Children's home run by North East Autism Society in County Durham

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has had very few changes since the previous inspection. No children or young people have been admitted or discharged. Staffing has remained very settled with only one person leaving and another arriving. These were both internal transfers within the organisation.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has continued to provide strong leadership and has continued to develop the service. At the previous inspection one recommendation was made to improve the quality of key work and this has been done. A comprehensive new recording system has been bought in to record and evaluate progress with the children and young people and this is very good.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home remains a very safe environment for the children and young people and there have been no incidents of concern other than with one young person who has required some physical interventions. Some of the challenging behaviour displayed by this young person has meant that they can become aggressive towards staff. Staff understand the reasons for this behaviour and have ensured appropriate assessment and evaluation of these reasons. They have also evaluated their practice throughout and been thorough with this. Most of these episodes of challenging behaviour are clearly linked to the young person being unwell and to various changes to their medication.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children and young people continue to make progress. Although sometimes this progress is in small steps, it is significant. All the children and young people continue to have very good attendance at school and all keep in good contact with their families where possible.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All the children and young people have good relationships with the staff. Trips out for activities and for leisure happen daily and these work well. Two of the young people in the home have formed a strong friendship with each other and this is beneficial to them both. One of the children in the home has formed a close friendship with a friend who they go to school with. This works very well and the friend is able to come to the home for tea and they are able to participate in various activities together. Staff encourage these friendships and see them as important opportunities for increasing social skills as well as enhancing the quality of life.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

One of the young people is approaching adulthood and is getting ready to move to an adult social care home. This transition is being well planned with the young person’s parents being fully involved. The young person is unable to take much part in this process because of their learning disability but staff understand their needs well and are planning appropriately.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All the children and young people have a series of goals and targets around becoming increasingly independent and they are all making progress with these. One young person is making good progress with skills like cooking and food preparation, another is making progress with their health and is doing more activities and another is making progress with social situations and is learning to share and be with other people more.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager continues to monitor the standards of care in the home well and provides good support for the staff team. They work well with external agencies and other professionals and this benefits the children and young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been no requirements or recommendations made at this inspection.

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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 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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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

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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