Children's Home run by Talbot House Children’s Charity Limited in Newcastle upon Tyne

Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC432843 1 SC432843

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Talbot House School Newcastle Upon Tyne

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a charitable organisation and is registered for the care and accommodation of up to seven children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or learning disabilities. The home has not had a registered manager in post since 1 August 2018.

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This monitoring visit

The monitoring visit took place to monitor two compliance notices and 11 requirements following the interim inspection of 14 August 2018. During the period since the previous inspection there have also been two complaints made about the home, and these were taken into account by the inspector.

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This monitoring visit

There is an acting manager in post and, together with the responsible individual, they have made some progress in a number of areas. However, one compliance notice and some of the requirements from the previous inspection have not been met, although progress is being made towards all the required areas.

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This monitoring visit

A number of staff have left employment at the home in the period since the previous inspection and one young person has also left in an unplanned way. The remaining young people have been more settled and they have made some progress.

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This monitoring visit

The compliance notice in relation to safeguarding has been met, as there are now risk assessments with appropriate controls to minimise risk in place for all of the young people. There are now appropriate boundaries and routines in place for the young people and these are working well. The staff have introduced an incentive scheme, and have used occasional sanctions, to reinforce these.

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This monitoring visit

The acting manager has revised the statement of purpose and completed a regulation 45 quality of care review and forwarded this to HMCI. There have been Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC432843 2 no further lapses in the recording of measures of control.

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This monitoring visit

The compliance notice around leadership and management has not been met, although the interim manager and the responsible individual are addressing the issues. A suitable manager is still not in post. However, an appointment has been made. Senior staff have been appointed but they lack experience, and on some shifts there have been no senior staff on duty. These issues remain a significant concern.

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This monitoring visit

The requirement to ensure that one young person receives appropriate work around his behaviour has not been met.

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This monitoring visit

The requirement to ensure that one young person has a suitable moving on plan has not been met.

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This monitoring visit

The acting manager has not completed their level 3 qualification. All the other staff are within the timescale to complete their qualifications but only one member of the staff team is qualified.

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This monitoring visit

The requirement to ensure that staff have appropriate training remains in place. Some staff did not have timely training around the administration of medication and have been allowed to carry out this task unsupervised. Some other, newer, staff have not had sufficient induction training.

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This monitoring visit

Some records around the administration of medication were not legible, and so the requirement around record keeping has also been raised again.

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This monitoring visit

Very recently, the organisation installed an internal CCTV system for monitoring the communal areas of the home. The organisation did not receive written permission from placing authorities and, currently, there are no documented safeguarding risks or welfare concerns to warrant the use of such surveillance. Consequently, a further requirement has been raised to address this issue.

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This monitoring visit

A compliance notice around regulation 13, the leadership and management standard, has been re-issued to ensure that there is a suitable manager in post and suitable senior staff.

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This monitoring visit

The notice of restriction of admissions remains in place.

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This monitoring visit

Six requirements are made. Five of these are repeated from the previous inspection and an additional requirement about CCTV surveillance has also been made.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 14/08/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC432843 3 01/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/06/2017 Full Good 07/12/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC432843 4

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff 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)) In particular, provide appropriate individualised work to reduce risk for children who have sexualised behaviour or sexually harmful behaviour. 19/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(2)(a)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home has a suitable interim manager and suitable senior staff to lead shifts. 19/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 19/10/2018 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC432843 5 receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that arrangements are in place to— plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child‟s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(2)(a)(b)(ii)) In particular, ensure that a young person‟s needs are fully assessed and that these assessments are acted on prior to a young person leaving for adult care. The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child

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Requirement Due date

concerned, or other children; the children‟s placing authorities consent in writing to the monitoring or surveillance; the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child‟s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(d)) 19/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if by the relevant date, the individual has attained— the Level 3 Diploma for residential Childcare (England) (“the level 3 diploma”); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. The relevant date is— in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) and (5)(a)) 19/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. 19/10/2018 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC432843 6 (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children‟s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC432843 7

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Inspector

Colin Imrie, social care inspector Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC432843 8 to 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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