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

Inspection report children’s home: SC359465 1 SC359465 Registered provider: St Cuthbert’s Care Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a charitable organisation and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 14 children or young people who have sensory impairments, learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities, for short breaks. This accommodation must be provided within a separate area of the home from the care and accommodation for adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 24 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC359465 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The leadership and management are strong. The registered manager is experienced and well organised and leads the staff team well. She continues to make good efforts to further improve the service and has the well-being of the children and young people as her highest priority. She has developed a strong team of senior workers who support her and she delegates appropriately to them.  The children and young people are kept safe at the home. The staff assess risks appropriately and ensure that the children and young people are not put at any risk. The children and young people are well supervised by vigilant staff who ensure that they are clear about boundaries and expectations.  The staff have made improved efforts to work with the children and young people on identified goals and targets. This is helping to support the children and young people to develop more skills which in turn helps them to become

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 A number of staff members have not completed a relevant level 3 qualification within the required time limit of two years from the date they started working at the home. The staff need to complete these qualifications as soon as possible.  The statement of purpose was reviewed and revised in April 2017 and a copy was not sent to HMCI. More recent changes now need to be added to the statement of purpose.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/09/2016 Full Good 22/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC359465 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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 of any revisions and send a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this is in relation to ensuring that the statement of purpose is up to date and that any revisions are supplied to Ofsted in a timely manner. 02/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

The relevant date (to obtain an appropriate qualification) is, in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff complete the required qualifications in the timescales allowed by regulation. 02/10/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people who attend this home for their short breaks do make good progress and do enjoy and benefit from their experiences at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is situated in a larger centre where there is an exceptionally good activity centre. The centre contains a large hydrotherapy pool which is built to very high standards. Also, there is a complex of sensory rooms which are very well equipped and an outside garden containing accessible play equipment, grass lawns and various outdoor exploration areas. The activity centre also has dedicated staff who organise a wide range of activities, visiting attractions and trips out. The activity centre is open to the public during the day and the children and young people at the home have shared access during this time, but have exclusive access during the evenings. Undoubtedly the children and young people attending for short breaks benefit from and enjoy these excellent resources, which are easily accessed. The home and the activity centre also Inspection report children’s home: SC359465 4 have access to a minibus for trips out into the community and to local attractions and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In the period since the previous inspection, the staff have made clear efforts to improve the service in two ways. They have introduced a system of recording and measuring progress and they have focused on developing the number of activities that the children and young people take part in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the children and young people who attend for short breaks now have clearly defined goals and targets which are broken down into small, easy steps. With this system in place, staff are clear about areas to work on and areas where they can support the children and young people. Also, the children and young people are clear about what areas they are working on and where they are being encouraged.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is evidence that the children and young people make good progress in many different areas of their lives. Some of the children and young people are working on socialisation skills and there is evidence that they interact with staff better. Other children and young people spend more time with other peers and this is positive. Two of the young people have made a strong friendship with each other and now look forward to each other’s company on their short breaks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some of the children and young people are working on more practical skills such as using cutlery, dressing or washing and bathing and again there is evidence of them being encouraged to make progress here. Other children and young people are being encouraged to try new foods and new activities and progress here is also positive. Several of the children and young people enjoy using the hydrotherapy pool and this is not only good fun but is also a really helpful exercise which benefits those who are less mobile and so has a clear health benefit. Making progress in these areas develops confidence and self-esteem and a number of the young people are recorded as being more confident and outgoing as a result of their stays at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Progress is often in very small steps because the children and young people only attend their short breaks for a few days at a time. However, staff do make good efforts to support children to practice news skills and try new activities. Having a short break is also about having a variety of experiences which are fun and which broaden horizons. There are a good variety of experiences on offer and some of the children and young people benefit from trying new activities. One parent had commented that her child was frightened of animals but was really delighted when they were able to touch an owl as part of a visiting bird experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are regular trips out to local attractions and places of interest such as the beach, parks, museums and a local farm experience. During the inspection, the inspector witnessed staff taking one young person to the local shops as the young person wanted to buy a magazine. There was also a ‘Games in the Garden’ fun afternoon which the young people joined in with. Some of the children and young people like to help in the garden and the organisation have gardening staff who are willing to introduce the children and young people to some low-level gardening work. Inspection report children’s home: SC359465 5 In order to continually improve the service, the staff regularly ask the children, young people, their parents and carers and external professionals for feedback and comments about the service. The inspector was able to read this feedback, which was very complimentary. Parents rated the service highly saying it was ‘excellent’, saying ‘staff do

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

a wonderful job’, ‘nothing is too much trouble’ and ‘the staff are very professional, yet warm and friendly, they all know my child’. Parents and carers also mentioned areas where they thought further improvements could be made and these were acknowledged in staff meeting discussions and acted upon. The children and young people were equally complimentary in their feedback and opinions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector observed some of the young people being supported by staff who shared activities and who also encouraged the young people to try new activities. Staff were caring and communicated well with the young people and were quick to praise when appropriate. Staff were also clearly able to divert the young people when their behaviour was less positive. Several of the staff spoken to were able to talk knowledgeably about how they communicate with those children and young people who had complex difficulties in this area. It was clear to the inspector that staff not only had good relationships with the children and young people but also that they knew them well enough to be able to get around communication problems. The young people could make themselves understood and this would undoubtedly lessen frustration and aid progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are well trained in areas around health and disability and take good care of the health of the children and young people. Routine medical needs are met and staff are confident about more serious medical issues because of information recorded on the individual files and because of their training. There is a good core programme of training around health and medical issues such as percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeding and epilepsy but it was also positive to see the additional training that had taken place recently around oral hygiene and planned training around posture. These issues can perhaps sometimes get overlooked, but the registered manager clearly considers them important.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, there were specialist workers visiting at the request of the registered manager who were assessing one young person’s behaviour. This was requested by the registered manager after some recent difficulties. This external support benefits the young person and also helps the staff to deliver a better service.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The children and young people who attend this home for short breaks are kept safe. The staff understand the risks that these vulnerable children and young people are faced with and they assess these well. The staff are then able to take appropriate action to minimise these risks in an appropriate manner.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been very few incidents of concern at the home. The staff only very occasionally use sanctions and when used, they are appropriate. Usually these have Inspection report children’s home: SC359465 6 been very minor and short-lived interventions used just to reinforce positive behaviour. The staff have also only very occasionally used physical interventions. Mostly, these are pre-planned interventions to help the children or young people who need support to be fed or to change pads. The staff do supervise all the children and young people well and there are agreed levels of high staff ratios to ensure that needs are met as well as possible. The staff make sure that expectations and boundaries are clear and that they are met.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

No child or young person has gone missing at any time from this home and levels of supervision are always high when staff and children and young people leave the home to go out into the community for trips or to access local amenities.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There has been one incident relating to misadministration of medication and falsification of records which happened in the adult care section of the home but involved a member of staff who worked in both the adult and children’s services. The error was quickly discovered and safeguarding procedures were appropriately followed. The member of staff concerned resigned from the service immediately. While this is a regrettable incident, no harm was caused and it is positive that safeguarding and whistleblowing policies and procedures worked quickly and efficiently and an effective outcome was achieved.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The staff undertake regular refresher safeguarding training. It was clear to the inspector that some training had not been completed as quickly as it should have been, but at the time of the inspection all the safeguarding training was up to date.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

One new member of staff was recently recruited and the recruitment process was safe. They commented that the quality of the induction was particularly good.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The home is free of health and safety concerns and fire checks and drills take place regularly with the staff, children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home continues to care for both adults and children. The home is divided and the care is offered in separate areas of the home which are safe and secure. The staff work with children, young people and adults and are all dual trained. This does make the work more complex but also provides a variety of work which many of the staff clearly enjoy. It also makes the management arrangements quite complex at times but the registered manager and her senior staff team manage the home effectively. The registered manager does ensure that the home meets the aims and objectives as stated in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post for three years. She is appropriately qualified and is currently studying for further qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and manages the home well. She combines a hands-on approach with the children and young people with good management and Inspection report children’s home: SC359465 7 leadership. She is an excellent role model for her staff. It is clear that her priorities are the children and young people who come for short breaks. She knows each child well and makes sure that she takes time with each child when needed. She has a clear understanding of the progress that the children and young people are making and of the children and young people who are experiencing difficulties. When the children or young people have challenging behaviour she is quick to support staff if required and these interventions clearly benefit the child or young person as well as staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is clear about the strengths and weaknesses in her staff team and has a development plan in place to address these issues. She has a comprehensive monthly monitoring system in place which ensures that all areas of the work are regularly assessed and any additional action required is identified and worked on. The registered manager has created a strong team of senior workers who have a good deal of experience and this has clearly been important in the ongoing development of the home. These staff say that they are supported by the registered manager with regular supervision, appraisals and appropriate training. Staff complete regular core refresher training and are also provided with additional training around specific areas. The organisation has also made supervision processes more robust. The registered manager gets some supervision from other specialist directors of the organisation, which is useful

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

in terms of strengthening her knowledge around areas such as human resources and health and safety. Senior managers also sit in on some staff supervision and this not only ensures that the process is monitored but also gives staff an easy opportunity to talk to senior managers about any ideas or concerns that they may have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has introduced a new system of identifying goals and targets for each of the children and young people to work on and this progress is now recorded in more detail and more regularly. This means that staff are clear about which areas of life or which skills the children and young people are working on and can ensure that during their time with the children and young people they can encourage and practice these skills with them. This more organised approach will focus attention on helping the children and young people to develop more vital independence skills and will enable them to achieve more in their lives. Having these agreed goals and targets allows the children and young people to achieve and succeed, which raises self-esteem and confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are good at keeping in contact with families and include them in all planning and discussion. There is good communication with other professionals and this ensures that the needs of the children and young people are fully recognised and addressed. Referrals are made to external specialists when necessary. Recently, a referral was made to a specialist for better equipment for one young person who had outgrown their existing equipment. The registered manager will challenge others when this is required if the service requested is not forthcoming or is not adequate. On several recent occasions, the registered manager has asked for higher staffing ratios when she is clear that the behaviour or needs of the child or young person require this. She has been successful on each occasion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There were no requirements or recommendations made at the previous inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC359465 8 Two requirements have been made at this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Five members of staff who started working at the home more than two years ago have not completed their required relevant level 3 qualification. All these staff are making progress with their studies and are due to finish soon but they have not completed them yet. This has not had an impact on the care of the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager had reviewed and revised the home’s statement of purpose in April 2017 and did not send a copy to HMCI. The statement of purpose now requires further revision and this will also need submitting to HMCI within 28 days.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC359465 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: St Cuthbert’s House, West Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE15 7PY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Sheila Errington

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Inspector

Colin Imrie: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC359465 10 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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