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

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Outstanding at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has declined in effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has experienced an unusual combination of events that has had a significant impact on escalating incidents in the home. This has been a challenging period for staff and for young people in the home and the effects have been felt for a few months. As a result, the progress and experiences of young people living at the home has not been as positive as it was and this has led to a judgement of declined effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All the young people who were residing at the home at the time of the last inspection have now left. The transition arrangements were not consistently well managed, however, this was not as a result of poor planning by staff. Circumstances were such that effective planning could not take place. One young person had expanded her independent skills and returned to her family. This was a good outcome for the young person and staff at the home have had contact with her and know she is doing well. Other young people had made progress with their independence planning before they left, but had not fully completed it. Another had moved home to live with family and the other young person moved to a different children’s home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Two new young people were living at the home at the time of the inspection. For one young person they had not previously engaged in managing their own health well. In addition, they demonstrated high levels of behaviours that placed them at risk, for example, regular and frequent periods of missing from home. Staff have worked hard to build relationships during the initial period of settling in. The provider has also worked with the local authority and other agencies to put in place an incentive. This has had a significant effect on the young person’s behaviour who is now enjoying a more settled period of living in the home with a drastic reduction in missing from home. They also have appointments planned to monitor their health and staff are supporting them to attend them.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Another young person has also begun living at the home. Through positive engagement with the social worker there is an agreed plan of contact with family and friends which the staff are promoting to ease the transition to the home. This is working well. The provider has sought to understand the young person’s needs and is looking at alternative and innovative methods of engaging the young person into additional education provision. This will lead to a recognised achievement towards the young person’s chosen career path. In addition, young people are enrolled on a life skills programme which teaches them the skills they need to live independently.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff at the home understand the needs of young people living there. The manager ensures that known risks are shared amongst all the staff so that everyone is aware of any concerning traits or behaviour so that they can take action to keep young people safer. At the time of this inspection, young people had only recently been placed in the home. This made it difficult to measure any sustained impact of how this affects the safety of young people, however, initial indications appear to be very good. Generally, staff have responded well to incidents and the provider has identified any shortfalls in practice quickly and taken action appropriately. This ensures that staff learn from their experience and young people are better protected.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The provider, manager and staff all play a role in making sure the quality of care is monitored to make improvements. The provider has reflected on recent events and has used this as an opportunity to improve some aspects of the service. Recruitment will be more robust to determine that people have the appropriate competencies to work with children and young people and fit into the staff team to promote working well together and support for each other. The planning for young people moving in and out of the home will improve as a result of better engagement with placing authorities and development of the young people’s guide and longer transition periods.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the time of this inspection the manager is new in this position. He has already identified areas to develop the home to provide a better service. Monitoring of skills has been improved and methods to ensure training takes place at appropriate times has been put in place. The manager is commencing the appropriate qualification.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The provider and staff at the home continue to work well with other agencies and professionals to promote the well-being of young people. They have links with The Prince’s Trust which supports engaging young people in activities. They work with other providers and attend regular meetings to share good practice. Other agencies support young people to reduce their dependence on tobacco or other substances. In addition, the manager is introducing areas of responsibility for staff. This is good development opportunity to improve their skills and areas of knowledge and encourages them to seek partnerships with others to fulfil their responsibilities. For example, one member of staff is taking responsibility for developing young people’s interests in apprenticeships and training so will work with local providers.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The provider has met all the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. They continue to review the matters that require young people’s signature to promote a homely environment. Two recommendations were made at this inspection. This is to ensure that information provided on their website is relevant and up to date and another to continue to improve the appearance of the home and its environment.

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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

24/02/2014 Interim Satisfactory Progress

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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). In particular, this relates to ensuring areas of the home used by young people are clean and tidy, including the outdoor space, and that the standard of decoration within the home remains high.  The registered person should ensure that there are procedures in place for welcoming and introducing the young person to the home. A warm welcome and introduction to the home is an entitlement for all young people whether planned on in an emergency. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 57 paragraph 11.7) In particular, this is in relation to ensuring that the information provided on the website is accurate and up to date. Or, that any

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Recommendations

information that is no longer accurate or relevant is removed as quickly as possible.

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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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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