Children's home run by North East Specialist Therapeutic Services CIC in Northumberland

Inspection report children‟s home: SC488112 1 SC488112 Registered provider: North East Specialist Therapeutic Services CIC

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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 four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A private company operates this home.

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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

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 children and young people make good progress in developing emotional resilience.  The children and young people enjoy warm and nurturing relationships with the staff team members, thus enabling them to build attachments. Inspection report children‟s home: SC488112 2  All of the children and young people are in full-time education. This not only enhances future life opportunities, but enables them to make friendships in the community.  Good safeguarding procedures and detailed risk assessments protect the children and young people from harm.  A committed and experienced management team is a good role model for the enthusiastic and nurturing staff team members.

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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

 The external monitoring reports do not clearly state whether the children and young people‟s safety and well-being are promoted, or whether the reports strongly challenge practice.  The recordings following missing from home episodes are not sufficiently detailed to enable lessons to be learned and ensure that local authorities conduct a return home interview.  The children and young people would benefit from the staff team having a more thorough understanding of the risks posed by radicalisation and extremism.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/06/2016 Full Good 22/01/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 09/06/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC488112 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. The independent person‟s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44(3(a)(b)(4)) 04/04/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, with particular reference to staff understanding the risks posed by radicalisation and extremism. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child‟s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 46, paragraph 9.31)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people enjoy living in a spacious property where they have lots of room to run and play. All meals are shared together in the dining room and the children and young people participate in preparing meals and laying the table as they Inspection report children‟s home: SC488112 4 would in a family home. Bedrooms are individually furnished and decorated to the children and young people‟s choice. As a result, the children and young people are happy and take pride in their home, thus increasing their sense of security and belonging. They are learning how to accept care and develop resilience. The children and young people‟s comprehensive and detailed day-to-day care plans incorporate all identified needs and how they are to be met. The care plans are complemented by the children and young people‟s own „My Care‟ folders. These child- friendly documents use photographs and stickers to ensure that the children and young

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

people‟s voices are heard. As a result, they are able to actively participate in not only planning, but evaluating, their care. Since the last full inspection, there have been a number of changes to the staff team. In addition, many of the children and young people have had to get to know new social workers. One young person had five different social workers in five years. The committed management team, as well as the core staff team members who have been working in the home since it opened, have provided the children and young people with consistency. The stability that this provides enables the children and young people to build good relationships with all of the adults in their lives. A young person said: „I think that the home is awesome. My favourite worker is [Name], who is perfect.‟ All of the children and young people are in full-time education and have 96% attendance. This includes two children who are taken daily to their original schools to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

maintain consistency. The children and young people are further supported in their learning by being encouraged to spend time reading together with staff team members. As a result, the children and young people are achieving well academically, in line with their abilities, and want to succeed academically. This sense of achievement empowers the children and young people to participate in further inclusive activities which enhance their learning experience, for example going on school residential trips. This improves the children and young people‟s future life and employment opportunities. The manager said: „We equip the children for managing life and developing social skills.‟ The children and young people‟s physical health improves as adherence is kept to their comprehensive care plans. They benefit from engaging in their choice of regular physical activities and enjoying a nutritious diet. As a result, the children and young people are

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

building good foundations in understanding and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The staff team‟s consistent use of life story work and therapeutic play sessions, and the work that the children and young people undertake with staff who are provided with supervision by the child psychotherapist, enable the children and young people to develop resilience and improve their emotional health and well-being. Some of the children and young people are responding to this therapeutic milieu more productively than others, but all are benefiting from the targeted warmth that they receive. A social worker said: „I think there is work to be done with [Name], but in terms of [Name] they have been amazing and he is in the best place.‟ The children and young people have a range of ways in which they can express their wishes and feelings. These include attendance at children‟s meetings three times a week, contributing towards their care plans, or meeting with their key workers or

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

independent advocate. They understand the complaints system and the only complaint Inspection report children‟s home: SC488112 5 raised by a child was concluded to his satisfaction. As a result, the children and young people are confident in expressing their views and feel valued and heard. The children and young people are involved in a range of age-appropriate inclusive activities within the community. These, and the shared pastimes they enjoy with their key workers and peers in the home, broaden their horizons. The children and young people are thriving as they enjoy opportunities to make friends and have fun. Due to the therapeutic nature of this home, children and young people move in when they are very young and live here for a considerable length of time. The children and young people are then prepared for transition to a foster placement when they can manage their behaviours and are emotionally ready. Not all of the children or young

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

people have contact with family members. Those that do are fully supported to preserve these relationships in a way that keeps them safe while maintaining those important familial and community links.

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

The children and young people feel safe and secure as a result of the warm and consistent boundaries in place. Their trusting relationships with the staff team allow the children and young people to enjoy their childhoods and have fun, while learning positive ways of coping with their past life traumas. An independent reviewing officer said: „She‟s safe there because she engages well with staff. They are able to judge how she is able to manage in the community.‟ A good range of generic risk assessments underpin the children and young people‟s individual risk assessments. Wherever possible, these are developed with the children and young people so that they understand how to protect themselves, for example when using their mobile telephones. Consequently, the children and young people are safeguarded. The majority of the children and young people receive one-to-one care, and missing episodes from this home are extremely rare. As they develop more independence skills,

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

the children and young people are able to go out unaccompanied. There have been two occasions when young people have been missing since the last inspection. Effective missing person‟s protocols were followed on both occasions and the young people were swiftly located. However, recordings following each event were not sufficiently detailed to enable lessons to be learned. It is also not clear whether placing authorities were provided with the opportunity to conduct a return home interview. The staff team is well trained in issues that may involve child sexual exploitation and grooming. This includes the risks posed by the use of social media. However, staff do not have an understanding of extremism or radicalisation. This could place the children and young people at risk of becoming involved in such arenas as the staff team may not recognise their involvement or indicators. Due to the complexity of the children and young people‟s needs and their impulsive

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

levels of aggressive behaviours, there has been a high number of physical interventions. All of the staff team members receive training in an appropriate physical intervention technique. They are then provided with the opportunity to reflect on and learn from any Inspection report children‟s home: SC488112 6 incident that they are involved in. The children and young people are also supported to talk about how they felt following a restraint, at a time that is comfortable for them. As a result, decisions are made as to the form that a physical intervention can take with each individual child or young person. This enables the children and young people to recognise the impact that their behaviours have on themselves and others, and the need for restraint thus reduces. A social worker said: „His behaviours can be absolutely extreme. I‟ve seen a huge difference in him since he moved in. We were having a

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

number of physical intervention reports daily and now we only have one or two a week, which is a huge improvement.‟ The children and young people work with the staff team to identify which sanctions they feel would be most beneficial in curbing some of their more extreme behaviours. For some, this could be a financial penalty; for others, helping to repair the damage caused, or not being able to use their laptops for a period of time, is effective. Some of the children and young people are not able to say what would work because of their impulsivity. The resilient staff team persists in addressing this consistently, which allows children and young people to develop an understanding of consequences. The management team applies an effective safeguarding plan. Good, clear procedures ensure that staff know what steps to follow if there are any concerns. As a result, the children and young people are protected. A young person said: „I feel very safe here

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

because all the staff know me and wouldn‟t let me down. This makes me feel good about myself.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The appropriately qualified manager has worked in residential childcare since 1997 and has been the registered manager for this provision since it opened in September 2013. He, and his equally well-qualified deputy managers, are good role models for the staff team, enabling them to understand the therapeutic model operated by the home. The management team knows the children and young people in its care extremely well. This allows the management team to recognise individual progress and take proactive steps to promote further achievement. A staff member said: „[Name], [Name] and [Name] do a really good job of holding that management responsibility. Helping us understand the changes on legislation.‟ There were no breaches of regulation identified at the last inspection. Both of the recommendations made have been met. It is now evident that the children and young people‟s views and opinions on the care that they receive is recorded and incorporated in

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

their plans. Further, that outcomes of discussions about children and young people in team meetings are demonstrated in practice. This improves care and outcomes for the children and young people. Reports prepared by the external visitor, although supportive to the manager, are not sufficiently challenging, nor do they make it explicit whether the children and young people are safe and that their well-being is promoted. The management team effectively applies comprehensive monitoring processes. The home‟s development plan includes the opening of a second stage home for young people to move into as they reach adolescence. This will maintain the sense of belonging Inspection report children‟s home: SC488112 7 for the young people who wish to remain with staff team members that they know and trust, but need to be developing more independence skills. The management team is ambitious for the children and young people in its care to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

achieve to the best of their ability, to enjoy their childhoods, and for them to have the emotional strength and resilience to enjoy a fulfilled adult life. The management team recognises that this cannot be achieved without supporting the staff team to meet its high expectations. To that end, in addition to their regular supervision sessions, all of the staff team members participate in planned debriefs at the end of their shift and have the opportunity to meet with a psychotherapist and a management consultant. A staff member said: „I feel that we are very well trained for the role and the support is the best I‟ve had in a workplace.‟ Professionals report positively about their engagement with the home. On occasion, there are differences of opinion about the progress that the young people are making in being emotionally ready to move on to foster placements. The management team actively challenges professionals if necessary to ensure that the child‟s voice is heard

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

throughout any discussion. Following the application of appropriate recruitment procedures, new staff participate in a thorough induction programme. This includes the understanding of the impact of attachment and trauma issues and how to work with the children and young people within the home‟s therapeutic milieu. People who are well trained and supported to meet their needs care for the children and young people. The committed and enthusiastic staff are extremely positive about the support that they receive from their managers, which enables them to do their job. As stated in the statement of purpose, staff „help children recover from trauma so that they can thrive and achieve productive lives and loving relationships in the future‟. This includes encouraging an awareness of the diversity of others. The children and young people are happy and have grown in confidence and self-esteem, thus allowing them to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

make attachments to members of the staff team and make friends in the community. This demonstrates that the home is achieving its aims.

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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: SC488112 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: SC488112 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North East Specialist Therapeutic Services CIC

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 14 Pretoria Avenue, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 1QE

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Inspector

Ann-Marie Born, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC488112 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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