Children's Home run by Gateshead Council in Gateshead

Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 1 SC036773 Registered provider: Gateshead Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides accommodation for five children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. 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

Date of last inspection: 11 January 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 are prepared effectively for moving into adulthood. Arrangements for keeping in touch are bespoke and led by the young people.  Very good professional relationships enable young people to feel supported and valued. Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 2  The stable and nurturing approach to young people is provided consistently by a skilled staff team.  The young people build strong, trusting relationships with staff as a result of the highly skilled and measured approach that they receive individually.  The leadership and management are very good. The management team is pivotal to young people experiencing positive outcomes. The staff are dedicated, highly motivated and very supportive of each other.  The young people feel safe and benefit from the consistent approach to maintaining their safe care in the home and within the local community. Staff put clear boundaries in place. This helps young people to adhere to clear

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Key findings from this inspection

expectations that are consistently applied.  Partnership working with professionals in all forms of educational and vocational training enables young people to develop confidence and skills that support their development into adulthood.  Supervision and support of staff within the home are very good.

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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

 There are shortfalls in the home’s practice, mainly in relation to the quality of record-keeping and planning documents. These do not have a substantial impact on outcomes for young people.  The independent monthly overview of the home does not routinely record all aspects of regulatory requirement. This means that external, impartial judgement about the quality of care is missing.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/09/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 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 independent person must produce a report about a visit (‘the independent person’s report’) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether- children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44(4)(a)(b)) 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must- keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of revision. (Regulation 16(3)(a)(b)) 28/02/2018

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, while recording sanctions, the reader should be able to understand the exact circumstances leading to the implementation of a sanction.  Case records must be kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) In particular, any educational work, vocational and other awards completed or attempted by a young person should be dated and signed to make it possible to evaluate and measure progress. Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people receive good, individualised care from a well-trained staff team. Care is nurturing and supportive. The staff work closely with each young person. This enables staff to establish good relationships that are responsive to their individual needs and focused on helping them to achieve their potential. The staff team focuses on the young people’s strengths and potential, and is particularly good at sourcing and maintaining young people in education, training and various forms of employment. As a result, young people are quickly engaged in work-related activities that enhance their confidence and desire to achieve. The staff team works closely with other agencies to ensure that packages of support are implemented, enabling continuous education and work-related training that are bespoke to each young person. A professional said, ‘I find the team and staff in general excellent to work with; they keep me up to date and are very proactive

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

in sharing information. They ‘push’ the process in respect of personal educational plans. They have worked and do work with me reference seeking placements at college and work experience.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The management team and staff work consistently to maintain positive communication with all parties involved in young people’s care. Family contact is pivotal to successful outcomes for young people at this home. The staff ensure that contact, however small, is at the forefront of support to young people. A parent said, ‘First-class service; they are always messaging. I feel (Name) has changed massively and over the last 12 months has grown up and matured; cannot fault the staff at all.’ A member of staff said, ‘We are really good at developing and repairing relationships with parents; we try really hard to improve relationships with parents, building bridges and opening lines of communication.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people make very good progress towards supporting themselves independently. Each young person completes a ‘get ready for adult life folder’ which includes a variety of everyday tasks, in particular the management of money. Independent travel is supported. The staff team ensures that progress is safely monitored. The young people are motivated to attend a variety of appointments linked to their potential and overall development. The staff team listens to young people and involves them daily in making decisions about their care. The young people attend healthcare appointments with family, friends, professionals and staff of their choosing, where appropriate. This enables them to make informed decisions and develop responsibility and confidence in everyday decision-making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage young people to understand their environment and local and world history, with different themes and projects each month. At the time of the inspection it was environmental issues, recycling and energy saving, and so on. A tasteful area of the dining room is set aside for young people to engage in any learning and to access information. ‘Burns’ Night’ was the theme during my visit and was to be celebrated with a relevant traditional supper. This demonstrates a commitment to being inventive and Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 5 involving young people in enjoyable, educative activities with trusted adults. Incentives and rewards are given to celebrate achievement and participation.

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

The staff team is highly skilled in recognising and responding to young people who find it difficult to regulate their emotions. Staff provide a consistent approach that is nurturing and supportive. Clear, safe care conversations take place routinely throughout the day, and invariably at the point of a young person leaving the home to socialise in the community or have family contact. This consistency has significantly reduced the length of time that young people go missing and, in most cases, such behaviour has disappeared. The staff welcome young people upon their arrival home following a ‘missing’ episode. This non-confrontational approach is delivered with warmth and care. A professional said, ‘They genuinely care about them.’ The young people become increasingly safe through living at this home. A young person said, ‘Staff always ask me if I have my phone; they text while I am out to see how you are and if you are safe.

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

The nature of the young people who come to live at the home inevitably present staff with particular challenges in managing significant behaviours. The staff work very closely with other agencies and attend routine multi-agency meetings to discuss young people whose behaviour causes concern. The local community police officer drops in to the home informally and has been known to participate in activities with the young people. Local residents have also felt able to drop in to the home and say ‘Hello’. The staff act as good parents and ‘go over and above’ to ensure that both known and potential risks are understood and minimised. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed and amended accordingly. A parent said, ‘My child is smiling again and he feels safe; he is in a much better place and frame of mind; they work with him.’

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

Transition planning to the adult world starts early in placement and is based on young people’s assessed needs. The young people leaving the home are very well supported, and often staff will help in their own time with moving furniture and visiting shops for last-minute essentials. This is testament to the strength of relationships that have been made. Often, young people who have left the home several years ago will turn up, sometimes with family, sometimes on their own, just for a chat and for advice. During the inspection a young person arrived and was welcomed in enthusiastically, and another young person arrived with his girlfriend as he was preparing to move on. The home was full of positivity and excitement. The management team maintains a book that captures visits from ex-residents. This was reviewed on inspection, and numerous entries had been recorded. The young people’s well-being and aftercare are at the

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

The staff team ensures that all young people benefit from rewards and incentives to achieve positive outcomes. However, there are some shortfalls in clarity when recording events that have taken place and the actions taken when imposing sanctions. This does not support young people to understand or to be able to reflect on actions taken. The record is then open to interpretation. Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leadership and management are strong. The registered manager and her assistants ensure that there is a consistency in their approach that is reflected in how the home operates on a daily basis, regardless of who has lead responsibility. The registered manager has the right qualifications and experience, and there are plans in place for 2018 for both assistant managers to undertake the appropriate management qualification. This is testament to ensuring that continuous development in leadership maintains the high level of guidance and support to staff. This helps to ensure that the best outcomes for young people can be consistently achieved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young people’s care plans are reviewed monthly, ensuring that progress is monitored. Progress charts visually enable all parties, including young people, to see at a glance how well they are doing. The level of progress and adaptations to plans are routinely discussed within individual supervisions and in team meetings. One-to-one work with young people enables them to recognise change and be able to reflect on their current progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive the support, supervision and training that they need to deliver consistently good-quality care. A member of staff said, ‘We have really good team meetings. Views are appreciated, supported and constructive’. Another said, ‘Very inclusive decision- making takes place; everyone feels able to express themselves in decision-making. I feel that anything that you say is taken on board and considered before a decision is made.’ This inclusivity enables all attendees to feel valued and a part of a team that is focused on achieving positive outcomes for the young people in its care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is focused on improving outcomes for young people and has identified a number of actions to develop the service being delivered. These are largely centred on the knowledge and skills of her team in understanding complex behaviours and methods of prevention, and de-escalation strategies. All plans demonstrate the home’s commitment to young people and to improving the home’s inspection outcome judgements. The manager’s commitment to change has enabled her to look beyond what staff have already done in relation to training and she is now identifying ‘what else?’ and furthering staff’s knowledge. An example is her wish to have all staff trained in drug and alcohol issues, without reliance on other services, and in addition further exploration of how to deal more effectively with aggression, considering de-escalation. This will lead to improved practice and outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Relationships with all members of the care teams are strong, and they are enhanced by the extent to which consultation takes place with all relevant persons. The manager, to improve on this area, has introduced a six-monthly one-to-one session with each young person to enable her to hear their views on an array of issues that they wish to discuss about their care and improvements that can be made to the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 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: SC036773 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead NE8 1HH

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Inspector:

Michael Dack, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 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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