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

Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 1 SC065312 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 accommodates up to eight children or 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: 12 to 13 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 good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 The management and staff team are proactive in their engagement with other professionals. They support and develop good relationships with parents and extended family members, which improves the frequency and quality of family Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 2 contact.  Positive relationships exist between young people and staff, based on trust and respect. Confidence and resilience are enhanced through staff listening to the wishes and feelings of young people and acting upon them where they are able to.  The leadership of the home is good. There is a desire to be inventive to make positive changes and to improve the young people’s experiences.  The young people make excellent progress in their education and are supported to improve attendance and attainment. Young people become stronger emotionally and build up their self-esteem through encouragement from and positive interactions with staff.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The risk management packs and newly developed care-plan files are very accessible and provide a very good level of consistency in staff’s approach to safeguarding the young people.  The young people are consistently encouraged to add their views to their care plans on a weekly basis and on the monthly updates forwarded to their social workers.

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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

 Transitional arrangements for young people who move on from the home under difficult circumstances require a tailored package of support that would allow them to gain closure positively and at their own pace.  In respect of overnight stays with friends, and when appropriate, placing local authorities need to give a proactive response to the delegated authority for all young people.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/11/2016 Full Good 22/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/05/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff-

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5 (b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all relevant plans are in place and that these clarify the young person’s assessed needs, namely an aims risk assessment. 26/10/2017

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Recommendations

 Decisions about overnight stays with friends should be delegated to children’s homes staff by the placing authority for looked-after children. The level of delegated authority should be recorded in the placement plan. Where children wish to stay overnight with friends, staff should carry out the same kind of checks that responsible parents might make in similar circumstances to seek reassurance that the child will be cared for and safe. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.9)  Staff should help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional resilience to cope without the home’s support. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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Recommendations

This is to enable children to reach closure in a positive manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The support provided to young people is good. The staff team ensures that individual care plans for each young person are relevant and updated on a weekly basis and shared with their social workers. Most young people attend the on-site school and make Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 4 excellent progress. Attendance is very high and attainment is promoted through very good communication with education staff on a daily basis. One young person is being supported in a mainstream school and is doing exceptionally well. As well as the usual subjects such as mathematics and English, young people have the option of undertaking ‘Skills for you’ vocational training in subjects such as bricklaying and construction. A parent said, ‘[Name] really enjoys school and gets full incentives for attending and achieving. The staff are absolutely amazing.’ The young people enjoy a bespoke educational package that provides both mainstream education and vocational skills. This

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

instils confidence and maximises their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are numerous references in feedback from professionals, families and carers to the excellent quality of the relationships between staff and young people at the home. All the young people confirm this, with one saying, ‘Staff are good; they listen to you and if you need anything they are there for you.’ Another said, ‘The best thing about being here is you get to make new friends, you go on new activities and all the staff are nice. They help you with anything.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensure that all young people make progress in relation to their health needs. Staff support those young people who have specific health concerns by helping them to attend appointments at their GP, as well as through behavioural approaches. Staff also consult with the home’s psychologist. A professional stated that, ‘The staff have been very supportive in addressing medical issues, which have helped to improve [Name’s] self-esteem and there has been quite an improvement with his relationships.’ Support is provided sensitively in order to preserve dignity and privacy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people’s bedrooms are individual in design and very well maintained. The rooms benefit from recent decoration, for which each young person chose their colour scheme. The upstairs corridor has also had a makeover, which has brightened up the area with a lovely seaside theme. There are further plans for the rest of the home, which will greatly enhance the overall ambience of the living spaces.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A number of young people have been supported to develop their independence through the home’s ‘life-skills programme’. The young people are offered money to complete each of the 13 sections of this programme, which helps them develop important independence skills, improving confidence and competency. One young person has also been supported to develop his creative skills, resulting in the publication of a poem. Everyone at the home and his family are very proud.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team recognises the importance of maintaining and supporting young people’s contact with their families. Transport and supervision are provided, and the experiences are positive for the young people. Overnight stays are encouraged and supported where these are possible and independent travel is developed through safe steps. Staff will either collect or drop off the young people. Those young people who are able will access public transport in accordance with agreed plans. This encourages independence and confidence, supporting the development of self-esteem and safe decision-making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Progress for all young people is monitored and evaluated in the very good individual care Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 5 plans. These are supported by direct input from young people and all professionals involved in their care. Comments and feedback on progress are captured each month and support the overall evaluation of care plans.

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

The young people are safe at the home. Risk assessments are thorough and up to date, creating a live, dynamic document. The staff team is very proactive in working with other professionals, such as the police and local authorities. This ensures that young people are safeguarded and supported to make safe choices in their lives. Strong relationships between staff and young people are helping to create positive learning experiences from isolated negative incidents. Key-work sessions happen routinely. The young people are listened to and this helps them to reflect on choices made and future actions to take, as well as supporting emotional development and resilience in young people.

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

When young people go missing, staff are proactive and follow safeguarding procedures and local police protocols. The frequency of young people going missing has reduced significantly compared to the occurrences prior to coming to the home. Individual behavioural management plans help young people to develop positive change over relatively short periods of time. The knowledge and commitment of staff to maintaining an open and supportive dialogue with young people is a strength of the home. The staff team is skilled in providing a nurturing and supportive environment in which young people feel safe and where they develop confidence with their peers and trusted adults in the home.

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

The staff team receives online and face-to-face training around a range of subjects, including child sexual exploitation, safeguarding and radicalisation/extremism. In addition, they receive specific training from the home’s psychologist, which can be in the form of a one-to-one consultation with regard to the young people, supporting the overall care planning. This level of support enables the staff team to enhance its overall awareness of attachment issues and behavioural management strategies. The psychologist also engages with the young people on a regular basis. In terms of recent events, the management team, in consultation with the psychologist, arranged a young people’s meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss recent events and to empower the young people to say ‘no’ to involvement in antisocial behaviour and the enticement of others. These are positive, forward-thinking steps that encourage and

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

support young people to build confidence and strength in making safe decisions for themselves.

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

Boundaries and expectations are made clear to young people from day one and staff promote respect and consideration for others daily through the use of incentives. This is a positive approach and its effect can be judged by the fact that there have only been two restraints since the last full inspection and none in the previous five months. Sanctions are used appropriately. For example as a result of recent incidents in which vehicles were damaged, financial reparation was agreed between the young people involved and local residents. This sort of response enables young people to see the Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 6 strong effect that someone’s negative actions can have upon victims and the repercussions of such actions.

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

The staff team provides stability and consistency in its approach to safeguarding young people. Staff have explained advocacy services to young people. A guest speaker from an independent service attended the home and gave the young people a presentation on the service and the role of advocates. The young people attended and spoke positively about the representative to staff. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘The staff work hard to prioritise all plans for the young people and advocate on [Name’s] behalf by ensuring she had an advocate when there was no social worker; they appropriately challenge. They actively move the care plan forward and empower [Name], ensuring that they always listen to her views and act upon them when able.’ This approach enhances young people’s confidence and sense of well-being.

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

There are minor shortfalls in the transitional arrangements for young people who move on in difficult circumstances. Supporting young people with closure is important in developing emotional resilience and, although the home has in part carried this out, there are improvements to be made to ensure that every effort is made to enable young people to move on successfully and at their own pace.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and other members of the senior leadership team have a wealth of knowledge and experience that enables the home to move forward in its development of the service. They have been innovative in the development of a new app for the young people. This will be accessed via smartphones or other devices through the internet. The young people will be able to download and view child-friendly documents, such as those on safeguarding, the complaints policy and the anti-bullying policy, as well as the contents of the young people’s guide. In addition, the app will enable them to send messages to staff, for example if they feel unsafe or just to get a message to them for transport back to the home. This app is in the developmental stage and a number of other ideas are in discussion. This level of innovation is very positive and shows the home’s commitment and its creativity in improving outcomes for young people in the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team provides proactive and stable leadership to the staff, and regularly engages with young people as well as their families and professionals. A social worker said, ‘They provide regular updates, every week. Communication is excellent and there is always someone to speak to. They attend meetings where they bring precise information and knowledge of the young person, which is really helpful for me.’ On a recent visit the independent visitor to the home said, ‘There is a strong culture of professionalism and responsibility among the staff team.’ Feedback from professionals is positive and suggests that the management is forward-thinking in its approach to ensuring positive outcomes for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision is provided monthly to staff. Records contain discussions in relation to the overall care of young people and include comments about the reflection, professional Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 7 development and well-being of staff’. The staff team was consistent in its view of the supervision and support provided and said, ‘Management, I feel, are always approachable, they listen to your views; supervision is good and reflective in style. My development is taken into account and I receive praise for good practice.’ The supportive and inclusive environment promotes positivity in the staff team that provides a happy and engaging home in which the young people progress well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is required to get delegated authority from local authorities for each young person who is looked after, to enable the young people to stay overnight at the houses of friends. This will support strategies to reduce missing episodes safely by ensuring that communication is made between care providers and appropriate adults. Progress in this area would enable young people to develop confidence and trust and a sense of well- being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all plans are fully inclusive of assessments expected from young people’s social workers. An aims-risk assessment for a young person had not been received by a provided date. Consequently, there remains a potential gap in meeting a young person’s needs fully.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management is robust in its monitoring and audits of young people’s files. In addition, the recommendation that was made at the last interim inspection has been addressed. There is now a daily monitoring check to ensure that food hygiene practice meets acceptable standards. One requirement and two recommendations are made at this inspection.

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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: SC065312 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: SC065312 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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