Children's home run by Howard House Care Limited in Northumberland

Inspection report children’s home: SC479281 1 SC479281 Registered provider: Howard House Care 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 provides care and accommodation for up to two children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is operated by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 September 2017

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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 outstanding

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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: 14 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people make good progress due to the consistency of care provided, enabling them to feel supported in a nurturing environment.  The manager and staff are excellent at developing positive relationships with young people and their families. Inspection report children’s home: SC479281 2  The staff are good at engaging young people in all aspects of their care, and in ensuring that their wishes and feelings are heard. The manager and staff advocate strongly on the young people’s behalf, and empower them to make safe choices.  The staff are skilled in helping young people to understand their emotions and feelings. The young people are supported through reflective discussions.  The management team is good at engaging with therapeutic services to ensure that the staff team is skilled and proactive in its support of young people.  Behaviour management plans and risk assessments are effective in reducing

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Key findings from this inspection

episodes of self-harming and missing from care. Supervision of young people and effective emotional support safeguard young people at the home.  Management of the home is outstanding, in particular the implementation of research and theoretical understanding of practice that empowers the staff team to develop as care professionals in a proactive environment.  Supervision of staff is purposeful and efficient, leading to improved personal development.  The workforce is stable, and is supportive of the developing culture and ethos of the home. This ensures that the focus is on positivity, and the delivery of quality care to young people.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/10/2016 Full Good 22/12/2015 Interim Not judged 11/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC479281 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well situated in a remote rural location, thus providing a calm environment in which young people can feel safe and comfortable. Although rural in location, the home still offers young people plenty of opportunities to engage in a wide range of activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is supported in many forms, and is individual to young people. The provider’s own educational establishment is within easy reach, and transport is provided by the home’s staff. In addition, where appropriate and in accordance with young people’s individual care plans, support is provided to ensure that young people are able to attend mainstream education. This flexibility is achieved through a multi-agency care plan that is individual to each young person. The care plans include reintegration plans that are closely monitored to ensure that all young people are provided with the dynamic support required to reach their educational potential. One young person is currently undertaking an environmental project award with a programme of educational tasks, in conjunction with mainstream education and art therapy at the home’s own educational establishment. Tailored provision that allows young people to be educated in a

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

nurturing, therapeutically evaluated way helps them to develop confidence and emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team is proactive in maintaining positive relationships with parents and carers. Parents are invited to team meetings to discuss their child’s progress, and strategies for their care. When a young person’s plans include an eventual return to the family home, details of any training provided to support this objective is shared with the parents. This supportive and inclusive practice demonstrates the home’s flexible approach to ensuring that bespoke packages of care are provided. Ultimately, young people and their families are supported to reintegrate successfully. A parent said, ‘We cannot speak highly enough of the staff. The way that they support you is totally geared to keeping [Name] safe and supported to meet her problems; and to assist her to deal with them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people spend a large amount of time with staff, and work positively with them. The young people play games, and are encouraged to explore their creative sides through the use of arts and crafts. Drawings and writings are evident on the home’s noticeboard in the homely kitchen, and demonstrate the developing bond that young people are able to build with staff. One young person has particularly enjoyed drawing caricatures of staff and has humorously linked what each member of the staff team would be if the home was a person; the drawings include a big thank you at the end. Powerful relationships that build on resilience help to strengthen confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are a few isolated incidents of young people going missing. When these incidents do occur, they are relatively short in duration, as supervision is high. Physical interventions, which also occur rarely, are only used to prevent harm. Management of particular behaviours associated with self-harm is extremely well handled and supported through multi-agency intervention. Inspection report children’s home: SC479281 4 A chronological record of events is maintained, and data is gathered in the form of graphs and analysis that support strategies implemented and the changing nature of interventions, if required. Plans are updated and progress is made. The young people are supported by a consistent and well-educated staff team, maintaining their overall emotional health and physical well-being through a coordinated care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are cared for with warmth and sensitivity. The staff ensure that the young people are listened to, and endeavour to act on any request, if deemed appropriate. When such requests are inappropriate, staff spend quality one-to-one time with young people, to explain the reasons behind decisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Incentives and rewards are provided naturally, and often instantly. They are linked to positive behaviour. For example, young people are complimented on their appearance and positive attitude. The young people are routinely praised for sharing their feelings, which demonstrates the staff team’s knowledge of positive reinforcement in developing change. The young people develop a sense of positivity and emotional well-being.

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

The young people living here are making good progress. The home provides close supervision and support in the management of risk. Risk assessments are regularly updated in response to incidents and concerns, and therefore are ‘live’ documents. This ensures that strategies implemented by the staff team are appropriate, and provide consistency in the delivery of safe care. One young person said, ‘I feel really safe here, staff really listen to you and are very supportive.’ This is an indicator of the progress being made in young people’s emotional well-being.

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

The staff are proactive in determining young people’s emotional status at all times. Every evening young people are encouraged to reflect on their day and their feelings, both positive and negative. This is a formal process carried out in an informal manner 30 minutes before bedtime. This helps young people to understand and make sense of their emotions and, importantly, they plan for the next day. Communication with staff is open at all times, and support is always accessible. The young people develop a greater awareness of themselves, and recognise the strength of support that is available to keep them safe from harm.

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

The manager has made excellent contacts with professionals, and is continually seeking to enhance his own knowledge base on relevant areas of care that he has identified. For example, he contacted the author of a text book on a specific subject and received, as a result, very helpful advice which he has disseminated to the staff team. The team has used an exercise from the book to engage with a young person, and help to identify her best method of communication. Learning from this exercise has resulted in the staff adapting their communication styles. Engaging with other professionals supports development of the experience and knowledge of the team, which helps to ensure that the needs of young people are effectively supported.

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

A social worker said, ‘They are an excellent example of care provided to young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC479281 5 Appropriate reassurances are provided to [Name]. They identify risks quickly and adapt responses accordingly. They will increase supervision to manage risk. They do a lot of work around managing feelings and emotions, in particular self-harm, and engage with [Name] to enable her to reflect, and understand her own emotions.’

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

The staff team provides consistency and stability in young people’s lives. Expectations and boundaries are clear. The young people are supported to identify and communicate their feelings as indicators of risk, and are assisted to manage these risks in a safe environment. When young people are out on activities, the same approach is maintained. Staff are mindful that risk assessments are dynamic, and therefore are considered before an activity is carried out or an appointment is made. If any concerns are evident, they can be addressed proactively. This is reflected in a young person’s feedback, which indicated that she was appreciative of a decision not to attend a planned appointment, as she was not in the right frame of mind. This is a further example of safe care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is an effective leader, and he has developed a strong culture of continuous improvement. His focus on his own professional development, and his dedication, have led, in part, to his desire to ensure that practice in the home is supported through theory and research. Enthusiastically, he has developed a thirst for knowledge in the team that enables them to work with complex behaviours to the best of their ability. This provides young people with a package of care that is not only nurturing, but is also focused on positive outcomes. The nature of the remit for this home means that staff have to be skilled in their supervision and support of young people at all times. The management supports the overall performance by ensuring that staff are competent in the implementation of the care plans and management of risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Team meetings are purposeful, and meeting times are protected. Staff from another home within the provider group are brought in to support the young people, if needed, to allow the home’s staff to learn together, and share thoughts and opinions. Visitors are regularly invited to the meetings. They include the psychologist commissioned by the provider, who provides consultation to the staff and also provides strategies to help support the young people. Also, the police who visited recently provided a young person with a birthday card. This demonstrates that the manager is effective at engaging with other professionals in supporting the team’s development and knowledge, and in enabling them to develop positive relationships with young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has reviewed a number of documents in the home, notably care plans, behaviour management plans and risk assessment packs. The new documentation provides a more stimulating and efficient way of presenting an overall awareness of the young people’s journey in the care of the home. Updates are made regularly, and the monthly care plans that are provided to the social worker are thorough. The plans identify and plot progress with careful, confident analysis. Information gathered and Inspection report children’s home: SC479281 6 maintained in the care plans supports, in particular, the preparation and submission of a high-quality looked after review report. This report has also been redesigned. A social worker said, ‘Progress is provided in the form of data and graphs, which is particularly good and indicates clearly to me that she is progressing well.’ A letter from the social worker is held within the compliments records; it goes on to say how much better the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

new format is for the production of looked after review reports.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leadership and management team has ensured that there has been a positive recruitment of permanent staff to the team. This provides stability, and reinforces consistency in the approach to meeting young people’s needs. Vetting procedures are efficient, and all staff have either completed an induction programme or are well on their way. Supervision is carried out to an excellent standard. The manager ensures that staff routinely refer to quality standards and research, and have a working knowledge of the children’s homes regulations. The manager ensures that reference to quality standards, research and a working knowledge of the children’s homes regulations are routinely referred to. There are opportunities for staff to reflect on areas of practice, and to provide their views. Tasks as a result of supervision, with timescales for completion, are routinely given. Progress on these tasks is then monitored by the manager and senior

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager completes six-monthly monitoring reports, as required by regulation. The workforce development plan and home development plan are very good. All staff should have the appropriate level qualifications relatively soon. Analysis and evaluation of the home’s development needs are clearly recorded and take into account the current young person’s views and opinions, and those of professionals and parents, equally. A young person said, ‘I am encouraged to make it as much my home as anyone else. I can make a little area in the garden that is only for me. I can plant flowers and anything else I like. We have plans for a camp in the garden with a little fire where you can relax and clear your head, and I can make posters and draw things which can be displayed to make it like a family home.’ Positive strategies regarding the plan for the development of the home ensure that young people’s well-being, self-esteem and confidence in their

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The monthly reports of the independent person are objective and accurate. They include a clear opinion on the effectiveness of the home’s safeguarding arrangements, and how well they promote the welfare of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A parent said, ‘We could not have hoped for a better place for our daughter. They are very keen to take our views on board. They ensure that the best interests of our child are at the heart of everything they do.’

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC479281 7 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: SC479281 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Howard House Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Howard House, Netherton Colliery, Bedlington, Northumberland NE22 6BB

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Inspector

Michael Dack, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC479281 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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