Children's Home run by Evolution Children Services Limited in Newcastle upon Tyne

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceeds the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Staff and young people have trusting relationships and good levels of communication. This reduces incidents of poor behaviours and promotes a calm environment within the home.  There are clear plans in place for providing care to young people. Risks are appropriately managed and the manager has systems in place to share up to date information about the assessment of the home on a daily basis.  Staff support young people to learn skills vital to moving into independence. As result, their maturity has increased and young people are looking forward to, and planning, moving on towards adulthood.  The ethos of the home provides a nurturing and caring environment where positive rewards and praise promote self-worth.  Staff understand the risks to the children in their care and take positive action to reduce those risks. They develop the young people’s understanding of risk and support them to take responsibility for their own

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

actions. Other agencies are engaged to promote their care and the number of incidents of missing from the home has reduced.  Staff work with parents, professionals and other agencies which has resulted in sustained improvements to the lives of young people. Progress of young people has been significant.

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

 Some areas of the home require furnishing and redecorating to make the home a more pleasant environment. Young people’s rooms could be improved by arranging for their pictures to be hung and looking at attention to detail. Outside spaces, particularly at the rear of the home need to be kept clean and tidy.  Young people are required to sign a large number of documents which leads towards an institutionalised feeling. While some aspects are necessary, and can help young people keep track of their money, some are unnecessary.

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

12. The protection of children standard:

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to improving the decoration in the home and ensuring the rear outside spaces are kept clean and tidy the registered person must ensure: (2)(d) the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. 20/08/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure that the children's home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children and is a homely, domestic environment. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 15 paragraph 3.9).

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Recommendations

In particular, this relates to reviewing the number of documents that children are required to sign.

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Information about this children's home

 The children's home is registered to care for up to five young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties. The registered provider of the home is a limited company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/07/2014 Full Adequate 24/02/2014 Interim Satisfactory Progress

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outstanding

Young people are consistently encouraged and supported to build trusted relationships in the home, both with each other and with adults working at the home. They live in a home that provides them with an experienced and consistent staff team who take a keen interest in their lives and have a desire for them to be healthy, do well at school or college and to understand risks and learn how to reduce them. The Registered Manager promotes an ethos of a caring environment that uses positive rewards to raise the confidence of young people and to understand their own self-worth. Their aim is to equip them for a life where they can manage on their own and have the skills to live independently. Young people have achieved much since living at this home. Understandably, there have also been times when things have not gone so well. During these times, young people have felt able to confide in staff and discuss their concerns. They

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outstanding

presented as polite and socially aware young people who readily engaged in conversation. They were able to openly express their views on their own progress in the home and how staff have helped them. They recognised behaviours that they had displayed that were not positive and showed genuine remorse, sending letters of apology to those concerned. This demonstrated how young people are maturing and accepting, through reassurance by staff, that they can take responsibility for their own actions. Young people are doing well in their respective education. One young person has recently received certificate from Newcastle City Council for achievements in education and making a positive contribution. Staff were very proud of her and she also said that she felt proud of herself. Young people have a good understanding of what they want to do once they leave college. Two young people expressed an interest with working with animals and one was considering a career in the forces.

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outstanding

One young person has recently passed the first level of an animal care course and horticultural health and safety and is progressing next year to complete Level 2. They are being supported by staff to continue their education and continuing their current commitment to be able to achieve their next goals. The staff are actively engaging with the educational placement for one young person to ensure they can start college when the next term year starts. For another staff are liaising with social workers for effective transition to mainstream school. One young person is attending ‘teenager to work’, this has been achieved due to the perseverance of the Registered Manager in liaising with the provider. This is indicative of the efforts staff are prepared to go to so that young people have the best opportunities. Young people are able to participate in a range of activities. Most rooms in the home are decorated with photographs of young people participating in activities

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outstanding

and clearly enjoying themselves. Staff at the home have also consulted with young people about what they want to do during the holidays. Plans are being put in place for a number of activities including a holiday to a caravan park. Young people have shown their ability to develop maturity while living in this home. They are actively supported by staff to take responsibility for their own decisions and for their own personal care. They prepare food, understand how to work out how much money they have, clean their own clothes and make plans for their own futures. They have a good understanding of what they want to do at college and are looking forward to taking the next steps to independence. Young people have actively been looking for work and want to save money so they can buy the things they want. Young people are supported to try and make their contact arrangements positive experiences. This is not always the case. When this

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outstanding

happens, staff help young people to manage their emotions and understand how the actions of others impacts on their lives. Young people’s heath is promoted well and their engagement with health professionals has improved since living in this home. Young people who need it are able to access doctors and dentists, and the home is able to use a NHS walk-in centre when necessary. Young people have specialist services to help them overcome injuries and ailments and staff support them to attend those appointments. There are also a number of local agencies that the home engage to support young people reduce their use of cigarettes, alcohol and other substances. Young people also have their sexual health needs met using a local service. The home is geographically well placed to access a number of specialist services in the area which promotes their good health. Arrangements for managing medication are safe and effective. Only prescribed medication is allowed at the home and

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outstanding

these are kept secure and checked daily. Young people who are new to the home are welcomed sensitively and when possible the introduction is carefully planned. However, staff at the home also recognised that sometimes placement need to be made quickly if it is in the best interest of the young person, such was a recent case. Young people have information collated in a children’s guide which lets them know all about the home and what they can expect. It provides them with information about what they can do if they feel unhappy at the home, supported by a complaints procedure. The Registered Manager and her staff team place the well-being of individual young people at the centre of their practice and deal with challenging behaviour well. They work very hard at building good relationships with young people which in turn improves the lines of communication and levels of trust they have with them. This enables young people to approach staff when they have concerns and

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outstanding

this has had a positive influence on reducing the times when they feel anxious, managing their own thoughts and feelings, and in them leaving the home.

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good

Young people who live in this home are safe and all reported that they felt safe. Staff take action to ensure that identification of any risks are based on the individual needs of each person and then tailor their risk assessments accordingly. The assessments that are compiled are comprehensive and make it clear what steps have been put in place to reduce those risks and what boundaries have been agreed with young people. This encourages young people to take responsibility for their own actions and understand the risks they can pose to themselves by making poor choices. Young people have varying levels of contact with their families, each as a result of their own particular circumstances. Staff work hard to accommodate the wishes of those people who are important to young people living in the home and provide advice and resources to promote positive relationships. This shows young people that the staff at the home care about them and the relationships they have with

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good

their family and friends and go out of their way to make the time spent with them positive experiences. I was able to speak to all the young people who live in this home and all said they felt very supported by the staff who work there. Young people were able to acknowledge how the support provided to them had improved and how this has had an impact on their own thoughts and feelings about their lives. One young person said, ‘If it wasn’t for Ann, I’d still be on drugs. She has helped me understand that I don’t need them. She has put things in place for me and is helping me find out about getting a flat’. Young people have engaged in behaviours that have had a negative impact on their health, for example, using drugs and alcohol. While these behaviours have not ceased completely they have significantly reduced and staff are working hard at engaging with young people to maintain this reduction. In addition, young

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good

people are encouraged to get help from other agencies in the area. Access to local support is excellent with SCARPA (Safeguarding Children At Risk, Prevention and Action), DnA (Drug ‘n’ Alcohol services for young people) and WEYES (West End Youth Enquiry Service). This is in addition to the having access to the more mainstream health services. Room searches at the home are infrequent and only as a consequence of receiving credible information. Young people are made aware that, at times, room searches may be necessary to ensure they remain safe. The last recorded restraint was in October 2014. The number of times that young people leave the home without telling staff where they are has also reduced significantly. Young people are allowed time away from the home within the confines of their own parameters, however, when young people stray from these then the home reacts quickly. They take proactive steps to

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good

locate young people by trying to make contact by phone and with their family and friends. They also physically search the local area. Procedures are followed to activate the support required from the police when necessary and notifications are appropriately made to social workers. Most young people have a mobile phone and the home has a Freephone number which allows young people to make contact quickly and easily. As the incidents of missing has reduced, both in terms of frequency and time away from the home, some young people have not had independent return interviews. However, the home carries out their own interview so they can establish trends and patterns and understand why young people have left the home. Staff at the home have good levels of communication with young people’s social workers and are able to request visits from them if they are needed. Conflict in the home is very well managed. At times, young people display

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good

heightened anxieties and conflict with other. Young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions and to learn how to engage with each other. This prepares them for independence as they develop their social skills. The atmosphere in the home is relaxed and calming. Staff are very supportive of young people and the problems that they face. Young people feel confident in approaching staff when they feel they need support in dealing with difficulties in their lives. This nurturing approach promotes dealing with concerns in a measured and constructive way. Young people respond well to this approach and they make good progress towards adulthood. One social worker spoken to said that the staff were, ‘very supportive’, and that the young person had, ‘shown a lot of maturity in making their own decisions’. This was significant process for this young person. Under the Registered Manager’s leadership the home has become a more nurturing

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good

environment. Young people feel genuinely cared for, one young person said that, ‘staff have your best interests at heart’. Positive behaviour is consistently promoted and staff use effective de-escalation techniques and strategies to support young people in making good choices about their conduct. The manager regularly asks the young people’s opinions on how the home is run. This is captured during young people’s meetings and by using questionnaires. Young people’s comments and compliments are also captured on an adhoc basis. One member of staff’s supervision record details positive comments made about their conduct by one of the young people. No new staff have started working at the home since the last inspection. Previously recruitment checks were robust and ensured that staff working at the home do not pose a risk to young people. Staff at the home have good links with the local authority designated officer

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good

(LADO) and are effective in reporting concerns to them. The manager was able to evidence the tenacity of the home in challenging social workers to engage in the safeguarding process and to request that matters are progressed appropriately. The physical environment of the home is generally good. There are some areas of damage to walls that requires attention and these works have been planned. There is an outdoor area that is used by those young people who continue to smoke. The staff support young people in keeping this area tidy, however, during the inspection the floor was scattered with used cigarettes. Young people are currently thinking of ideas to improve this space by painting murals, planting hanging baskets and introducing seating. Young people’s rooms are appropriately furnished and they receive help in personalising their space. One young person has set up a mediation corner in their room and the whole atmosphere is calming and restful.

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good

Young people have requested that they have pictures on their walls, new curtains and lightshades. While these are in the process of being actioned, young people would benefit from it taking less time to complete.

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outstanding

The needs of young people is a high priority for all staff. The home is very well managed by the manager and her deputy and they are effectively supported by the director. The Registered Manager is suitably experienced and is working towards achieving the qualification required of registration. The home is properly staffed; deployment considers the experience and gender so to ensure an appropriate mix of staff at any one time. This ensures that young people have a range of people in the home who they can call on for help and support. The number of staff on duty reflects that in the statement of purpose and ensures that appropriate ratios are maintained. Staff have worked hard to build trusted relationships. This is evident in the way staff speak about young people, their achievements and their plans for the future. They genuinely express warmth towards young people and speak of them fondly. Conflict in the home is safely

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outstanding

managed. Young people themselves, developing in their maturity, identify when conflicts arise and have the ability to talk to each other to defuse tensions. This has had a positive impact on the home and promotes the relaxed atmosphere. The quality of care is monitored by the Registered Manager using different methods. Some information is provided by the independent visitor though the this could be reviewed so that it provides an impact of the staff. This will provide the manager with an accurate reflection on what they are doing well and how that impacts on the lives of young people, or on what they need to do better. This will then be an effective tool that the manager can use to identify strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the manager prepares a monthly review on the quality of care. This will submitted in line with regulations, but as it is prepared more frequently it gives the manager up to date information about the impact the home

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outstanding

is having. The manager also has a system whereby a chart is completed on a daily basis and is colour coded to show activity within the home. This uses a traffic light system and is a quick reference for any member of staff to assess the current situation of the home. The manager reviews this at the start of their shift. This system records events such as physical aggression within the home and is then linked to an incident report. This system keeps staff up to date on how young people are feeling and behaving in the home and allows them to take quick action to resolve concerns before they escalate. Care plans are reviewed and updated regularly. These also incorporate information from young people’s reviews. Staff attend those reviews and prepare their own minutes which are circulated quickly to all staff. This ensure that any changes to a young person’s care is actioned quickly and provides for a consistent approach to

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outstanding

their care. Plans within the home take account of what young people want to achieve in the future. Documentation evidences the steps that staff take to promote their educational objectives and how they engage with providers and social workers to achieve this. Staff within the home have positive relationships with placing social workers, their local authority and other local agencies. Some young people have been at the home for a short period time but it is clear that staff work well to build rapport with social workers quickly. Parents are also involved in the care that is provided to young people and staff spend considerable amounts of time and energy in ensuring that their relationships with parents promotes the care of young people. The Registered Manager has made offers of staff resource to parents to facilitate contact arrangements. Sometimes, despite their best efforts, not all parents are receptive of this support which at times affects the amount and quality of contact

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outstanding

young people have. All staff have a good understanding of the plans for young people and support them to achieve what they want. One young person has recently received an award and was supported at that event by the manager and their key worker. The Registered Manager has been supported by the director to move the focus of the home to one that is caring and nurturing. This has had a significant positive impact on all aspects of the home and all the staff are approachable and willing to help young people, even if this means them working longer than their planned shifts. This gives young people stability and consistency and they know that they can talk to staff if they are concerned. One young person described the staff as, ‘top notch’. Staff support young people to develop a sense of self-worth and that they can achieve things in life. Young people are encouraged to progress with independence and participate in an Independent Living Skills programme which is run in-house

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outstanding

and accredited. Once completed, young people receive a level 2 qualification. Managers and staff receive regular and effective supervision. The Registered Manager has supervisions undertaken by the director who she describes as being ‘very involved’. This is a positive aspect of the home and young people also commented on being able to approach him directly should they have any concerns. Supervision records were clear and covered a number of key areas. One section deals with reflection and analyses particular incidents that the staff have managed within the home so consider whether matters could have been dealt with differently. Supervisions also identify staff’s individual key areas of responsibility, for example, one member of staff has specific responsibility for ensuring weekly fire checks are completed. Supervisions also address competency issues and areas for personal development. This ensure staff are fully equipped to provide

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outstanding

individualised and good quality care. Training and development is reviewed regularly and is up to date. There are dates identified for refresher training and the matrix also ensures that sessional workers are not left out. Individual needs of young people are considered at the point of admission and any specific training needs for staff are identified at that time and addressed. The Registered Manager is proactive in identifying opportunities to develop herself and frequently engages in additional training. She then assesses the training and considers whether it would benefit other staff at the home. This process of continuous development ensures that staff remain up to date with their knowledge and best practice so that the care they provide is of good quality. The Registered Manager has a good relationship with the director and is able to negotiate to release the required funding for training when it is required.

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outstanding

The Registered Manager has the autonomy to influence decisions when the home is approached for new placements. Together with the director, decisions are made based upon the ability of the home to be able to meet that person’s individual needs. If the home cannot meet the needs of the new placement, then it is declined. Decisions also consider the impact a new placement would have on young people already living at the home. This is crucial to maintaining the current levels of stability of the group environment. Requirements raised at the previous inspection have been met. The Registered Manager has embraced the introduction of the new quality standards and regulations. She has done a significant amount of work to encourage staff to do the same. Staff have worked together to create aide memoires to support their understanding, in particular with the new quality standards. These are placed on the wall in the office and so are readily available

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outstanding

for staff to read and review. The Registered Manager is confident in what she wants the home to achieve and evidence gathered demonstrates that she is having a positive effect. All staff in the home are ambitious for the young people and have a desire to influence positively a change in the lives of those they care for. This is having the desired results. The Registered Manager leads by example. She engages with young people readily and frequently and has a good understanding of their needs. During her responses she said, ‘If I don’t know the needs of the kids, how can the staff’. All staff in the home make a huge effort to be there for young people when they need them, both emotionally and physically.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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