Children's home run by North Yorkshire County Council in North Yorkshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC034152 1 SC034152 Registered provider: North Yorkshire County Council

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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 five children and young people who have sensory impairment, and/or learning and/or physical disabilities. It is operated by a local authority.

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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: Sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children and young people experience a high level of care from the nurturing staff team during their short breaks stay. Inspection report children’s home: SC034152 2  Children and young people enjoy a wide range of activities both inside and away from the home to help develop their social skills. This includes group activities involving participation in the community.  Many of the children and young people have benefited from using the short breaks service for many years. Staff meet their needs exceptionally well.  Staff follow individual risk assessments that take into consideration each child’s and young person’s vulnerabilities.  Staff complete a thorough handover to keep each member of staff completely up to date with any changes of care.  The home is managed effectively, with positive changes made since the arrival of the new manager.

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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 The statement of purpose is significantly out of date and does not reflect the changes, in particular with regard to new staff working at the home.  Staff would benefit from additional training, as there have been errors resulting in supervision of children and young people and in the recording of medication.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/11/2016 Full Outstanding 27/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC034152 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16(3)(a)) Particularly in respect to staff changes at the home. 15/12/2017

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for ensuring that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home’s care. Everyone working at the home must understand their roles and responsibilities and what they are authorised to decide when using their own initiative. There should be clear lines of accountability. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20) Specifically in respect of training to look at staff’s practice and accountability given the errors made with supervision of young people, and reporting errors.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people benefit from using this short breaks provision, and some have been attending the home for many years. Consequently, good relationships develop between staff, children and young people and their families or carers. The longstanding staff team provides good, nurturing care that is sensitive to the children’s and young people’s individual and complex needs. Parents are reassured that staff know and understand their children well. Photographs around the home and in individual memory books demonstrate the wide range of fun activities children and young people enjoy with staff. The children and young people recently took part in a local puppet festival to promote their involvement in community events. The successful introduction of a summer holiday club provides children and young people with opportunities to meet new friends. They benefit from improved social skills and confidence in trying new experiences. A staff member said: ‘It

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

was a good summer. The best one I have worked for a number of years.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC034152 4 Children and young people develop their independence skills. Their comprehensive plans are individualised and identify specific goals and targets. Some children and young people were involved in the making of a DVD, which is used as a children’s guide to support new referrals to the home. Their attendance at a ‘red carpet’ awards ceremony celebrated their involvement. Staff display smaller but notable successes on the ‘WOW’ display board. This boosts children’s and young people’s confidence further. Parents and professionals attended a recent open event so that children and young people could proudly demonstrate the work that they had done and the progress made. One young person went shopping, chose a meal he helped prepare, and cleared up afterwards. This remarkable achievement will assist him when he moves to an adult provision. A parent

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

said: ‘Goals are specific and well thought through. They are small steps to provide short- term goals that lead to long-term improvements.’ Parents and carers remain responsible for their children’s health and education. However, staff have a good understanding of these needs through effective communication with parents, health, education social care professionals. As a result, children and young people benefit from a consistent approach from all those involved in their care and well-being. This is particularly important for those with complex health needs, or for those who struggle with transitions and need rigid routines. A parent said: ‘I feel the staff really work with parents to make sure everyone is in agreement about care.’ Children’s and young people’s ability to communicate their needs is strengthened by improved communication methods and displays around the home. Staff use a range of strategies to listen to children’s and young people’s opinions. The creative staff develop,

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

and use, social stories to explain issues to children and young people, for example about health procedures. This provides understanding and reassurances to reduce anxieties. Children and young people are also involved in providing wider feedback about issues that affect children with disabilities, such as transport in rural communities. Staff use this as a learning opportunity, and children’s and young people’s views represent and give a voice for children with disabilities to influence key decision makers in the local community. Careful planning ensures that young people are prepared for leaving the home when they become adults. They enjoy a goodbye party with friends and family. This reduces anxieties for young people, who get to know their new carers, which results in a smooth transition.

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

Risk management is effective and based on individualised risk assessments. Staff know the vulnerabilities specific to each child and young person and implement safeguards to protect them. During their short breaks, children and young people live in a safe environment. Staff fully assess the hazards and risks to the children’s and young people’s health and safety, and ensure that any actions to minimise such risks remain current. Managers take prompt action following any incidents, such as putting on keypads to make doors more secure. Staff complete a thorough handover when new staff members come on shift. They are Inspection report children’s home: SC034152 5 prompted by the use of a newly introduced handover check sheet. This helps staff keep up to date with children’s and young people’s current risks or vulnerabilities, and of any significant changes such as in medication. The completion of body maps provides

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

additional safeguarding, with staff recording and monitoring any bruises or injuries caused by self-injurious behaviour. High levels of staff supervision protect children and young people so that they do not go missing. The nature of the children and young people’s complex needs warrants such attention. Managers carefully match children and young people using the service. For example, children sensitive to noise are not placed with noisy and active children. This close attention to detail ensures that the short breaks are always positive. Behaviour management is effective and children and young people experience consistent structure and boundaries. Staff recognise the signs indicating when a child or young person is becoming agitated and implement good distraction techniques. Restraints are rarely used and only as a last resort to keep children and young people safe. The manager undertakes a prompt and thorough investigation of complaints. Recent

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

issues include a lack of supervision of children and young people and inadequate recording. Managers effectively challenge staff about their practice, resulting in an action plan and additional support and training. This improves practice and gives reassurance to parents that their children are cared for and protected by suitably trained and experienced staff. One parent said: ‘I feel my child’s safety is of upmost importance to all the staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager currently has oversight of this and another short breaks provision. She has made an application for registration at this home. She has been a registered manager since May 2016 and has the necessary qualification and skills. The manager is organised and meticulous, and provides strong leadership that is driven by high aspirations for the children and young people using the service. An experienced deputy manager, who has worked at the home for many years, provides important support. She has extensive knowledge of the children and young people at the home. The manager is making positive changes to systems and is streamlining paperwork to reduce duplication. This includes recordings becoming more child friendly and staff learning how to better evidence children’s and young people’s progress. Consequently, staff can now easily identify when changes have been made to children’s and young people’s plans. This ensures that staff provide up-to-date care and support. There is a

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

thorough monitoring of practice and of the children’s and young people’s placement plans and behaviour risk assessments. A social worker said: ‘The manager is making a change in the home’s way of working. She is looking to replicate a stronger activity- based programme as already happens at [Name of other provision].’ The manager has a good overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She has introduced reflective team meetings where staff discuss children’s and young people’s needs and ideas shared between colleagues. Staff receive regular supervisions that look at their practice and managers challenge them to make improvements. Most staff feel positive about the new paperwork and monitoring systems, whereas a few are Inspection report children’s home: SC034152 6 still resistant. Staff would benefit from team building to openly discuss the changes. A long-standing and established staff team has excellent knowledge of the children’s and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

young people’s needs. There have been errors made with the supervision of children and young people and mistakes in medication reporting. When managers identify shortfalls, staff are challenged and receive extra supervision and support. The management team ensures that practice continually improves. The introduction of reflective diaries is one example of this. The requirement from the last inspection has been met and staff have received in-house and external administration of medication training with competency assessments. Additional scrutiny of medication administration is provided through peer and external audits. The regular, monthly independent monitoring highlights good practice. It also provides the manager with areas for improvement and development.

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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: SC034152 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: North Yorkshire County Council, County Hall, Northallerton DL7 8AD

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Inspector

Tina Ruffles, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC034152 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 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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