropriate. Young people need to be asked if they would prefer these charts to be displayed in either their own rooms or be put in private files in the office.

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Quality of care good

Each young person’s care plan is tailored to their individual needs and is consistent with the local authority’s plan for their care. Staff regularly update and monitor these plans in response to changes in the young people’s lives. Communication with social care professionals in developing and carrying out agreed actions is a particular strength of the home. The Registered Manager has introduced new templates for care plans. These are child friendly and clearly identify daily routines, likes and dislikes and how to deal with risky behaviour were appropriate.

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Quality of care good

The staff have frequent team meetings. Regular handover discussions ensure that staff coming onto duty have a clear understanding of what is happening for each young person. The Registered Manager needs to ensure there is a mechanism to ensure that accurate information is discussed at these meetings. During inspection it was evident that information about locking a bathroom door had not been discussed correctly. The Registered Manager needs to ensure that securing communal doors is only done as a response to a specific event and not as a general rule.

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Quality of care good

Despite the reluctance of young people to always make positive lifestyle choices, the staff team continue to encourage them to attend health appointments. The staff team also liaises with the local child and adolescent mental health service. This enables staff to understand young people’s needs more thoroughly and ensure the young people have access to therapeutic support.

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Quality of care good

The arrangements for storing, administering, and checking medication are appropriate and safe. The home also assesses the young person’s ability to self- medicate and enables this wherever possible, encouraging individual responsibility, and independence. These arrangements help to promote young people’s health and increase their understanding of its importance.

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Quality of care good

The home is generally in good condition and this conveys to young people that they are valued. However, some young people deliberately damage and destroy furniture and break ornaments. Staff ensure the repair of such damage, for example, by swiftly replacing broken furniture.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

7 of 9 The safety and wellbeing of the young people is at the centre of staff practice. Robust risk assessments are in place, which are thorough and individualised. The staff team regularly review these assessments to ensure they are current and young people are kept safe and secure. The Registered Managers’ approach to promoting safety means that young people are safe here. Staff work closely with local agencies to address and act on safeguarding issues. Most of the young people never go missing from the home. For those that do, the staff practice ensures that young people are exposed to the least possible risk while they are away. This includes keeping in touch with the young person and liaising closely with the police and other agencies. The staff team have different levels of understanding about child sexual exploitation. This needs to be addressed in training to be completed in December 2014.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The Registered Manager and staff team provide clear expectations for young people and put boundaries in place which everyone understands. This structure helps young people to behave with consideration for others and to learn how to interact appropriately with people around them. When young people do struggle with their own behaviour , staff manage this with skill and sensitivity. They use techniques such as diversion and distraction to guide young people towards more suitable ways of behaving. There have been no restraints for over 12 months.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The arrangements for recruitment of new staff are safe and appropriate. The Registered Manager is currently recruiting two new staff members. Their induction is planned to include mandatory training and shadowing experienced members of the staff team.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The home environment is physically safe for young people. Fire drills occur regularly. The Registered Manager organises the drills to take place at specific intervals to ensure that all members of staff are familiar with the evacuation process. This ensures both young people and staff know how to respond safely in the event of a fire.

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Leadership and management adequate

The Registered Manager usually provides strong and visible leadership to the staff team. He is suitably experienced and qualified. He often works directly with young people who value the relationship that he has developed with them. A professional who visits the home said, ‘The manager is supportive of his staff and also wants the best possible outcomes for the young people.’

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Leadership and management adequate

Recently the Registered Manager has taken three months sickness leave. Staff shortages and a particular difficult period with the young people’s behaviour have had an effect on leadership and management of the home. The judgement reflects that during the period of sickness absence some tasks were not robustly adhered to. The identified shortfalls in monitoring; organising training and recording in files are 8 of 9 unusual in this home which has a history of strong and inspirational leadership.

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Leadership and management adequate

Internal monitoring was not completed or recorded to a satisfactory level during October and November 2014. This means that some information required for internal audits and reports may not be accurate. The Registered Manager is aware of these shortfalls and has a development plan in place to ensure this does not happen again.

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Leadership and management adequate

Since the last inspection, all staff have received supervision in line with the home’s statement of purpose. New staff have also received mentoring supervision sessions. Records indicate that managers have discussed with staff the various policies and procedures of the home both in supervision and in team meetings. The recording of staff supervision sessions has improved but there is no consistency in the way it is recorded. This leads to reduced accountability for the Registered Manager and the staff team.

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Leadership and management adequate

The home meets the aims and objectives set out in its Statement of Purpose, which is updated and reviewed regularly. Placing social workers know what the home can offer young people, what the skills of the staff team are, and how they can be utilised to help young people achieve their maximum potential.

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Leadership and management adequate

Monitoring visits from someone independent of the home take place every month. The person undertaking these visits talks, where possible, to staff and young people. In addition, and where possible, the visiting officer talks with the parents or relatives of young people themselves. The Registered Manager analyses the findings of these visits and they help to ensure that the home is run properly and that young people are well cared for. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management adequate

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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