Children's home run by St Cuthbert’s Care in Newcastle upon Tyne

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 leadership and management of the home are strong. The registered manager is experienced and is highly motivated. She is a good role model and provides strong leadership for a large staff team. The registered manager has good organisational skills and ensures that the sometimes complicated short-break arrangements work well. She is also able to delegate effectively to her senior staff team and members ensure that procedures and systems are operated well.  The staff team is also strong. There is a good deal of experience in the team, and most members are well qualified. The staff care for many children and young people who all have complex needs, and they do this well. They are well organised and offer the children and young people good-quality short breaks. The care of the children and young people involves a good understanding of the complexities of a range of disabilities, and staff have this.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The children and young people are kept very safe during their short breaks at this home. Children and young people are safely supervised throughout their stays, and there are good levels of staffing available at all times. No children or young people have gone missing, there is no bullying and there have been no concerning safeguarding incidents at the home.  Many of the children and young people have complex health needs. Staff understand these well. The healthcare offered by the staff team during the short breaks is good. There are good procedures in place for administration of medication and for other personal care when required.  The children and young people visiting the home are able to use all the facilities that are available in the adjacent centre run by the charity. These facilities are excellent and include a variety of very well-equipped sensory rooms, an impressive hydrotherapy pool, excellent outdoor play and sensory

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The children's home provision is good because:

areas, an external café and other facilities.  The staff work well in partnership with families and with other professionals, and this is a strong area of their work. Parents are very complimentary about the service and care provided, and other professionals also comment on the positive care and the dedication of the staff team.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to children in the home, a record is made which includes (iii) the date, time and location of the use of the measure (iv) a description of the measure and its duration. (Regulation 35(3)(a)) 9/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which (b) are kept up to date. (Regulation 36(1)) 9/10/2016

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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 staff seek to identify and provide appropriate opportunities for children to develop themselves in accordance with their wishes and feelings and as part of the home's plan for their care. Each child's talents and interests should be understood and nurtured, with children selecting activities based on their personal preference and abilities, so far as is reasonable. Staff should also support children to try activities that are new for them, when appropriate. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.4)

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Information about this children's home

The home is run by a charitable organisation and is registered for the short-break care and accommodation of up to 14 children who have sensory impairments, learning disabilities or physical disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

22/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

29/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

The children and young people who visit this home for short breaks have a good experience and make good progress. The staff team is well organised and caring and meets the needs of the children and young people well. The staff team has recently been strengthened, with a second deputy manager appointed and a full team of four senior workers now in post. The children and young people are able to form good relationships with the staff and clearly look forward to and enjoy their visits. The inspector observed staff working with children and young people, and it was clear that strong relationships had been formed. The organisation that runs the home has recently increased the numbers of beds available for short breaks, and this means that the home is now a little busier. However, there is still good flexibility in terms of children and young people having their needs met. Some children and young people find noise and other people

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Good

difficult to deal with and so prefer to have a quieter break where they can enjoy themselves without additional stresses. Some of the children and young people make particular friends, and the staff try hard to ensure that they can take their short breaks with their friends. A number of parents and carers commented on how their children and young people really benefit from their visits. The inspector contacted a number of parents, and their views were all positive. They described the service as ‘fantastic’ and ‘incredible’. One parent said, ‘My son loves it there.’ A number of placing social workers were also complimentary. One said that the young person they had placed had good relationships with the staff. They went on to say, ‘He has a good sense of humour and they [the staff] are in tune with this…They manage his behaviour well and can divert him when necessary... He is making good progress with them.’

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Good

The staff team identifies targets for the children and young people to work on. These are agreed with the children and young people and their families and carers. There is evidence that most of the children and young people make good progress on these. One young person has been able to reduce the number of times his behaviour has become challenging. Others are making progress with their personal care skills, their independence skills or with socialising. Some of the children and young people make less progress, and staff review and change the targets when necessary. Generally, the standard of care planning is good, but there have been some errors and omissions in relation to recorded information. One young person did not have some necessary written consents in place. Some other records are not complete, and some further attention is required here. A requirement has been made to address these issues.

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Good

The staff are now using a new system of daily recording of progress towards planned goals and targets. This is starting to be a useful tool and will focus attention on children’s and young people’s goals and targets, which is likely to result in increased progress for them. The staff are able to communicate well with the children and young people, despite their many varied and profound disabilities. The inspector was unable to hold a conversation with any child or young person during the inspection but was able to observe staff communicating with them in a variety of ways, despite their lack of verbal ability. There was clear evidence that staff are able to use other forms of communication when appropriate. Some of the meetings involving children and young people were recorded in symbols, which makes it easier to for them to understand. Staff record many of the trips out and activities in picture books, which

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Good

the children and young people can later look at, at their leisure. The home is situated next to a centre run by the organisation, which has some excellent facilities. The children and young people visiting the home have shared use of these facilities at all times and can have sole use of them for some of the time. The facilities include a number of very well-equipped sensory rooms, a hydrotherapy pool and extensive outdoor safe play and garden sensory areas. A substantial refurbishment of the hydrotherapy pool is being completed, and it is now a very modern and very impressive facility. Records show that the children and young people make good use of these facilities. They are also offered a range of activities and trips away from the centre, and, generally, these are popular. The children and young people are able to choose their activities much of the time and contribute to choosing menus and trips out.

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Good

The inspector has recommended that staff review the care of one young person who appears to decline activities on offer on a regular basis, although carers and professionals who know them say that they enjoy an active life. A better understanding of why this young person chooses to be inactive is needed in order that staff can best judge how to encourage their participation in a wider variety of activities and interests.

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Good

The children and young people who visit this home are kept very safe. Staff understand how vulnerable and dependent some of the children and young people are and they understand the risks that affect them. Staff are able to manage these risks well and ensure that safety is given the highest priority at all times. The staffing levels are high, and the children and young people are well supervised both in the home and on trips out of the home. Because of the needs of many of the children and young people, supervision is constant, and some of the children and young people are supervised by more than one staff member at a time. Staff use behaviour management plans and, on occasions, low-level sanctions, which are appropriate and which work well. No child or young person has gone missing at this home since the last full inspection. There is no bullying recorded. There have been no safeguarding incidents at the home. On one occasion, a child was admitted with an unexplained

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Good

injury, and this was reported and investigated immediately. This was found to be an infected sore and was treated accordingly. There have been no complaints made by children or young people and no complaints recorded from any other person. The staff have to use some physical interventions at times. These are all low level and are all appropriate. Two young people have needed to be held on occasions when staff are feeding them or are administering medication or changing incontinence pads. These procedures are documented in care plans. However, a record was not kept of how the young person should be held. While the inspector does not have a concern that this has been carried out improperly, there is a need for this to be documented accurately. Another two physical interventions with a different young person were not fully recorded. Another young person was given medication to help them calm during a restraint and, while this was appropriate, it

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Good

was not planned and was not added to a plan after this incident, which would have been good practice. Some children and young people self-harm from time to time, and staff deal well with these situations and take good, proactive action to prevent this becoming a more serious issue. Generally, staff show a very good understanding of the behaviour of the children and young people, and they are able to predict their needs or to respond quickly and appropriately. The staff give the children and young people clear expectations and boundaries, and this ensures that they are not only kept safe but that they feel secure as well.

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Good

The registered manager has been in post for just over two years and has prior management experience. She is currently taking a level 5 leadership and management diploma and is planning to finish this within the required period. She ensures that the home meets the aims and objectives as set out in the statement of purpose. The registered manager is keen to develop the home and to continue to increase the quality of the service. The home is a large home that offers short-break care to both adults and children and young people in separate sections of the home. This is well planned, and the two services are kept separate. There are advantages to this: when young people reach their 18th birthdays, they are sometimes able to make the transition to adult short-break care with the minimum of change. Staff working at the home are dual trained. They have qualifications in both adult and children’s work and are trained in both specialisms. Although this is onerous on

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Good

the registered manager, they have a good range of relevant and up-to-date training on all the required matters concerning the care of children and young people. They also have separate supervision on children’s matters, and this is comprehensive. Staff spoken to said that they enjoy the variety of working with two client groups, but that moving between the two settings requires higher levels of skill and concentration. There has been one recorded incident, when medication meant for a child was administered to an adult. Although there was no injury caused, it highlights the need for high-quality organisation at all times and, while this is generally in place, clearly a lapse happened. This incident was fully investigated, and a senior member of staff has been provided with additional supervision and training as a result. There have been other minor lapses of care and, while these are rectified quickly, the home does not reach the very highest

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Good

standard of care, as the registered manager clearly desires. The registered manager has recently started a more organised programme of research, which involves guests being invited to staff meetings to talk about particular disabilities in which they have some expertise. Some of these guests have been parents of some of the children and young people who attend the short- break home. This is very positive. The registered manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and is taking steps to continue the development of the home, particularly in relation to further improvements to recording and planning. The children and young people make progress from their starting points, but clearly this is sometimes limited because of the nature of the short-break service. The registered manager ensures that staff work well with a range of other professionals and with parents and carers, to ensure that all the children and

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Good

young people receive the best experience at the centre. There are several examples of the registered manager consulting closely with parents over health issues and other examples of her consulting with external health professionals, when required. The registered manager challenges others, when the need occurs, if this is in the best interests of the children and young people There were no requirements or recommendations from the previous inspection. Two requirements have been made at this inspection. The first is to accurately record all physical interventions and the second to ensure that all other record- keeping is up to date. A recommendation has also been made to ensure that all children and young people are encouraged to participate in as wide a range of activities as is reasonable.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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 whom 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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