Children's home run by The Percy Hedley Foundation 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:

 Children have good experiences during their short breaks. They enjoy activities within the home and its large garden, as well as further afield in the community. They gain particular pleasure from spending time with their friends and staff.  Staying here promotes children’s learning and social development. The majority of children make noticeable progress in achieving greater independence.  Excellent links with other services ensure that the health needs of children are fully addressed. Specially trained staff are effective in managing complex health conditions. As a result, the quality of children’s lives is enhanced.  Staff know the children well, and are skilled in delivering programmes of care which are tailored to each child’s needs. Staff encourage children to express their views and make choices about their daily care. This promotes their dignity and gives them equality of opportunity.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The home keeps children safe. Some are extremely vulnerable, but the home’s routines and their consistent application by staff protect children from harm.  Leadership and management require improvement. Some documentation is inconsistent or not completed in a timely fashion. Staff recruitment does not fully comply with best practice. There is a lack of clarity about the suitability of some staff’s qualifications. However, these shortfalls do not impact significantly on the welfare or safety of children.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

12. In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to assessing the full range of potential risks to each child, the registered person must ensure that staff: (2)(a)(i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. 25/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

11. In order to meet the positive relationships standard, with particular reference to drawing up individual behaviour management plans for each child, the registered person must ensure: (i) that staff meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans. 25/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (2) The registered person may only— (a) employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or (b) if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). (3) The requirements are that— (a) the individual is of integrity and good character; (b) the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; (c) the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and (d) full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

25/11/2016 (Regulation 32 (1), (2) and (3))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1) and (7)(a)) 25/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:

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Recommendations

 The term 'equivalent' as used in the Regulations in relation to qualifications will be a judgement for the registered person based on whether the content of any qualifications held by the individual closely corresponds with the qualifications set out in Regulation 28 (2)(c) (for managers) or Regulation 32 (4) (for those in a care role). ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.13)

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Information about this children's home

The home provides short breaks for up to six children with sensory impairment, learning disabilities and physical disabilities. It is operated by a charitable foundation.

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Good

Staff provide consistent and attentive care which is tailored to the needs of each child. Plans set out the detail of individualised routines and what is needed to ensure that children gain benefit from their short breaks. Many children are unable to contribute to their plans in any meaningful way. However, staff consult with the child’s ‘circle of support’ – parents and other professionals who are involved with the child. This ensures that each plan is an accurate representation of the child’s needs and what staff must do to meet them. A parent said, ‘Staff have been great in getting to know my child, who has lots of complex issues. Staff are bending over backwards to understand my child’s needs and how to meet them.’ For children who cannot directly express their wishes, the plan describes how the child’s mood or other non-verbal signals indicates how they are feeling. This attention to detail results in a level of care which promotes each child’s well-being

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Good

and helps them to progress. The chair of a looked after review on one child concluded that, ‘They enjoy their time here. They like to be around staff and the peer group. The focus of support is around their sensory needs. Their parents advise that they have observed positive changes in terms of their child’s development and responsiveness.’ A social worker commented, ‘The child is happy here, staff identify their interests, this nurtures their development, and staff use activities to help the child’s ability to communicate.’ Children love spending time with staff. Because of the complexity of their needs, most children have one-to-one support. This comforts and reassures them, and enables them to enjoy individual activities with staff. For example, arts and crafts, model-making, playing in the garden, listening to music or riding bikes in the grounds. One child gave the inspector a cake he had baked with the help of staff.

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Good

Regular trips out into the community feature in the life of the home. No matter what their level of disability, children have frequent opportunities to be taken out by staff. One child likes going to the local garden centre, where they smell the flowers and look at the fish. Others accompany staff on shopping trips, and then have a meal in the supermarket cafe. More strenuous activities are also available, such as visits to a climbing wall. This level and range of activity promotes children’s independence, teaches them new skills, increases their self-confidence and keeps them included in wider society. Staff encourage children to develop self-care skills. Some children are set targets in this area, for example, to brush their teeth properly. At mealtimes, staff have to assist some children, but even so will ensure that the child has as much control as possible over the act of eating. This upholds their dignity and promotes their

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Good

development. Staff work closely with a range of specialist professionals within the wider organisation. These include occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and psychologists. Staff also facilitate appointments with children’s consultants where necessary, for example, in order to review levels of medication. A social worker said, ‘The home’s holistic approach works really well. The links they have to manage complex needs are fantastic.’ Where children have particularly challenging medical conditions, staff receive training so that they can respond appropriately and safely to events such as epileptic seizures. Staff constantly seek feedback from children to ensure that they are happy and comfortable. Staff give children choice over their everyday experiences wherever possible. Formal ways of seeking children’s views, such as group meetings, are helpful in giving children a say in what is happening in the home. For example, in

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Good

what they would like to do for Halloween. Some innovative practice encourages children to express their opinions. A blackboard in the entrance lobby enables children to indicate how they felt about their stay. The inspector observed one child gleefully circling with chalk the words ‘Yes, I enjoyed my stay’ as they were leaving for home.

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Good

Staff are effective in keeping children safe. The building is secure, ensuring that children cannot leave without the company of staff, and unauthorised persons cannot enter. Staffing ratios are adjusted to cater for the needs of the group of children who are resident at any one time. Children who require particular oversight due to complex medical conditions have a dedicated team of staff. Many children need to take a variety of medication, or have invasive procedures such as tube feeding. The arrangements for the administration of medication are very well organised, and further improvements to the recording system are about to be implemented. A number of children require staff to help them with intimate personal care needs. Policies and procedures which promote the safety and dignity of children in these situations are implemented consistently by staff. Generic risk assessments describe potential hazards and what is in place to manage

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Good

the resultant risk. These are robust. Although there are individual risk assessments for each child, these are not consistent. This means that it is possible for staff to overlook possible sources of harm when, for example, a new child comes to stay. The thorough understanding that staff have of each child’s needs enables them to support children effectively at all times. Staff are alert to each child’s mood and demeanour, and watchful for any sign that they may be unhappy or distressed. This enables staff to take action, for example, offering a diverting activity, or using caring gestures such as a cuddle. Being proactive in this way means that any potentially challenging or unsafe behaviour is predicted and avoided. As a result, there have been no physical restraints since the home was registered. Additionally, sanctions are not used, staff preferring instead to use praise and simple rewards to encourage children positively.

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Good

Despite the success of the home’s behaviour management approach, there is room for improvement. Behaviour management plans for individual children are those used by the organisation’s school, and so apply to the classroom situation and not the home. This means that they are less useful in setting out what strategies to use in this very different environment. Staff recruitment is generally robust. Vetting checks are compliant with regulations. However, in one case, there were historical gaps in a member of staff’s employment record which were not explored in interview. This raises the possibility that people are employed who are not suitable to work with children.

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Requires improvement

The home is one of two which shares a new, purpose-built building. It was registered in June 2016, the staff and children moving from residential special school accommodation on the same site. The move has been challenging but was managed well. The premises are of excellent quality, and extremely spacious. Children can choose to spend time with others in a number of communal areas, or be alone with staff if they wish. The registered manager takes care to plan which children stay which nights, to ensure that friendship groups are maintained and developed. This attention to detail contributes to the experience of children, most of whom relish the opportunity to see their friends on a regular basis. All bedrooms are en-suite, each with a tracking hoist which enables children who cannot walk to move from bed to bath with the minimum of effort. This not only enhances their comfort but makes the process of bathing more dignified. The large garden is completely safe,

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Requires improvement

and very popular with the children, who benefit from the sensory stimulation that it provides. The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified. She leads a large staff team which can work across both the homes in the building. This has benefits, in that it provides a greater range of availability of staff skills to work with children with particular needs. It also provides continuity for the children, who were used to seeing all the staff all the time in their previous residential special school setting. Some aspects of management monitoring are weak. For example, reports of the independent person who visits monthly are not always submitted to Ofsted within the required timescale, or at all. The shortfalls already identified in risk assessments, behaviour management plans, and staff recruitment, demonstrate that adequate management oversight has been lacking. Staff receive a good level of training which enables them to support children

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Requires improvement

effectively and keep them safe. Links with the local safeguarding children board are useful in providing focused child protection training which is relevant to the local area. Specialist staff from other disciplines, for example nurses, provide whatever training is necessary in specific medical procedures. This enables staff to carry these out themselves within the home, reducing disruption and distress for children. Staff receive monthly, formal supervision. This is of a good standard, encouraging staff to reflect on their practice and so improve the quality of the service. The majority of staff possess the appropriate qualification, with others enrolled on the programme. Some staff have different qualifications, and in some cases the home’s managers have assumed that these are equivalent to what is required. However, no formal work has been done to assess whether this is the case, and so staff may

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Requires improvement

not have the range of knowledge that they need.

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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 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

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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