Children's home run by North Tyneside Council 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:

 The registered manager has responded well to the requirements and recommendations of the last report, and has made good progress.  Relationships with families are well supported.  The registered manager and staff team understand how to build positive, enabling relationships with young people.  The registered manager and staff team have created good links with statutory agencies. Sharing of information and gaining an understanding of the way that other agencies work help to ensure that young people are safe.  Young people at the home say that they feel safe because of the way that the registered manager and the staff team listen to them and support them.  The registered manager and staff team support education well, and young people are achieving.  Young people are able to take part in a wide variety of activities.  Young people are encouraged to take part in the Children in Care Council to have their views listened to.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Staff advocate well on behalf 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— (a) a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; (b) an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; (c) there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; (d) a child protection enquiry involving a child— (i) is instigated; or (ii) concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or (e) there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (5) A notification made under this regulation— (a) must include details of— (i) the matter; (ii) the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and (iii) any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the

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Requirement Due date

matter; (b) must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40(4)(5)) 07/10/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should: – detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff

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Recommendations

should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  Children should be actively encouraged to read their records and to add further information to them. They should be regularly reminded of their right to see information kept about them and be given information about how they might be supported to access their records in later life. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.6)  When establishing the home, the registered person must ensure that it is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans (see regulations

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Recommendations

12(2)(c)). Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) In particular, risks associated with child sexual exploitation should be recorded.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a local authority and is registered for the care and accommodation of up to six children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 31/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/01/2016 Full Requires improvement 05/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/06/2014 Full Good

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Good

The home is large and well equipped, offering good facilities for individual and communal activities. The atmosphere at the home is settled and young people are achieving well.

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Good

Young people develop effective, trusting relationships with staff and the manager, characterised by warmth and good humour. This enables them to explore their feelings and develop new strategies to cope with their emotionals. A young person said, ‘Staff are really nice.’ Such relationships build resilience and a sense of belonging. A young person who visited during the inspection talked positively about her experiences at the home and felt that it was important that young people can come back to the home to get help.

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Good

Education is well supported at the home and all young people have high levels of attendance, whether at school, college or work placements. Staff are aspirational for young people, and offer support and guidance on a daily basis. They ensure that when young people return from their placements they are given opportunities to discuss their day. This enables young people to feel valued and listened to, and maintains a positive attitude to education or work that will support them to make good progress in their chosen fields.

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Good

The group of young people are settled and happy living at the home. One young person who has completed a full life skills programme has recognised that it is time for him to move on. He has discussed this with staff at the home, who are in the process of planning his move, with continued support, into the community. This ensures that any move is at a pace suitable to the young person and therefore has a greater chance of success. The group of young people have developed some friendships with each other, and some have friends and family whom they visit regularly outside the home. This is fully supported by staff, who make every effort to ensure that such relationships are maintained. A social worker commented that the home is ‘really good at facilitating family contact and offering support to build resilient relationships’.

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Good

The quality of the care plans, personal education plans and risk assessments provided by local authority social workers continues to be low. However, there is evidence that this has been challenged by the home and, when there are gaps in information, these have been chased regularly by the manager and senior team. In addition, the placement plans and key-worker sessions provide a more complete record of the young person’s needs. The result is that the home is able to mitigate against risks to the care of young people due to lack of information.

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Good

The health of young people is good and they all attend appointments regularly, with support from staff. All young people have health plans in place that allow staff to monitor conditions that exist and maintain good healthcare provision for young people. Age-appropriate plans for attendance at appointments or self-medication are in place and risk assessed appropriately. This helps young people to develop the self-care skills which are essential for life as an adult.

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Good

Young people do have some involvement in the running of the home and staff do make efforts to consult with them as part of their placement plans. Several young people are involved in the Children in Care Council. This develops their sense of emotional well-being by promoting their ability to effect change. The young person’s representative on the council, who takes part in consultation with the home’s independent visitor, stated, ‘I love it here. I wish I could have lived here when I was in care.’ However, there is very little evidence of young people contributing to their own records in a meaningful way, and a young person was heard to ask to see what was written about her. This is not regular practice within the home and needs to be better promoted.

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Good

Young people are supported to attend a range of activities, including those associated with the Prince’s Trust. The staff ensure that there are adequate activities, both inside the home and externally, to develop skills and interests. This gives young people a positive view of themselves and what they can achieve.

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Good

A general refurbishment is being undertaken which has included a new kitchen and some redecoration. This is an ongoing process, with staff undertaking the work when possible.

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Good

There have been no complaints from young people, but there is evidence in meeting minutes that issues are raised by young people. These are addressed quickly by staff, which means that young people are able to see the results. This further enables young people to develop a sense of value and self-worth.

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Good

The home is a safe and secure environment, with all fire checks and maintenance checks taking place regularly. Visitors all have their identification checked and are signed in and out of the building. Refurbishment is ongoing, due to damage within the building as a result of previous disruptive behaviour. There is a plan of work, and the manager is aware of the need for the home to make appropriate improvements. Young people do go missing from the home for short periods of time, but there is a clear and thorough process that staff follow, ensuring that young people return as soon as possible. When appropriate, staff are aware of the need to report young people missing to the police and follow relevant protocols. This prevents young people being reported unnecessarily in relation to late returns. Some young people are at risk of exploitation, but this is known and strategies are in place to address the resulting issues in a comprehensive way. The staff and registered manager

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Good

have a positive working relationship with the police. A local officer said that he enjoys going to the home and said, ‘There has been a big improvement in recent months’. The registered manager meets with the police and other providers in the area to share good practice and maintain good communication links. This ensures positive partnership working to keep young people safe.

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Good

Risk management and care plans are updated regularly by staff, but are not always signed off by the registered manager. In addition, records are kept both online and in hard copy, yet the information contained within each record is different, due to neither being kept up to date. This needs to be addressed.

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Good

Physical interventions are infrequent, but are required when young people find it difficult to regulate their own behaviours and emotions. De-escalation techniques are used whenever possible, and all the staff are appropriately trained. Following an incident, records are made. The actions taken within the interventions are clear and young people are able to comment on the intervention. This ensures that such methods are undertaken in a transparent way, allowing young people to see what led to the incident and why intervention was necessary.

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Good

The registered manager and the staff team have changed their approach to responding to negative behaviour, using a more restorative approach. Sanctions are still used, on occasion, and young people add their comments, when appropriate. Behaviour is managed through the use of incentives, individualised to the young people. This proves effective in young people developing self-managing skills.

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Good

There have been seven incidents of a safeguarding nature since the last full inspection. Records were completed, and actions noted and carried out. However, at least two of these should have been notified to the regulator. This prevents the regulator from ensuring that all necessary steps to keep young people safe are followed. In addition, an allegation against a member of staff was reported to senior managers but not the local authority’s designated officer. As a result, the issues were fully addressed and shared internally, but they did not have independent scrutiny to assist in keeping young people safe.

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Good

Staff and the manager have positive relationships with other professionals who offer additional support to young people. A review officer said, ‘They meet (name)’s needs well and I have seen massive progress.’ Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

The manager has been at the home since 2007. She is very experienced and is a qualified, registered social worker. She retains her commitment to caring for the young people at the home and is motivated to ensure that the progress made by young people continues. She is supported by an experienced and motivated senior management team. The home delivers services in line with the statement of purpose.

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Requires improvement

The manager has a clear sense of both the strengths and weakness of the home, but has concentrated her efforts in the past few months in dealing with the issues identified at the last full inspection. The consequence is that some aspects of her own role have not been addressed. There is a training matrix in place that details all mandatory and additional training, but this needs updating. The workforce development plan also requires updating to reflect the current status of the home. In addition, the locality risk assessment is reviewed but does not hold relevant up- to-date information, including that relating to child sexual exploitation. This was addressed by the deputy manager during the inspection and should inform the up- to-date risk assessment.

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Requires improvement

While the manager is aware of the individual needs of young people living at the home, there is still a shortfall in ensuring that all required tasks are completed. The result is that the manager and deputy have a full knowledge of what happens within the home and can discuss all aspects of practice. However, this does not transfer into demonstrating evidence of management oversight, and several different records were not signed off.

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Requires improvement

Staffing levels are adequate and have been reviewed to allow individual work with young people. Staff have felt supported by the management team, and a member of staff commented that ‘the team pulls together’. Another stated that the management team was ‘available and accessible’. This has benefited young people, evidenced by the reduction in challenging behaviour and the achievements that young people have made.

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Requires improvement

Staff are supported through regular, recorded supervision by the management team, that also appraises each member of staff annually. The registered manager and two deputies have a close working relationship and communicate regularly on a day-to-day basis. Supervision of the deputies is undertaken by the registered manager. This ensures that practice is guided by the management team, yet its effectiveness is not always evaluated through monitoring.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 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, work- based 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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