Children's Home run by Resilience North East Limited in Durham

Inspection report children’s home: 1248773 1 Registered provider: Resilience North East Limited

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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 private organisation and is registered for the care and accommodation of up to five children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or learning disabilities.

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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: First inspection

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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Key findings from this inspection

 The leadership and management are strong. The home is newly opened and the planning prior to opening was excellent. The registered manager and the responsible individual are both highly experienced and they have made a very good start to running this home. Policies, procedures and recording systems are good and monitoring is also good. The staff have been recruited safely and Inspection report children’s home: 1248773 2 have been well chosen. The leadership and management of the home has been efficient and effective and the focus of the work has clearly been on the children and young people.  The children and young people are very well safeguarded. No safeguarding incidents have taken place. Risk assessments are good and appropriate action is taken when necessary. The children and young people are well supervised by vigilant staff.  Children and young people do make good progress. The staff plan well and

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Key findings from this inspection

identify and agree goals and targets with the children, young people and their families. The children and young people are supported by the staff to work on their goals and targets. These are clearly recorded by staff and good progress is evident in most areas. Progress is also reviewed and analysed by staff so that further planning can be accurately carried out.  The home has been set up well. The staff have furnished and decorated the home nicely and it is both comfortable and inviting.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

N/A Inspection report children’s home: 1248773 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home was opened and registered in February 2017; this is the first inspection. The organisation operating the home is also new and this home is part of a service that will comprise a number of homes and an outreach service designed to work with both children and adults with complex needs and learning disabilities. The organisation has been set up and started by very experienced managers, and the planning has been excellent. Managers and senior staff have been appointed very early so that they have been part of the planning process. Staff have also been appointed early and have undertaken programmes of training and induction. The home has been well prepared in all ways and has started well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The statement of purpose is clear and the home is meeting the stated aims and objectives. The staff offer a 12-week assessment period for each child or young person who is admitted, and will then offer an ongoing placement if it is felt that their needs can be met in a longer-term placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Because the home is so new, only a limited number of children and young people have been cared for so far. This is because the registered manager was keen to start slowly. Also, the first young person admitted was cared for on their own for a short period. Their behaviour was unsettled and other admissions were not accepted because of this. This situation demonstrates that the staff clearly prioritised the needs of this young person and demonstrated a willingness to be flexible and to put the needs of the children and young people first. This young person was discharged from the home after an assessment period of four months because their behaviour had deteriorated and become dangerous. The decision to do this was appropriate. The parents and the placing social worker both say that the changes in behaviour were beyond the control of the staff and the social worker said that staff ‘tried their utmost’ to support this young

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

It is clear that staff do form good relationships with the young people who have lived in the home so far. The staff spoken to during the inspection spoke warmly about the young people and interaction observed by the inspector was relaxed and caring.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child or young person has a set of goals and targets drawn up with their, and their parents’ or carers’, agreement. The young people are then supported to work on these goals. The aim of this work is clearly to improve life skills, social skills and independence skills. This work is well recorded and progress is evident in most areas. One young person has achieved well in terms of improving personal hygiene. Another young person had done well in terms of making their lifestyle more healthy, with better diet and improved exercise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff also have clear behaviour support plans in place so that the children and young people know exactly what is expected of them and they are clear about boundaries and expectations. Inspection report children’s home: 1248773 4 The young people cared for have been encouraged and supported to attend appropriate education placements and the staff have provided good-quality home tuition as a temporary measure when this was required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people have had their health needs well looked after. In one instance, there has been considerable consultation between the staff and a range of health professionals involved in the care of one young person. This has ensured that the right medication is prescribed and that appropriate reviews have taken place. The children and young people are encouraged by staff to communicate as much as possible. Staff have a good understanding of the range of communication techniques and do put these into practice. The staff have set up a video call system so that one young person can keep in regular visual and audio contact with their family, who live away from the area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke to some of the parents of the young people who have lived in the home. It was very clear that communication between the staff and families is very good. The comments were all positive. One parent spoken to had spent some considerable time trying to find the best residential home for their son. They described this home as ‘the best’ they had seen and said it was ‘absolutely first class’. They spoke about how they found the staff to be ‘lovely’ and how they paid so much ‘attention to detail’. They said: ‘My son is extremely happy there.’ When talking about the staff they said that they were ‘knowledgeable and professional’ and ‘very well managed’. Another parent described how happy their son had been at the home and said that staff had ‘tried their best’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A social worker spoken to also said how well the staff had cared for a young person placed by them at the home. They said that staff had a ‘robust behaviour management plan’ and had ‘good structure and routine in place’. She said the staff ‘tried their best’ and that the young person ‘was always at the forefront of their minds’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are also frequently consulted, and there is clear evidence of young people making choices about meals, activities, trips out and leisure activities. One young person who expressed an interest in fishing was bought some equipment and taken out to fish. They also expressed an interest in spending some time with pet dogs and the staff were able to arrange this as well. These actions demonstrate the staff’s attention to detail and their caring child-centred approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child whose admission was being planned during the inspection had visited the home previously and had talked about their local football team. The staff were actively planning the admission and how to involve them in supporting their chosen team. This shows good efforts to engage the child and to keep the young person in touch with their home area, with which they clearly closely identified.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke to a number of staff who showed good knowledge of safeguarding and of the needs of the children and young people for whom the home is intended. They had all had good support and a comprehensive training package since starting work in the home. Inspection report children’s home: 1248773 5

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

The children and young people at this home have been kept safe.

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

The staff are experienced and they have a good understanding of risk. Accurate risk assessments are made and risk management plans are drawn up. Staff follow these plans well.

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

The staffing ratios are high. The staff assess each child or young person and they are allocated staff as appropriate. The registered manager also ensures that there is an extra member of staff around to cover for any potential difficulties.

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

The children and young people are all supervised closely and are always with staff when out of the home. There have been no safeguarding concerns to date, no child or young person has gone missing and there have been no concerning incidents.

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

The staff offer personalised care for each child or young person and the daily routines, boundaries and expectations are set up on an individual basis. These are written into care plans in order to provide consistent care. This in turn means that the children and young people can feel safe and secure. Each child or young person has a behaviour plan in place so that staff know how to offer proactive care, and so that they can react in the most appropriate way to any challenging situation. Although no child or young person was able to communicate directly with the inspector, observations of one young person and discussions with their family indicate that they do feel safe and secure at the home.

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

No sanctions have been used at any time. The staff have used physical restraints on several occasions. These are used when the children and young people have become aggressive and are used to prevent them harming themselves or harming staff. They have been used appropriately and safely. The staff have been well trained in these techniques. The staff make appropriate records of attempts to avoid the use of restraint, the actual restraint and the follow-up. They have used physical interventions to keep the children and young people safe.

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

The staff ensure that appropriate behaviour support plans are in place for each child or young person. These are detailed documents that clearly identify concerning behaviour and provide guidance on how staff should be proactive and how they should react should this be required. This leads to a more consistent approach and also provides clear boundaries and expectations that the children and young people can understand and follow.

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

The home is safe and free from any health and safety concerns. External doors are secure and are opened by staff with electronic key fobs. This ensures that children and young people have to be supervised when leaving the premises, which is appropriate. There is a large outdoor courtyard area that is used as a secure outdoor play area that can be easily accessed. The home is set in rural farmland and the staff, children and young people are able to go for walks and enjoy the local farm and countryside attractions on their doorstep. Inspection report children’s home: 1248773 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since the home opened in February 2017. She is well qualified and very experienced, having worked in similar settings beforehand. The responsible individual has been the driving force in setting up this new company and is very experienced in this work. They have worked together before and have again worked well together to ensure that this home has got off to the best possible start.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual was able to appoint the registered manager many months before the home was due to open and also appointed the senior workers some months before opening. This is excellent planning. These key staff have been able to spend time together preparing all aspects of the home and the service and have been able to plan and discuss a wide range of issues prior to any child or young person arriving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

It is clear that both the registered manager and the responsible individual, who is the operations manager, are hands-on managers who prioritise the needs of the children and young people, their care and their lives. They are also ensuring that the home is meeting the aims and objectives as stated in the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Together they have safely recruited a team of staff with a range of experience and qualifications. They have spent time on good-quality induction, training and supervision. The staff say that they have been very well supported in all areas of the work, including having access to both managers on an out-of-hours on-call rota. Because of their hands- on approach with staff they have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the team and are able to continue ongoing development of the service. Further training has been booked and relationships with external specialists and other agencies are being progressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Because the registered manager and the responsible individual have practised in this type of service before, they have brought with them a wide network of contacts, specialists and experts and they are starting to use these as they need them. A specialist worker from the child and adolescent mental health service was engaged to assist with an assessment of one young person’s behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is also clear evidence that the registered manager and the responsible individual will challenge other professionals. There was some considerable debate about the medication prescription for one young person, with clear differences of opinion between them, both parents and health professionals. The registered manager and the responsible individual gave their view clearly and challenged the view of others before accepting the decision of the health professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No requirements or recommendations have been made at this inspection. Inspection report children’s home: 1248773 7

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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 difference 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: 1248773 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Resilience North East Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fellingate Care Centre, Fox Street, Felling, Gateshead NE10 0BD

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Inspector

Colin Imrie, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1248773 9 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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