Children's Home run by North East Autism Society in Durham

Inspection report children’s home: SC458754 1 SC458754 Registered provider: North East Autism Society Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care and accommodation for up to eight children and young people who have a learning disability and/or an autistic spectrum disorder. The current manager was registered with Ofsted on 24 April 2015.

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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 outstanding

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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: 21 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC458754 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/09/2016 Full Outstanding 25/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC458754 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

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that the persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1) (d)) This specifically relates to fire drills being completed and recorded as having taken place at suitable intervals. 24/05/2018

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. In particular, the proposed sensory garden should be completed as soon as reasonably practicable. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Staff must help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or supported living. This includes supporting the child to develop practical skills such as cooking, housework, personal self-care to the best of their ability and be able to identify progress made. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people live in individual, self-contained areas that have direct access to shared communal areas. Each accommodation comprises of a fully equipped kitchen, lounge, bedroom and a bathroom. In particular, care has been taken to ensure that furnishings and design are specifically compatible with children’s and young people’s Inspection report children’s home: SC458754 4 learning needs and characteristics.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are making good progress in developing basic independence skills, supported by their allocated staff team. Children and young people having their own living space assists staff to be able to achieve a calm environment. This reduces the impact of external factors that cause undue stress and anxiety. However, the staff team members are not yet demonstrating that they are outlining the progress of children and young people in the records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are able to make choices on a day-to-day basis. They decide when they wish to engage with peers or have the option to remain in their living space and/or access the community with their allocated staff team. Children and young people do make friends within the group and choose activities together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communal lounges are well resourced with toys, books and a television. There are two lounges that are furnished to a high level and an array of personalised pictures of children and young people resident in the home are on display. Parents spoken to on inspection felt that the living spaces were ‘amazing’ and were very complimentary in terms of the overall set-up. One parent told the inspector that, ‘[Name] is doing amazing and he is able to develop his independence and he has friends. He particularly likes [Name] and is very supportive of others. He seeks them out and chooses when he wishes to be with them. It is brilliant to see. He is preparing his own meals and doing laundry with support. He loves it here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people have bespoke packages of education. They are all progressing in their education and have 100% attendance. The school is on-site, but in addition they access a range of community resources with their allocated educational staff. The home has access to a swimming pool, sports hall and gym as well as a sensory room within the adjacent school. The children’s and young people’s health and well- being are promoted daily.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions to and from the home are good. The children and young people are supported to move into the home at their pace to reduce the impact of emotional anxiety and stress. Staff work with other agencies to ensure that transitions are carried out smoothly and preparation for such moves is meticulous.

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

The children and young people are helped to manage and regulate their behaviour positively by having consistent and familiar staff around them on a day-to-day basis. The staff team uses well written and clear risk assessments to support children and young people. Thus, the need for physical intervention has significantly reduced for children and young people from their starting points. This supports them to develop their social skills and their social interactions.

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

The staff use their knowledge and training to monitor ‘Indicators of Well-being’ specific to individual children and young people. This enables safe care to be paramount at all Inspection report children’s home: SC458754 5 times through close supervision and early intervention. The children and young people are supported in the community to take part in activities on a regular basis. Structured and well-planned daily activities help to reduce anxieties for children and young people with an autistic spectrum disorder. The staff are attuned to individual needs and are responsive to triggers that lead to behavioural outbursts.

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

Good communication and partnership working with social workers and a range of health/education professionals support children and young people in all developmental areas. The home has a very proactive relationship with a consultant psychiatrist who is assigned to the local authority. Staff are able to routinely call for advice and guidance. The consultant psychiatrist often completes routine visits and attends children’s and young people’s reviews. A range of professionals commented during the inspection about the high standard of care and that the quality of communication is very good.

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

The staff team demonstrates a good understanding of safeguarding and develops strong emotional bonds with children and young people. Relationships are based on trust and highly attentive care is provided for children and young people. It was evident during inspection how nurturing and responsive staff were when children and young people arrived home from school. The children and young people presented as happy and comfortable in their interactions with staff.

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

A requirement was made at this inspection in reference to completing and recording fire drills, specifically at different times of the day, morning and evening to support safe care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has been in post since April 2015 and is highly motivated to ensure that the provision of care is excellent. She has the knowledge and skills and qualifications to manage a children’s home. The leadership team and staff share the desire for achieving the best outcomes for children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A number of requirements and recommendations were made at the last inspection. They were quickly addressed which is testimony to the commitment of the manager and her staff team to improve the environment in which the children and young people are now thriving in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team has continued to develop. Recruitment has been robust and children and young people are now benefiting from a stabilised workforce. The manager and leadership team supported and implemented a system of shadowing for new staff. They were sensitively introduced, alongside experienced and familiar staff, to the children and young people. This staged approach enabled relationships to develop at the children’s and young people’s pace. It also enabled new staff to develop confidence and skills in meeting children’s and young people’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and leadership team provide regular supervision and yearly appraisals. Monthly meetings are held that allow for open discussion. The staff feel supported and Inspection report children’s home: SC458754 6 valued. They all know their roles and responsibilities and are confident in meeting children’s and young people’s specific needs and requirements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is very aware of her service and its developmental requirements. Work is being carried out to fully install the necessary furnishings for the two remaining living spaces and to create a sensory garden fully inclusive of children’s and young people’s wishes in design and creativity.

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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: SC458754 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North East Autism Society

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: North East Autism Society, 15 Lumley Court, Drum Industrial Estate, Chester Le Street, County Durham DH2 1AN

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Inspector

Michael Dack: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC458754 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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