Children's Home run by Gateshead Council in Gateshead

Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 1 SC036773 Registered provider: Gateshead Council 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 five young people who are aged between 12 and 17 at the time of their admission and have been assessed as having their needs best met within a residential resource. The registered manager has been registered since 2016.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/01/2018 Full Good 11/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/09/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that risk assessments and behaviour management plans evaluate change and risk rating is current. 11/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to increasing the frequency and number of fire drills and practices undertaken at the home and that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. 25/10/2018

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Recommendations

 Staff skills for safeguarding should include being able to identify signs that children may be at risk, and support children in strategies to manage and reduce risk. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10) Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 4 In particular, the registered manager should ensure that staff are mindful of providing detailed information relevant to young people’s presentation upon return to the home in accordance with their known risks and steps undertaken to monitor for the rest of the evening/day.  Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, staff should maintain accurate, up-to-date arrangements for contact

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people live in a home that is safe and homely. There is ample space for privacy and time together, with young people’s peers, friends and staff alike. The home is well furnished and young people are encouraged and supported to have a say in its overall appearance and resources. For example, to enable young people to have direct access to a more efficient fridge freezer, new equipment was acquired as a result of their request. Ice cold drinks being a favourite asset for young people observed on inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people make very good progress in developing good trusting relationships with staff. Although young people, mostly due to their age, spend a considerable amount of time with friends and partners, they also enjoy planned activities with staff. On inspection, young people were enjoying their time with staff at a theme park overnight. Photographs captured the enjoyment and the fun experience that they all had together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team develops and maintains positive relationships with not only professionals but with parents too. The young people are supported, where able, to repair relationships with their families. This supports safe care as well as improving emotional stability and well-being for young people and preparing them for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Contact arrangements detailed in young people’s placement plans are not clear and updated in a timely fashion, limiting their effectiveness as live documents and therefore could lead to misinterpretation when care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education, employment and training are seen as very important by the young people and the staff team. Most young people are in college, part-time employment or work placements, with others seeking apprenticeships with support from staff. The staff team works together with a number of agencies to source appropriate opportunities. Young people are also helped to manage their substance misuse through the same supportive services. The staff use daily incentives to help develop routines and for them to become embedded. Young people are encouraged to travel to their respective education or work Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 5 establishments by their own means but when required staff will support them. The staff team strongly develops and supports individual independence and confidence in young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are healthy, eat well and attend routine or specific appointments either with staff or independently. Staff actively use social occasions and activities to develop young people’s confidence and self-esteem. Many activities involve staff and young people enjoying time together such as fishing and dining out. These provide times when good-quality informal discussions can take place, privately and in a relaxed environment. This supports overall social development and improves self-esteem, confidence and trust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people who have moved on from the home have done so by means of a planned and collaborative approach. Many young people maintain contact with the home upon leaving. On inspection, one young person returned from contact full of joy and humour. Staff were quick to respond warmly and were keen to hear his stories. This demonstrated the importance of supportive relationships and the building of young people’s resilience, which the home does well.

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

The staff team provides consistent safe care messages to young people routinely throughout the day and reminds them particularly when they go out in the community visiting friends and family. This practice is enhanced by formal and informal one-to-one sessions with invariably their key workers, which enables positive, trusting relationships to develop.

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

The staff know young people well and follow their individual risk assessments and behaviour management plans. However, although well written they do not show young people’s progress over time and therefore some risks could be interpreted as current and impact negatively upon overall monitoring and planning for young people.

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

There has been a high number of episodes of going missing since the last inspection, but the staff work very closely with other agencies and attend routine multi-agency meetings to discuss young people whose behaviour causes concern. Additionally, the staff team, in conjunction with young people’s social workers, works with families and friends to reduce the potential for harm while young people are missing. The staff have advocated for young people to have additional overnights at friends and families, where appropriate. Welfare telephone calls between all parties help to determine young people’s whereabouts when failing to return on time to the home. All safeguarding steps are in agreement with young people and they are fully aware of expectations and boundaries to keep them safe.

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

The young people who come to live at the home present staff with particular challenges in confrontations that can become violent and verbally abusive. However, the staff team members have undertaken appropriate training in conflict management, disengagement and assault avoidance. The commitment and consistency of good-quality care practice Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 6 helps young people to feel safe and emotionally supported in times of crisis. A social worker said, ‘[Name] is respectful of staff and they have provided over two years [of] incredible stability in his life.’

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

The home is well maintained, and all relevant health and safety checks are in place. All equipment is regularly maintained and where necessary serviced or replaced. Staff are trained in fire safety and records indicate that fire drills take place. However, staff have not evidenced through recording that they have carried these out at variable times. Young people may not fully understand what to do in an emergency situation or how to evacuate the building in the event of a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is appropriately qualified, experienced and supported by two able deputies. The staff team members’ consistency of practice generates from their approach and their dedication to ensuring that young people are supported through times of crisis. They collectively bring stability and a level of normality into young people’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team members work well together. Internal and independent monitoring systems support the overall care of young people. Management team members are good at recognising progress for young people and endeavour to keep them safe from harm in a homely, supportive environment. Young people who disengage with services are encouraged and helped to address learned behaviour with consistent supportive dialogue to re-engage if at all possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Morale in the staff team is very high and a number of conversations were held with staff who stated that support is valued throughout the team. Training is routinely available, and staff are encouraged to attend as much as they can, supported by the management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are all qualified and bring a range of experiences and backgrounds to their roles. This supports young people in terms of a diverse range of carers and gender balance. This develops young people socially and confidently in gender awareness. The respect for one another was observed on inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management team, supported by a skilled workforce, works hand-in- hand with a range of professionals from other agencies. One social worker stated, ‘I am overwhelmingly positive. The work undertaken by key workers and other staff has been fantastic.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team members complete mostly clear and focused handovers between shifts. However, detail about known risk-taking behaviours is not always shared verbally with the same level as the written account. This limits the effectiveness of information shared and the ability to ask pertinent questions to ensure overall consistency. However, this does not affect safe care practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 7

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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: SC036773 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE8 1HH

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Inspector

Michael Dack: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC036773 9 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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