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

Inspection report children’s home: SC034220 1 SC034220 Registered provider: North Yorkshire County Council

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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 short breaks for up to seven children and young people who have sensory impairment, learning disabilities 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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 13 December 2016

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC034220 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children and young people using this short-break service receive excellent nurturing care from the experienced and skilled staff team.  Meticulous planning ensures that children and young people have a positive and enjoyable break. They flourish from their short-break stays.  Children and young people thoroughly enjoy a range of structured and fun activities tailored to meet their individual and diverse needs, interests and aspirations.  Children and young people are extensively involved with decision-making at the home, assisted by an array of visual aids and social stories. Staff are trained in a variety of communication techniques.  Staff’s safeguarding practice is robust. This significantly protects children and young people’s vulnerabilities, so parents and professionals are confident that they are safe during their stay.  Managers and staff are highly dedicated professionals, who are enthusiastic,

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Key findings from this inspection

passionate and committed to constantly providing the best possible care and support.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/12/2016 Full Outstanding 25/05/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/11/2015 Full Outstanding 31/07/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC034220 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children and young people enjoy attending this high-quality short-breaks provision, treating it like their second home. Managers plan carefully for each short break to meet the unique needs of children and young people who may have a sensory impairment, learning disability or physical disability. This meticulous planning takes full account of the children and young people’s diverse needs, including those arising from their disability and cultural heritage. Managers also look at getting the right mix of children and young people; they incorporate the children and young people’s views, which includes looking at the bedroom they prefer. Friends are linked together. Consequently, children and young people feel relaxed and comfortable; they are not distressed by others, and can enjoy the experiences of a sleepover in a similar way to their peers. This supports friendships and promotes their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff invest considerable time and effort in ensuring that children and young people have a positive and enjoyable break. This includes planning activities to reflect their interests, such as wall-climbing. The home is fully equipped to meet their needs and children and young people are provided with an extensive range of sensory and other positive stimulation. The high staffing levels open up new experiences that may not be available to them at home. This provides the opportunity to socialise with peers, engage in physical activities and visit local amenities and attractions. For one child, this allows him to attend weekly special Olympics team training so that he can participate in competitions. The many photographs around the home and in memory books show all the fun activities that children and young people enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children and young people receive exceptionally warm and nurturing care from a competent and experienced staff team. The team is highly sensitive to children and young people’s individual and complex needs. Children and young people develop close relationships with staff, which is important for those who need help with their personal care needs. They trust staff and feel cared for and valued by them. Parents feel confident about leaving their children because of the well-established relationships with staff. One parent said: ‘[Name of young person] has special people here. We now have an extended family around us to help.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

As this is a short-break service, parents remain responsible for their children’s education and health needs. However, staff develop highly effective and positive working relationships with the agencies providing these services. The home’s care plans and targets reflect the objectives outlined in children and young people’s education and healthcare plans. A collaborative approach with parents and professionals offers children and young people consistency across different settings. Alongside having fun, they make small but important progress in respect of their development, behaviour management and self-care skills. This promotes dignity and confidence in their abilities. A staff member said: ‘I enjoy seeing the children progress over time, being a part of that and seeing that you have made a difference.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC034220 4 Staff have an excellent understanding of children and young people’s communication

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

methods. There is a vast array of visual pictorial aids around the home. Staff are creative and prepare individualised social stories to provide children with an understanding about issues affecting their lives. Staff use a range of strategies to ensure that children and young people feel listened to and contribute when important decisions are made about their care. This includes involving young people in the recruitment of new staff. Staff champion the use of advocates. One young person was able to express where he wanted to live in the future. Staff carefully prepare children and young people to attend meetings to reduce any anxieties. For one, this included the innovative use of a picture slide show. These efforts make children and young people feel involved in their meetings, providing them with a voice for decisions made now and in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff provide additional learning and development experiences through children and young people’s involvement in specific topics. Some took part in the production of an informative DVD that was an introduction to the home, which resulted in them attending an awards ceremony. They take pride in their achievements, and parents and professionals have the opportunity to celebrate these. Others are in a participation group looking at topics that affect disabled young people in the community. The smaller on-site home offers young people the opportunity to learn independent living skills. The development of these abilities opens up a range of different options and choices for when young people move to their adult provision.

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

Safeguarding practice is excellent. Staff have exceptional insight into the vulnerabilities that children and young people face. High levels of supervision, support and close observation mean that children and young people are kept safe at all times. Staff are vigilant and are aware of, and record, any unexplained bruising. Their strong relationship with children and young people and their extensive knowledge of them make staff highly intuitive. They recognise changes in behaviour or demeanour, which may identify when a child or young person is in pain or upset. Monitoring and recording is thorough and meticulous, so managers can evaluate and identify the cause of the change. This offers a high level of safeguarding for children and young people who are not always able to verbalise what has happened.

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

Risk assessments are comprehensive and individualised. Children and young people do not go missing and there is no one known to be subject to exploitation. However, some need a high level of individualised and specialised care and support, such as with tracheostomy care and gastrostomy feeding. Staff receive training so that they are proficient to care for children and young people with these complex health needs. This ensures that they can respond efficiently and quickly in an emergency. This is particularly important for those with life-threatening health conditions. Parents speak of the trust they have in staff’s ability to care for their children, which allows them to take full advantage of the respite the short-break service brings, with one saying: ‘My son is safe. He has a consistent one-to-one worker. I feel my child is looked after as well as he is at home.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC034220 5

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

Staff manage children and young people’s challenging behaviours effectively and diligently. Some have self-injurious behaviours and staff sometimes need to hold or guide them. This is only used as a last resort to keep them and others safe. Staff are successful at using distraction, redirection and communication, which keeps the number of these physical interventions low. When there is an escalation in angry or aggressive behaviour, staff change routines and strategies. This is highly effective at reducing outbursts and improving behaviour.

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

Staff have excellent working relationships with professionals, which provides an important multi-disciplinary approach. They highlight concerns to social care colleagues and are members of core groups providing information and participating in child protection meetings. One parent went as far as to say: ‘I know staff would keep [name of young person] safe and would do something if they had concerns about my parenting.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has extensive experience of working within residential care, supporting children and young people who have physical and learning disabilities, complex health and behavioural needs, sensory impairment and communication difficulties. She has been the registered manager at the home since March 2015 and has the appropriate leadership qualifications to manage the home. She is an exemplary role model for her deputy managers and seniors who support her to make a strong leadership team. This is evident in the exceptional care and experiences of children and young people

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and staff are highly dedicated and committed professionals. They are enthusiastic and enjoy spending time with children and young people, making sure that they have an enjoyable experience. The manager has a full understanding of the children and young people using the service. The high level of monitoring by managers provides excellent oversight of the care provided to children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Supervisions and team meetings are reflective, with a strong emphasis on safeguarding. Children and young people are at the heart of the discussions. The close-knit staff team is open and honest with each other, promoting a transparent and enabling culture. The manager is very keen about her own professional development, which includes receiving training on the Signs of Safety model to cascade to other staff. She is also committed to encouraging and promoting the staff team’s professional development using research alongside external and in-house training. This helps improve the staff team’s practice and increases its awareness of up-to-date issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff’s established links with health, education and social care professionals lead to effective multi-agency working. Parents also talk about feeling fully involved because of staff’s excellent communication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff speak of working in a supportive environment, and as a result there is a low turnover of staff. The motivated manager and staff team look for ways to develop the service, such as fundraising to obtain money for a sensory garden. Parents and Inspection report children’s home: SC034220 6 stakeholders speak highly of the standards of care provided by staff. Their views and ideas feed into the manager’s quality of care review, which identifies clear objectives to make improvements. A professional said: ‘Communication is good. Staff go above and beyond. The service is so popular we have a few children and young people waiting for overnight stays.’

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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: SC034220 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Yorkshire County Council

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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: SC034220 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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