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

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The children and young people are kept very safe at this home. No children or young people have gone missing. There has been no child protection incidents. There is no bullying. Staff supervise the children and young people closely and ensure that they are not harmed.  The manager is experienced and skilled and gives a high priority to the needs of the children and young people. The manager is enthusiastic and very committed to the work. She is well supported by an able deputy manager and has built a team of caring and committed staff who support her well.  Most of the children and young people have profound communication difficulties. Staff take great care to ensure they can understand what the children and young people want and need. They use a range of methods to do this and also use a range of communication devices to let children and young people know about daily plans.  Staff work closely with the families of the children and young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

Families remain fully involved with the care of their children and work in partnership with the staff.  All the children and young people attend a small specialist school run by the provider organisation. This is a school that has recently been judged as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. The children and young people all make good progress at school and have very good attendance records.  The children and young people have complex health needs. Staff have clear systems in place for administration of medication and this works well. The manager and staff also play a full role in monitoring the effects of medication and in reviewing medication with the relevant health professionals. This involvement has clearly benefitted some of the children and young people and has resulted in positive changes and reduction of medication at times.  The children and young people are able to take part in a wide range of activities both at the home and outside in the community. Staff evaluate

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The children's home provision is good because:

these activities well and consequently children and young people are helped to choose what they most like doing and are also encouraged to try new activities.

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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 staff carry out appropriate key work to support children to develop emotional and mental resilience and to develop practical skills that would promote a more independent lifestyle. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 17 paragraph 3.27)

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Information about this children's home

The home is run by a charitable organisation and is registered for the care and accommodation of up to five children with learning disabilities (LD)

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/02/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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good

The home provides care and accommodation for children and young people with learning difficulties and many of the children and young people have a number of disabilities and a range of complex needs. The house is homely and has many photos and displays on the walls.

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good

The children and young people are well cared for by a team of dedicated, committed and knowledgeable staff. Parents spoken to comment on how well the staff do, how nice the home is and what a good job is done. Parents also comment on how well the staff communicate with them and how they feel involved in planning and ongoing care matters. Family contact is well planned and well supported by staff. Staff help and support young people to practice their religious and faith beliefs well and do this in partnership with parents.

p.6

good

The children and young people clearly enjoy living at the home and it was clear to the inspector that they felt relaxed, comfortable and safe. The inspector was able to observe children and young people interacting well with staff and with the manager. Staff were attentive, proactive, encouraging and caring. Staff encourage and support the children and young people to undertake personal care tasks, to participate in daily household chores and to take part in a range of activities. Some young people were making progress with tooth brushing and washing, others were making progress with food preparation and cooking, others with dressing and shoe laces. All the children and young people have key workers who prepare daily living plans which include ‘priority areas’. While this work was being carried out and good progress was being made there is room for further improvements here. Key work could be better planned, could be broken down into smaller, more achievable tasks

p.6

good

and could be carried out on a more intensive basis. Therefore a recommendation has been made for staff to review these activities and make further improvements.

p.6

good

The children and young people clearly make good progress in all areas of their lives. All the children and young people attend a small local specialist school run by the provider organisation and make good progress with their education. Attendance at school is very good and communications between the home and the school enable both sets of workers to be consistent and to deal with any difficulties that arise. Education and Health Care plans note ‘huge progress’, with independence skills and behaviour for two of the young people.

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good

Many of the children and young people have complex health needs and take daily medication. Staff are well trained and systems in place for administration of medication are robust and personal. Some of the young people are trying to lose a little weight and staff support this with appropriate exercise activities and by promoting healthy eating.

p.6

good

Staff understand how to communicate with each child and young person and it is clear that children and young people are able to ask for what they want, are able to make themselves understood and are able to have fun and enjoy the company of staff. During the inspection two young people were offered a trip out to a local aquarium and they were excited and keen to do this. Another young person was sitting with staff, enjoying the closeness. The children and young people were asking for particular activities, choosing what they wanted to eat and were being included in all daily planning. There are clear records of this happening on a daily basis. Most of the children and young people have speech and language support from specialist external professionals.

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good

Work to develop personal and independence skills happens all the time. The transition to adult life is prepared for well in advance. There are difficulties in the adult care system but young people have plans in place and transitions are planned as well as staff are able.

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good

One nice seasonal touch was where staff had created a ‘Santa, please stop here’ notice for one child who had particular anxieties around his placement at this time of year.

p.7

outstanding

The children and young people at this home are kept very safe. All of the children and young people have close supervision at all times. Mostly the children and young person have a member of staff who provides one to one supervision and sometimes this is increased to two staff to one child or young person if risks have been identified. Staff understand risks very well and produce clear and comprehensive assessments of risk.

p.7

outstanding

Although the staffing levels are high, staff are careful to allow the children and young people space and time when they want. Children and young people can spend quiet or private times in their bedrooms or can freely interact with all other staff and all other children and young people. This works well. In practice each of the children and young people have areas of the home where they like to sit or play. These areas contain their favourite toys or resources and allow them to feel particularly comfortable or relaxed in their special area within the main lounge. The children and young people are given very clear boundaries and expectations and staff are consistent in applying these. This clarity of expectation is really important and allows young people to make good progress. Staff do use physical interventions, but only when required and do not use other sanctions at all.

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outstanding

The children and young people are encouraged to go out into the community and to take part in a wide range of activities. These are risk assessed well and staff persevere even when this is difficult. One young person dislikes taking exercise and can cause difficulties when out with staff by sitting down inappropriately. Staff handle this well. They are gentle but firm and continue to encourage this young person to take regular exercise that is so important for their health.

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outstanding

Because of this close supervision no children or young people go missing and there has been no bullying recorded. Staff are able to intervene if any challenging behaviour is likely to impact on other children or young people.

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outstanding

There have been no safeguarding incident or concerns. Again this is due to staff vigilance and practice. Children and young people are able to access the internet appropriately and this is monitored closely. Medication is very well administered and children and young people’s health needs are well cared for.

p.8

outstanding

Some young people do have behaviours that might cause self-harm injuries but again staff are vigilant, caring and proactive and these incidents are kept to a minimum.

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outstanding

Although most of the children and young people are not verbal and are unable to say how safe they feel it is clear from observation that they do feel safe, relaxed and comfortable in the home and with the staff.

p.8

outstanding

The home is well maintained and no health and safety hazards were noted. Relevant health and safety checks are carried routinely.

p.8

good

The manager is long serving and has appropriate qualifications. She is dedicated to the work and committed to the care of the children and young people. The home is achieving the aims and objectives as set out in the statement of purpose. The manager has a clear priority to look after the children and young people and enjoys plenty of time with them on a daily basis. The manager also monitors the work well and records and systems are of a high standard The children and young people at this home do make good progress from their starting points and the manager has a clear understanding of this. Because the manager is closely involved in the care of all the children and young people she is able to contribute in detail when required. The inspector noted the particular close relationships several of the children and young people had with the manager and how well this relationship was handled by the manager.

p.8

good

The manager ensures that staff have regular supervision and generally the content of this is good. More discussion of key work and the priorities that children and young people have might contribute to the overall care. Annual appraisals are carried out appropriately. Regular staff meetings do take place and there are discussions about all the children and young people on an individual basis. There have been discussions in this forum about achieving better consistency of care and this is positive.

p.9

good

The staff team is very settled with very few changes. The manager does not use agency workers and staff rally round to provide cover for any sickness or other leave. This contributes significantly to the consistency of the service.

p.9

good

When interviewed the manager was very open and clear about the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has clear ideas about how to continue to develop the home. There are plans in place already to do more intensive key work as this area has already been identified as one that would benefit from development. The Responsible Individual has also been involved in thinking about this issue. The manager is also in the process of addressing other issues which are likely to crop up in the near future. These are about transition arrangements to adult social care and about continued work with families.

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good

The manager has good relationships with other professionals. There are good links with the school that the children and young people attend, good relationships with various health professional involved and good relationships with all the children and young people’s families. The manager is able to challenge others when services are not effective.

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good

There were no requirements or recommendations at the last inspection. No requirements have been made at this inspection. One recommendation has been made to improve the quality of key work around identified areas of need.

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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

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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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