Children's home run by Outdoor Care Limited in Northumberland

Inspection report children’s home: SC415548 1 SC415548 Registered provider: Outdoor Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private organisation and is registered for the care and accommodation of one child who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/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 requires improvement to be 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: 25 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC415548 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff team offers a specialised service with high levels of supervision to young people with a range of complex needs.  Multi-agency working is a strength. Referrals made to health professionals benefit the young person and aid the care planning process.  The staff team is flexible in its approach to transport to enable the young person to maintain contact with their family.

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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

 The registered manager needs to take a proactive approach to managing the care planning process, particularly where the views of professionals are inconsistent.  The home is in need of redecoration in order to be homely and personalised. Furniture, fixtures and fittings need to be improved.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/07/2016 Full Good 23/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/09/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC415548 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 care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that arrangements are in place to manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (2)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, to ensure that agreed plans and strategies for children are consistently carried out and that any unauthorised changes by any party are effectively challenged. 31/10/2017

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Recommendations

 In order to ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children, staff should ensure that the home is homely. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has been living in the home for a number of years and is now reaching their eighteenth birthday and preparing to move on to a supported living situation. The young person was placed in the home following a period of crisis in their life. The young person has complex needs but has made progress from a low starting point. The young person has been supported to maintain regular, supervised contact with their family by the provision of transport, despite the significant distance to their home area. Support has also been available to attend various education and training options. Although these have not resulted in the young person completing any course, they have Inspection report children’s home: SC415548 4 allowed the young person opportunities to gain practical skills and improve their social well-being. The young person is currently attending a training provision in their home area. This arrangement will continue following their planned move back to that area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has good relationships with most of the staff. This was confirmed by both the young person and their family when the inspector spoke to them during the inspection. The inspector observed the young person enjoying the company of staff during day-to-day activities. There has been progress made by the young person in several areas of their life. Notably in their independence skills, their social skills and in many ways in their ability to manage their own behaviour. This progress has had its setbacks and various incidents have occurred, but the staff have addressed these as they have occurred and they have been a positive learning experience for the young person. The staff have managed the health needs of the young person well. They have, together with the placing authority, commissioned a number of specialist assessments and have gained a clear understanding of the young person’s health and emotional health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This has aided the planning process. The staff have also referred the young person to various specialist external workers for support and guidance and these have also been positive. The young person was interviewed by the inspector and they said that they enjoyed their placement and that they felt they had made good progress. The inspector spoke to the parent of the young person and they had mixed views. They said that they thought the home was good and said ‘lots of the staff are very nice’ and ‘the staff are kind and caring’. They went on to say, ‘I wouldn’t have him (the young person) anywhere else.’ The inspector also spoke to the social work manager at the placing authority who clearly said that they had absolutely no concerns about the home or the staff and that they were pleased with the work done by the staff, often in difficult circumstances. They went on to say that the staff had tried hard to work with the family of the young person and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

that they had been ‘respectful of them’. The young person is due to move on to semi-independent living accommodation overseen by adult services shortly. The young person has been fully involved in these plans and said to the inspector that they were looking forward to the move back to their home area.

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

The young person has been kept safe by the staff at the home. The staff understand risks and both assess and manage these well. The young person was assessed by the placing authority as requiring high levels of staff supervision within a one-bedded children’s home. There have been two members of staff with the young person for most of the placement. They have, at times, reduced the level of supervision where it was appropriate but in general staffing levels have remained high. Inspection report children’s home: SC415548 5 This level of supervision was also in place during the young person’s education and training placements, but this has now been reduced. The young person has also built up extended periods of free time away from the staff and has made some friendships outside of the children’s home. This progress has been achieved in a planned way. When there have been concerns or setbacks, the staff have worked with the young person to

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

resolve the issues and these have been positive learning experiences. The staff have not used sanctions and have not used any physical restraints but do have a programme of rewards and incentives in place to promote positive behaviour. These have been partially successful but staff feel that inconsistencies of approach between the staff and the family have inhibited further progress. The staff have provided clear boundaries and expectations and generally these have been positive but again there have at times been differences of approach between the family and the staff, which has meant that the work has been undermined. The staff have worked effectively to support the young person to take better control around their challenging behaviour and some progress is evident here. An allegation made by the young person was taken seriously by the provider and appropriately referred to external safeguarding agencies for investigation.

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

The young person has been missing from the home on a few occasions, but staff have been proactive and have quickly resolved the situations. There have been some issues arising around self-harm. The staff, together with an external psychologist, have put in place an appropriate protocol which they follow at all times. On some occasions, phone contact between the young person and their family has made these situations more complex. One new member of staff has started working recently at the home and the recruitment process was safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager is long-serving, very experienced and suitably qualified. He ensures that the home meets the aims and objectives as set out in the statement of purpose. The registered manager very clearly understands and prioritises the needs of the young person in his care. He also understands the complexities of working with families and has attempted to address issues arising from their different perspectives and approaches. He has made efforts to plan with the placing authority and with the family and has also made efforts to deal with issues of inconsistency that have cropped up regularly throughout the placement. However, these inconsistencies required a firmer approach and planning has drifted because they were allowed to persist. The result has been a detrimental effect on the progress of the young person. A more rigorous approach to planning with the local authority and family would have improved outcomes for the young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has worked closely with the placing authority and this has been positive. He has also been quick to access a wide range of support services for the young person. These have included health and emotional health services, educational Inspection report children’s home: SC415548 6 services and counselling and guidance services. The registered manager has fulfilled his role in challenging other professionals to make good assessments when these have been disputed. The staff at the home feel well supported by the registered manager. They receive good- quality and regular supervision and training. During the last year, they have been given additional training that deals with autism and attachment so that they can better support any child or young person in their care. The staff members are well qualified and newer staff members are supported to achieve their mandatory qualifications. The registered

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

manager has a settled staff team and has a good understanding of its strengths and weaknesses and is able to take action accordingly. At the previous full inspection, one requirement was made to ensure that all notifiable incidents were correctly notified to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector. This has happened and so the requirement has been met.

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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: SC415548 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Outdoor Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 1PP

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Inspector:

Colin Imrie: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC415548 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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