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:

 Outstanding leadership and management ensures that staff work diligently and consistently in promoting the welfare and dignity of children. Staff follow individualised programmes of care which have brought about significant improvement in children’s outcomes.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The home is a safe place for children. Staff have detailed knowledge of each child’s needs and vulnerabilities. This enables them to protect children from harm.  Children derive enjoyment and stimulation from living here. They take part in a wide range of activities which promote their health and emotional wellbeing. Many of these are based in the community and keep children in touch with wider society. Children also develop self-care skills which will benefit them in later life.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff work closely in partnership with other professionals and parents. The registered manager is highly effective in maintaining the home’s positive ethos and ensuring that children achieve to the limits of their potential.  Staff are ambitious for children and strive to overcome any barriers to their progress. The registered manager advocates strongly for children’s rights, representing their interests assertively and professionally.

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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 home fully considers the impact that any new placement will have on the existing group of children and vice versa. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 56 paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them, in particular risks that may arise when staff work alone with them. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 42 paragraph 9.5)

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Information about this children's home

The home provides accommodation for four children with learning disabilities. It is operated by a charity.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

11/03/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Staff provide children with a high level of personal and individual support. Detailed care plans take account of the full range of children’s needs. They guide staff in how best to help children with their daily routines and achieve agreed objectives. These plans contain fine detail, such as how to support a child in ensuring that they brush their teeth and take greater responsibility themselves for this task. As a direct result of the work of staff, children make good progress in all areas of their lives, some significantly so.

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Good

Staff respond to children with warmth and affection. Children are clearly delighted to be in the company of staff, but when they indicate they want privacy staff are quick to respond and give them time to be alone. Staff have a detailed knowledge of each child. This means that they are able to interpret their behaviour and presentation and know whether they are happy, sad, distressed or uncomfortable.

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Good

Children make significant progress because of their close relationships with staff and the quality of planning and target-setting. They become more self-sufficient, for example, in carrying out personal tasks. One professional’s report referred to the improvement in a child’s ability to go to the toilet themselves, saying, ‘A lot of the success in this area has been down to the persistence and dedication of staff and good routines.’ They achieve well in school, improving concentration and achieving better grades as well as developing social skills. One child’s teacher commented, ‘The staff bring the education plan alive. The impact that the home has is clear. The child has made significant progress in moving between classes without delay, they have become more active, and they now have a friend. Their social skills have really come on.’ As a result of the liaison between staff and health professionals, children also improve their physical and emotional wellbeing. For

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Good

example, staff work with dieticians who give advice on menus. This is particularly helpful for children with particular conditions who might otherwise be at risk of nutritional deficiencies.

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Good

Staff place a high value on respecting the rights of children and promoting choice. No matter what level of support a child might need, such as intimate care, staff are always mindful of protecting their privacy and dignity. For children with no verbal communication, staff provide picture symbols and enable them to express their preferences. For example, at the dining table staff encourage children to indicate their choice of food or drink by touching the appropriate symbol. Staff are gently insistent in directing children to clear their plates after a meal, or bring their laundry to be washed. All these day-to-day practices develop a degree of independence and prepares children for their lives as adults.

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Good

Children enjoy a wide range of stimulating activities. Most of these take place in the community, such as swimming or trampolining, or simply walking around the neighbourhood with staff. The physical nature of these kinds of leisure pursuit gives health benefits to children as well as keeping them connected with their community. Less active outings also bring benefits. For example, when one child went to the cinema it was a cause for great celebration that they sat through the entire film for the first time ever. Children also have the opportunity of holidays away. Last year there was a trip to a seaside resort, where children enjoyed the beach and fairground.

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Good

Staff are well aware of the importance of maintaining contact between children and their families. They provide transport home and will give additional support where necessary to ensure that the time children spend with parents and relatives is productive and enjoyable for both. A social worker said, ‘The home is very good at managing contact – they are very proactive and flexible if the family cancels or re-arranges.’ A parent also confirmed the practical advice the staff give them, saying, ‘My child bonds well with the staff. Sometimes they get distressed but staff use good strategies and they give me advice about how to handle them when they are upset.’

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Good

Staff are alert to any signs that a child is worried or ill at ease. They notice changes in behaviour and make enquiries with school and at home to find out if anything untoward has happened. This level of observation and diligence is important in safeguarding children, particularly those with limited or no communication. Risk assessments on each child are detailed and enable staff to be aware of any threats to their safety and how to manage them. Staff often need to work alone with children in order to respect their dignity and privacy, for example, in carrying out intimate care tasks. Staff are aware of the potential hazards in these situations both for themselves and for the child, but there is no written risk assessment in relation to lone working. This is important, not only in reinforcing good practice for experienced staff but also in providing guidance for staff starting to work at the home.

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Good

When children are being considered to come and live here, there is a lengthy induction process. The registered manager reviews all available information on the child to ensure the home can meet their needs. Visits take place to introduce the child to the premises, the staff and other children. This practice is helpful in ensuring that the transition into the child’s new home goes as smoothly as possible. Although the process includes assessment of how the home will keep the child safe, it does not address the impact the child may have on other children and vice versa. This omission has the potential to compromise the quality of children’s experiences. Because the children are highly vulnerable, access into and out of the home is restricted so that they cannot leave by themselves. However, if a child wishes to go outside for a walk or into the garden they point to the symbols which are attached to external doors. These measures keep children safe without placing

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Good

inappropriate restrictions on their liberty. The number of staff on duty at any one time is suitable to meet the needs of children and keep them safe. 24-hour cover ensures that children can be supported during the night if necessary. A parent said, ‘I trust the staff 100% to keep my child safe. This is particularly important at night because they do not usually sleep very well.’ The registered manager can call upon additional staffing resources if a child requires a particularly intensive level of supervision and support. The home has recently revised its planning documentation in respect of children’s behaviour. This is more in keeping with the home’s ethos and emphasises the staff’s role in supporting children rather than controlling them. The consistency of staff in how they respond to children when they are challenging is key to the effectiveness of this approach. Boundaries and routines are clear and

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Good

unwanted behaviour is usually managed without fuss. This sense of structure helps young people feel safe and secure. Physical restraint is sometimes necessary to keep children or staff safe. Staff are trained in how to do this, and make a detailed record of every incident. This ensures that children are not hurt and there is clear accountability for the actions they have taken.

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Outstanding

The registered manager is an exceptionally effective leader. She inspires her staff to share her determination in providing the best possible care for children, and ensures that the welfare and safety of children are paramount. The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified, and is committed to furthering her own professional development. She attends events with Ofsted and has joined networks with other providers to share research and good practice, and develop better ways of working. The home’s deputy manager has also attained a management qualification (in record time), providing strength in depth within the management team. Internal monitoring of the home’s performance is detailed and enables staff to understand the progress that children make and where there are concerns for a child’s welfare. In these cases, the registered manager works with the placing authority and other professionals to review the plan and seek additional support as

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Outstanding

necessary. A child’s teacher said, ‘The manager is very interested in what the child is doing at school and the progress they make. She makes sure that we have a list of all the appointments the child has and gives us guidance on their particular dietary needs. This helps us to make their time at school productive.’ Monitoring reports link to the home’s development plan. This is very clear, detailed, sets timescales for actions and who is responsible for achieving them. The majority of staff have the necessary qualification. Those that have not are working towards it with clear timescales for completion. In addition, there is a comprehensive training programme delivered through a mixture of in-house and external events as well as online modules. This keeps the skills and knowledge of staff up-to-date and ensures that they are well-equipped to meet children’s needs. Staff receive regular supervision which maintains professional standards of practice

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Outstanding

and focuses on the progress being made by children and ways to improve it further. Staff have excellent relationships with other agencies. A teacher commented, ‘There is excellent communication between the home and school, we get frequent updates, any issues are sorted, I can’t speak highly enough of the quality of how well they work with us.’ The registered manager is an outstanding advocate for the rights of children. She seeks the best possible services from other professionals in order to improve children’s quality of life and enable them have equality of opportunity. Rarely, children need to move on from the home in an unplanned way. Even in these cases, the registered manager and staff persist until the end of the placement and beyond in championing their cause. A social worker said, ‘I feel the manager tried her hardest to get support for the child prior to the difficult ending.’

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Outstanding

The home is clean, warm and welcoming. Staff are careful in understanding each child’s needs and wishes in how they want their bedroom to look and seek advice from other professionals where necessary. For example, some children benefit from an environment which gives little stimulation. On the advice of an occupational therapist, one child’s room is painted in neutral colours and has frosted windows and a dimmer switch to keep light levels low. Another child’s room is overwhelmingly pink and festooned with soft toys, reflecting their personal choice.

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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:. 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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