Children's home run by Compass Children’s Homes Northeast Limited in North Tyneside

Inspection report children’s home: SC403472 1 SC403472 Registered provider: Artemis Support Ltd 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 up to five children and/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: 13 to 14 February 2018

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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: 28 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people receive highly individualised and focused care that meets their diverse needs and promotes positive outcomes.  Good risk-management practices and safeguarding practices protect young people from threats to their vulnerabilities.  Clear routines, boundaries and expectations support young people to behave in Inspection report children’s home: SC403472 2 socially acceptable ways.  The young people enjoy a range of fun and engaging activities that enrich their lives, build positive relationships and create lasting memories.  Exceptionally good consultation practices ensure that staff listen to the voice of young people and quickly act on their wishes and feelings.  The manager and staff feel well supported, trained and motivated to care for the young people. The young people speak fondly of the staff, and mutual respect comes from the quality of their engagement.

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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 practices are not as robust as they should be with respect to ensuring that the start and end dates of an applicant’s employment correlate to previous employment references and, if not, that there is further scrutiny.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/04/2016 Full Good 03/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC403472 3

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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)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that information in application forms that relates to the start and end of an applicant’s employment correlates to previous employment references, and that there is further scrutiny if not.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Highly individualised care planning meets the young people’s diverse needs. They receive good, consistent care from staff who understand and follow their bespoke and focused plans. A member of staff said, ‘We encourage their personality and let them be individuals.’ Subsequently, the young people make good progress from their starting point. Most young people live compatibly together. However, tough decisions to discharge young people following increasingly risky behaviours have been made to protect everyone’s safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people speak fondly of staff and they interact positively with each other. One young person said that they can express their feelings to staff because they trust them. Consultation practice with young people is exceptionally good. The time invested in the young people during key-work sessions and regular meetings with the responsible individual, manager and staff affords them the opportunity to learn about themselves and each other. They have a say in their plans and how their home is run. This enables young people to feel accepted and sufficiently confident to talk to staff about their wishes and feelings and any worries. This keeps complaints to a minimum and outweighed by the many compliments received by the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive challenge from the manager is seeking to help young people who are not in education, through no fault of their own, to gain access. Informal learning opportunities occupy the young people until a suitable educational placement is identified. Young people in further education are improving their life chances through their increased attendance and commitment to learning. A survey respondent said, ‘Management and staff work hard to ensure that young people have an appropriate education placement and good attendance. One of the young people in the home had not been in formal education for two years prior to placement, and is about to begin a construction course.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people’s access to primary and specialist health services is good, and has Inspection report children’s home: SC403472 4 contributed to their overall health and well-being. A psychologist employed by the organisation supports the staff team and can provide direct support to the young people. This is helping their emotional and psychological well-being. Young people’s engagement with external professionals is also good. This enlightens their understanding about matters such as drugs, sexual health, first aid, and health and safety matters. Certificates of achievement recognise the young people’s learning around these topics and are displayed with pride in a designated area of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a wide range of social and leisure activities, such as going to the cinema, watching shows, taking trips away, and outdoor and indoor activities. This enriches the lives of young people and creates positive memories of their time at the home. Young people’s involvement in charitable events, such as sponsoring a child in Uganda and raising funds for different charities, broadens their social awareness and teaches them about compassion and kindness towards others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family contact, with very good support by the staff team, promotes young people’s cultural identity and maintains their family bonds.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people enjoy living in the comfort of a well-presented home with personalised bedrooms. They are fully involved in buying new items for the home, which values their contributions. Doing household chores, cooking, baking and washing help the young people to acquire independence skills that will help them in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Equality and diversity issues are explored with the young people, giving them opportunities to think about how discriminatory attitudes and behaviours impact on others.

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

Good-quality risk management practices identify young people’s presenting risks, as well as helping them to take controlled risks. A social worker said, ‘I feel he is in a supported environment where risks are monitored and managed.’ The staff team has a very coherent understanding of its responsibilities to safeguard young people. Staff know the identity of the local authority designated officer, who has visited the staff team to discuss her role. Consequently, staff have a sound understanding of the actions that they must take should they be faced with a safeguarding concern or risky behaviours. Staff actively involve young people in their risk management plans and include young people in room searches when an identified concern or risk arises. Staff remain alert to the potential for challenging incidents and they listen to young people, most of whom follow staff’s safety guidance. One young person rated his sense of safety at the home

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

as ‘10 out of 10’ because he can talk to staff, he feels listened to and staff teach him ‘right from wrong’.

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

Positive adult role modelling from staff, coupled with clear routines, boundaries and expectations, promotes mutual respect between staff and young people. This helps to stimulate improved behaviours and safeguards everyone. Incidents of physical intervention are few, which is testament to the positive use of de-escalation techniques and the relationships that young people share with staff. One staff member said, ‘The Inspection report children’s home: SC403472 5 last thing you want to do is put your hands on people.’ Positive praise and rewards encourage most young people to behave in safer and more socially acceptable ways.

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

The effective management of missing from care incidents secures young people’s safe and well return. Such incidents have been significantly reduced. The young people respond to phone contact with staff while they are out. Consequently, staff know where the young people are. Young people are not considered to be vulnerable to risks associated with child sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse. Their raised awareness about a range of safeguarding issues is achieved through certified training, which teaches them how to keep themselves safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management of the home is highly child centred and nurturing, which supports an empowering environment for young people to thrive in, from their starting points. A survey responder said, ‘The home is child centred and the management team makes decisions in the young people’s best interests to ensure that they are kept safe and their outcomes are achieved.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked at the home since July 2016. She has over nine years’ experience of working with children and young people in residential care. Ofsted is processing her registration application. The manager is working towards her level 5 management qualification. In addition, the responsible individual and a senior manager provide valuable support to the manager in a manner that does not undermine her position. Such supportive systems enable the manager to carry out her role effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Changes in staffing, due to existing staff from the organisation’s other children’s homes transferring to the home and the appointment of new staff with transferable skills, make for a positive group dynamic. Staff report a supportive working environment that motivates them to care for the young people. They confirm that supervision and appraisal help them to improve their practice. Regular supervision enables staff to reflect on their practice, talk through practice scenarios and set objectives. A staff member said, ‘I receive achievable targets which promote my personal and professional development.’ This helps the staff team to work collaboratively. Other good communication systems, such as daily handovers, regular team meetings and ad hoc discussions, support consistent practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A number of staff hold the level 3 qualification in caring for children and young people. Two staff members are due to complete this qualification in April 2019 and two other staff members are going through their probationary period before they can proceed. Training has a high importance and this ensures a skilled workforce that has up-to-date knowledge, supporting them to confidently meet the needs of the young people. One staff member said, ‘The company offers a lot of training relevant to the job role. I have recently completed training on problematic sexualised behaviours, which was extremely informative.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good management monitoring systems provide internal and independent scrutiny that Inspection report children’s home: SC403472 6 transparently identifies the home’s strengths and areas for development. Such swift remedial action ensures a safer service. However, internal monitoring has not detected and put right an inaccuracy in a recruitment document. There has been no negative impact on young people’s safety. The provider is constantly making service improvements that continue to promote the best possible outcomes for the young people. The provider has systems in place that can measure the capacity to analyse young people’s progress. This informs their care plans, celebrates their achievements and sets achievable objectives that young people can work towards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of professional relationships and communication between the home and stakeholders, such as social care services, the police and drug and health workers, is generally good. Professionals speak positively about the staff team. A social worker said, ‘Staff keep in regular communication with me’ regarding updates about a young person’s progress. The manager’s escalation of concerns ensures appropriate challenge to placing authorities that fail to provide effective responses to the care-planning process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirement raised at the last inspection has been addressed.

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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: SC403472 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Artemis Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 92 Whitton View, Rothbury, Morpeth NE65 7QN

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Inspector

Jacqueline Malcolm, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC403472 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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