Children's Home run by Compass Children’s Homes North East Limited in Gateshead

Inspection report children’s home: 1232649 1 Registered provider: Artemis Support Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides accommodation for up to five children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is operated by a private company.

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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: 22 November 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1232649 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people make good progress as a result of the child-focused care provided by staff.  Staff are committed to supporting young people to make positive choices.  The young people build good trusting relationships with staff as a result of the consistent care they receive.  The young people have opportunities to enjoy a wide variety of activities and outings.  The young people make good progress in their education; they are doing well and have plans for their future.

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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

 Recruitment procedures need to be robust. Further scrutiny of potential staff is needed.  The statement of purpose needs to accurately reflect the service provision.  Notifications to the regulator need to be sent within timescales. The quality of information provided could be improved.  The registered manager needs better oversight of the tasks he delegates to other managers.  Recording of significant incidents and administration of medication need to be more specific.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1232649 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 registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16(1)) In particular, accurately describe the training that staff have regarding physical intervention. 30/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The requirements are that— full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(1)(3)(d)) In particular, ensure all references are verbally verified and scrutinised by staff with safeguarding knowledge. 30/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. A notification made under this regulation— must include details of— the matter; the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter; (Regulation 40(4)(e)(5)(i)(ii)(iii)) In particular, ensure that notifications are sent to the regulator in good time and ensure that there is full information about the incident and the outcome. 30/03/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1232649 4

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Recommendations

 Restraint also includes restricting a child’s liberty of movement. This includes, for example, changes to the physical environment of the home (such as using high door handles) and removal of physical aids (such as turning off a child’s electric wheelchair). Restrictions such as these, and all other restrictions of liberty of movement, should be recorded as restraint. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.42) In particular, ensure that all physical interventions are recorded in the correct document.

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) In particular, the registered manager should routinely quality-assure any of the management tasks he delegates to other managers.

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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. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, record all details of medications and possible side effects.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people enjoy living in a spacious detached house. All the young people who currently live here are 16 or older. They are involved in the decoration and furnishing of the home and personalise their own spacious bedrooms. Young people meet weekly to discuss activities, food choices and plans for their home. Young people take pride in their home, and they feel secure and important. A young person said, ‘We all meet regularly, every Thursday and we talk about the things we’d like to do or anything that is bothering us. Staff are great.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good-quality care planning ensures that young people’s needs are identified and met. In addition, a ‘my plan’ simplifies the more complex documents. This means that staff can understand young people’s likes, dislikes and potential triggers to behaviour. As a result, young people receive consistent care from the staff team. Regular reviews of plans ensure that the care provided is continuously adapted to the changing needs of young people. Inspection report children’s home: 1232649 5 The young people work well with their key workers. They have regular opportunities to discuss and reflect on any issues that may worry them. Records of sessions are written in plain language and addressed directly to the young person. As a result, young people understand the discussions they have had. In addition to this, young people have their own passwords to access their documents. Due to the transparency and openness of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

staff, young people feel secure and in control of their own lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The dedicated manager and staff team show genuine care and respect for young people. Staff provide consistent messages of support to young people. As a result of these trusting relationships, young people accept advice and guidance. Young people use the security of these bonds to explore their feelings in a safe environment while respecting boundaries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with generic and specialist health agencies. Young people receive good support for their physical and emotional health. In addition, the home employs its own psychologist. This provides a further tier of specialist support. Young people value this and build good relationships with the psychologist. In turn, they engage well with therapy sessions, and as a result emotional and psychological health are much improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people attend an education provision. One young person is in full-time employment. In addition to regular employment, he is developing his independence skills. Young people value their education and want to do well. They all attend regularly and there are no incidents of concern. Young people have goals and aspirations for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people enjoy a wide range of activities. They are involved in the choosing and planning of outings. They enjoy regular trips to sports events and meals out. Young people also enjoy helping others, for example collecting food for a local homeless shelter and donating Christmas presents to children who have none. Young people have an increased awareness of local and national societal issues. Their growth in social and life skills has increased their self-esteem and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people have their individual cultures and beliefs respected. All young people have the opportunity to engage in familiar pastimes, including the planning of meals and the celebration of cultural events. Where English is not a young person’s first language, staff do all they can to support their learning and understanding. This gives young people a strong sense of belonging.

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

Good-quality risk assessments highlight the potential risks to the young people. In addition, young people have a working document that shows triggers to behaviour and advice to staff on how to manage this. This ensures that all staff respond in the same way to negative behaviour. In turn, young people receive consistent care and support. Staff know young people well and can anticipate potential conflict. As a result, negative behaviour is de-escalated. Young people feel protected and safe. Inspection report children’s home: 1232649 6 Staff use restorative practice following any incidents. This gives young people the opportunity to discuss how they feel when they are calmer. By reflecting, young people learn how to manage their emotions and behaviour. This caring and measured approach by staff shows respect for all young people. Young people learn from this and as a result they make good progress in managing previously aggressive behaviour. Physical

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

intervention is used appropriately and only when necessary.

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

The home is equipped with discreet CCTV in the staff office and outside the home. A sensor alerts staff when people exit or enter the home. All young people have a plan for their free time in the community. Missing from home episodes have reduced in the last 12 months. Young people understand risk and danger. As a result, they respect their curfews and remain in contact with staff while they are out. For one young person, this is a marked improvement on past placements.

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

There is an increase in the use of positive praise and rewards and a decrease in negative sanctions for behaviour. The manager has recognised that negative sanctions were used too often. Young people are responding well to this change, and they want to do well and achieve rewards for appropriate behaviour.

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

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2017. He has worked with the company for seven years and is experienced in working with children and young people. He is working towards his management qualification.

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

Recruitment, in particular the verification of references, has not been robust enough. Consequently, the work history of applicants has not always been fully explored. In response to this, the directors made immediate changes to recruitment processes. Scrutiny of potential staff is completed by senior management and the interview process has been amended.

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

Management of staff is not as thorough as it should be. The registered manager does not have full oversight of staff whom the deputy manager has direct responsibility for. Supervision records do not accurately reflect work undertaken. The registered manager has a plan in place to rectify this. This includes better monitoring of the deputy manager’s responsibilities, plus further training.

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

Recording of information is not always thorough or clear, in particular recording of physical interventions and administration of medicine. Staff do not view a ‘guided hold’ as a physical intervention. Although correct processes have been followed, the recording does not always reflect this. With regard to medication, this is recorded clearly and administration of medicine is safe. However, staff do not always record information about medicines. This means that staff do not always know potential side effects. Training is in place to address this.

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

Training of staff does not accurately reflect the home’s statement of purpose. In particular, not all staff are trained in physical intervention prior to working with young Inspection report children’s home: 1232649 7 people. This contradicts the statement of purpose.

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

Notifications to the regulator have reduced in the last 12 months. However, of those received, two have been late and one had limited information. The manager is aware of this and has a plan in place to avoid late notifications and to improve the quality of the information.

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

The registered manager has improved the audit processes for the home since his appointment. Equally, he uses advice from independent scrutiny to improve the service further. As a result, positive praise for young people has increased and there is a plan to reduce negative sanctions. The registered manager is open and transparent, he accepts areas of weakness and has improvement plans in place.

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

There is an established and stable staff team, and the home does not employ temporary staff. Staff say that they receive good support. The registered manager and deputy manager are both accessible and approachable. The staff team members are positive and enthusiastic about their jobs. They are focused on good outcomes for young people. A staff member said, ‘I have great support and supervision. I can always speak to management at any time. It’s a lovely place to work and we are a good team.’

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

The manager and staff team make good use of ‘behaviour graphs’. This allows them to analyse and measure the progress of young people. This consistent approach allows for the effective review of care plans. As a result, plans are continuously updated and the progress of young people is celebrated.

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

The manager raises appropriate and effective challenges to the placing authorities when information is missing. The manager and staff encourage open lines of communication. In addition, professionals receive weekly updates on the progress of young people. A professional said, ‘Staff communicate well, I always know what is happening. They attend all meetings and provide good-quality reports.’

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1232649 8 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: 1232649 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Artemis Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 31A Station Road, Whitley Bay, Tyne-and-Wear NE26 2QZ

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Inspectors

Abigail Maspero, social care inspector Susan Atkinson-Millmoor, regulatory inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: 1232649 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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