Children's home run by Compass Children’s Homes Northeast Limited in North Tyneside

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:

 Staff have excellent relationships with young people. They speak of them positively and do not dwell on their shortcomings. As a result, young people develop trust in the staff and are confident that they will act in their best interests.  Staff have a good understanding of young people’s needs. They are persistent in gathering information from placing social workers which informs risk assessments and care plans. This ensures that the work staff do with young people helps them to make progress.  Staff are consistent in setting boundaries for young people. This helps young people to be clear about what is expected of them and to understand the consequences of unreasonable behaviour. Some young people have made significant progress in taking more responsibility for their actions and understanding how to form and maintain social relationships.  All young people are engaged in education, some having made particularly

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The children's home provision is good because:

good progress. Some struggle to maintain consistent school attendance, but staff are proactive in motivating young people to follow their agreed programmes.  Staff have been successful in reducing the number of times that young people go missing. They maintain links with agencies which provide support for young people who misuse drugs. This contributes to the level of safety which the home provides for young people.  The registered manager has been appointed relatively recently, but is already having a positive influence upon the home and outcomes for young people. Some aspects of the home’s organisation need further improvement, but these shortfalls have not had significant impact upon the welfare or safety of young people.

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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

14. The care planning standard In order to meet the care planning standard with particular reference to ensuring that individual work with young people is carried out in accordance with their plan, the registered person must ensure that children — (1)(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. 27 May 2016

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Requirement Due date

23. Medicines The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home, specifically that the administration of controlled medication is recorded in a dedicated book. (Regulation 23 (1)). 27 May 2016

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Requirement Due date

36. Children's case records The registered person must maintain records for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3, specifically full details relating to each incident when a child goes missing or is absent from the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)). 27 May 2016

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Requirement Due date

35. Behaviour management policies and records The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes a description of the measure and its duration, and the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv) and (vii)). 27 May 2016 44. Independent person: visits and reports The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person— (a) if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)). 27 May 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that the home only accepts placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed needs as recorded in the child's relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations’, page 56, paragraph 11.4).

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Information about this children's home

The home provides accommodation for up to five children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is operated by a private provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03 February 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

11 March 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Staff have a thorough knowledge of the needs of young people. They are persistent in seeking all relevant information from placing authorities, which enables them to understand young people’s family background and history. As a result, they are able to quickly put in place initial plans, which they develop over time. Actions to meet assessed needs are not always clear. In addition, although key workers spend time with individual young people, some sessions lack focus or a clear link to specific care plan tasks. This reduces the effectiveness of care planning, making it more difficult to ensure consistency throughout the staff team. For example, one young person’s plan states that he would benefit from smoking cessation work, but there is no further reference to what has actually happened in respect of this. Staff have excellent relationships with young people. They are tolerant, patient and understand the difficulties that young people may experience. Young people have

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Good

a clear sense that staff are concerned about them and want them to do well. Everyday interactions are characterised by humour, warmth and mutual respect. One social worker commented, ‘I’m impressed by how positively staff speak about the young person.’ The home is good at promoting the physical and emotional health of young people. There is a minor shortfall in how the administration of controlled medication is recorded. Menus are varied, though some young people are more motivated than others to choose healthy food. One young person said, ‘The food is great, you can get what you want, just ask staff. I eat my five a day. We can make suggestions to staff for whatever food we want and they put it on the shopping list.’ Young people in general have good attendance at school. Some have made significant improvement in this area since coming to live here. This is due to the efforts of staff to motivate young people and help them to understand the

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Good

importance of education. For young people who are out of education, perhaps because they have just moved in, staff provide constructive work during the school day. A social worker said, ‘The home is good at facilitating education for the young person.’ Staff encourage young people to engage in physical activities. Young people also benefit from experiences that they have with alternative education providers. One young person has enjoyed fishing, hillwalking and cross-country skiing as part of his programme. Staff work with local agencies to support young people’s emotional well-being. The registered provider has commissioned a child and adolescent psychotherapist to attend the home once a fortnight. He does some direct work with young people, and also consults with staff and provides training. This helps staff to develop their skills in promoting the mental health of young people. Staff are aware of the importance of preparing young people for eventual

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Good

independence. They use a comprehensive assessment tool which identifies work needing to be done with each young person as they near adulthood. Day-to-day practice encourages young people to undertake tasks which teach them useful skills, such as helping with the food shopping. Staff are flexible and accommodating in supporting young people to enjoy meaningful and safe contact with family and friends. Some young people are a long way from their home areas, and feel isolated from their community of origin. One young person said, ‘It’s nice here, staff look after us properly. The only problem is that it’s too far from home, seven hours drive. If it were near my home I’d give it 10 out of 10.’ Staff do all they can to mitigate the impact of this. For example, one young person is keen on rapping and mixing music in a studio, and so staff are currently exploring opportunities for this activity in the local area.

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Good

Staff take a proportionate and sensible approach to risk management. They use information from each young person’s history to construct initial individual risk assessments. These are then reviewed monthly, taking account of changes in the young person’s behaviour and increasing maturity. For example, one young person was initially assessed as posing a possible threat to female staff, meaning that females could not work alone with him. Following review, staff now make an individual decision according to the prevailing circumstances before lone working. This gives the young person greater access to activities and has improved his relationship with staff. The registered persons carefully evaluate all referrals for new young people. They weigh up whether the home can meet the young person’s needs and how compatible they are with the existing group. The written assessments of the potential impact of the young person on the group and vice versa are generic and

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Good

not individual to the young person. This reduces their usefulness. In general, the number of times that young people go missing has reduced. In some cases, the impact of the home in changing young people’s behaviour in this respect is significant. One social worker said, ‘Prior to coming here the young person’s missing from home behaviour was horrendous, possibly the worst in the local authority, but since admission there has been a massive reduction.’ Staff are proactive in ensuring that after each episode the young person has the opportunity to speak in private with a person independent of the home. Arrangements with local agencies ensure that this happens even for those young people whose home area is far away. This provides important safeguards for young people. When staff record a missing from home episode, the details of what they did to locate the young person, and who they contacted, are spread over more than one

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Good

document. This makes it difficult to establish a clear timeline and evidence the accountability of staff for their actions. There are no current concerns about child sexual exploitation, although staff are vigilant to the possibility of it occurring. They use a template, provided by the local safeguarding children board, to assess the risk of exploitation for each individual young person. This demonstrates that the registered manager and staff are proactive and aware of any risks in the local community and further afield. Staff are skilled in managing young people’s behaviour. This stems from the establishment of clear expectations, which are understood by young people and consistently applied by staff. One young person said, ‘The rules are OK, I’m fine with them.’ Staff are swift to challenge inappropriate behaviour, such as bad language or discriminatory comments. Dealing with low-level rule breaking in this

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Good

way means that major challenges are more likely to be avoided. An education worker said of a young person, ‘He’s made enormous progress here. This is down to the staff being consistent in setting boundaries and challenging appropriately.’ Staff use their relationships with young people to help them to reflect on incidents and to learn different ways of dealing with distress or anger. There are few physical restraints. There is little bullying, and the competence of staff in maintaining a generally settled and orderly home creates a safe environment. One young person said simply, ‘I feel safe here.’ Staff use incentives as well as sanctions to encourage young people to behave more responsibly. The recording of sanctions and restraints needs to be improved. The effectiveness of each sanction is not recorded, meaning that staff cannot know if it is working or whether something different should be tried if the behaviour

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Good

recurs. The restraint record uses technical jargon to describe how the young person was held. This makes it difficult for people outside the home, or the young people themselves, to understand what happened.

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Requires improvement

The manager was registered in February 2016 and is suitably experienced and qualified. She clearly prioritises the welfare and safety of young people and communicates sound principles of childcare to the staff. A social worker said, ‘I am impressed with the home and the manager, they keep on top of everything and are receptive to ideas and suggestions.’ The five statutory requirements and one recommendation made at this inspection are mainly concerned with recording practice, and in particular the quality of care planning. The registered manager is aware of the areas where the home needs to improve, and has plans in place to achieve this. The registered manager and her deputy provide staff with good quality supervision. They hold staff to account for weak performance, for example in not being diligent in keeping care plans up to date. Staff access a range of training opportunities, keeping existing skills refreshed and providing them with additional

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Requires improvement

knowledge to help support young people. Not all staff have obtained the necessary qualification, but there are clear timescales in place for each of them to do so by the required date. The registered manager’s regular monitoring of the home’s performance is detailed and takes account of the views of young people and others who have a stake in the service, such as social workers and parents. It enables the registered manager to demonstrate the progress made by young people and identify where additional work is necessary. A person independent of the home makes monthly visits. Their reports do not routinely evidence that consultation with parents has taken place or been attempted. This means that the opportunity to make use of their views is lost. The registered manager is assertive in challenging other services when their contribution to joint working is lacking. There is a procedure in place to escalate

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Requires improvement

concerns within an organisation if the service is not satisfactory. The registered manager and staff have a good relationship with the local virtual school head. This ensures that young people are able to access education which is appropriate to their needs, and is particularly important for those young people from distant local authorities.

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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 that 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

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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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