Children's home run by Newcastle City Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 1 SC044485 Registered provider: Newcastle City Council

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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 is run by the local authority and is registered for the care and accommodation of up to seven children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The registered manager has been registered since 2004.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/01/2017 Full Outstanding 06/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 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 notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii) and (e)) 03/09/2018

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Recommendations

 Each child should have their own personal space which will usually be their bedroom. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.18) In particular, this refers to a young person having to move into another room when a new young person was admitted to the home.  Supervision of staff practice should ensure that individual adults in the home are engaged in the safeguarding culture of the home, so they understand what they would need to do if they found other staff misusing or abusing their position to the detriment of the safety of a child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 4 including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14) In particular, this refers to safeguarding not being a standing agenda item in supervision.  As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for

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Recommendations

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, this refers to staff supervision not taking place on a regular basis.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people living in the home are receiving a good standard of care that meets their individual needs. The longest placement has been since October 2017. Despite placements being relatively new, young people are making good progress in most areas of their life. Staff work quickly and effectively to develop positive relationships with young people, which enables them to settle well. The staff team is stable and very child focused. Its members demonstrate care and concern for all of the young people. They are proud of them and want them to achieve their best.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. The young people have a choice to personalise their home and bedrooms. The young people make good use of the communal spaces, as well as having the privacy of their own rooms. One young person said, ‘I helped to choose the colours for the walls in the lounge and corridors. But the best bit was being able to choose the pictures, curtains, cushions and throws. They all match and look great.’ On one occasion, a young person had to move bedrooms when a new young person was admitted to the home. This was very unsettling for the young person. This is not acceptable practice and should not happen again.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

School attendance is good for the majority of young people. Staff help and support the young people with school work, which helps them feel confident, and to attend and achieve. One young person did not have an education placement when they came to live at the home. Staff have worked hard to secure an appropriate school for them. The staff team ensured that this young person had access to a home tutor and provided other educational activities while awaiting a placement. This will help the young person to make a good transition to their new school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are able to access a range of activities. They are consulted on their likes and dislikes and this enables the staff team to design well-planned structured activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people who have moved on from the home have done so in a planned way with the help and support of the staff team. Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 5

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

The young people spoken with said that they feel safe at the home. One young person said, ‘I can really trust the staff here. They make me feel very safe. Before I came to live here I didn’t always feel safe, but I do now.’ Consistent boundaries in the home safeguard the young people well.

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

Risk assessments are clear, up-to-date, living documents. They are shared with the young people, which ensures that they understand identified risks and this helps to keep them safe.

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

Missing from home episodes have been significantly reduced. When young people do go missing, relevant protocols are followed by the staff and records reflect the steps taken to safely return them home.

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

The staff are trained in physical intervention and de-escalation techniques. As a result, they are able to calm and defuse volatile situations well. Physical intervention is rarely used and, when it is, it is clearly recorded and monitored by senior staff at the home.

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

There is a member of staff appointed to ‘champion’ good and informed practice within the home, in the area of child sexual exploitation. The staff use a number of tools, such as videos, worksheets and a screening tool, in key-worker sessions to help the young people understand risks and to keep themselves safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is well qualified and has extensive experience to meet the aims and objectives which are outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. He is well supported in his role by a knowledgeable and dedicated staff team. He is well respected by the staff team. Staff said that he is supportive and approachable. One member of staff said, ‘He has an open-door policy and always has time to discuss any problems or worries, for both the staff and young people.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager shows ambition and drive. He is well able to identify the home’s strengths and areas for development. He has a clear and realistic development plan in place. Some staff did feel that their skills were being underused for a period of time. These staff were trained in family intervention work, which in the main saw them working with young people and families, on reunification plans. Due to the drop in the number of young people being admitted to the home with reunification plans, this work is now limited. The manager has worked very hard to address this situation, and family intervention tools and resources are being used by all the staff at the home. This has led to the team working in a more structured and cohesive way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works well with a care team of other professionals. One professional commented on how quickly and effectively the staff are able to establish positive relationships with the young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 6 The manager is a good advocate for young people. He encourages a culture that enables the young people to have positive experiences, in a safe environment. He has challenged senior management with regards to potential new admissions. He is able to consider the impact of potential risk to the young people living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On a number of occasions, when serious incidents have occurred the manager has failed to notify Ofsted. All serious incidents that fit the criteria of regulation 40 need to be notified to Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides a supportive environment for staff through good-quality supervision and appraisal. However, supervision is not always taking place on a regular basis. This limits the opportunities for the staff to discuss practice regularly. To strengthen practice, the supervision agenda should have safeguarding as a standing agenda item. This is would give staff the opportunity to discuss the safeguarding culture within the home on a regular basis.

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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: SC044485 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Newcastle City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Barras Bridge, Civic Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8QH

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Inspector

Dot McGough, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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