Children's home run by Newcastle City Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC033645 1 SC033645 Registered provider: Newcastle City Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to five children and young people under short-breaks arrangements, and for a further child to live at the home. These children and young people may have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. The home is operated by the local authority. The manager has been registered since 2017

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC033645 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2018 Full Outstanding 28/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/11/2016 Full Good 05/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC033645 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children and young people have excellent experiences while staying at the home for their short breaks. Staff develop trusting relationships with the children and young people quickly and effectively. Contact is maintained with families in between breaks so that these relationships are developed. The use of the home’s private Facebook page enhances communication with families, enabling them to be updated on a regular basis. One parent said, ‘The Facebook page is fantastic. I can keep up to date with events, but above all I get regular pictures of my son during his stays. I know that he is safe and enjoying himself.’ All of the children and young people are making considerable progress and achieving as a direct result of having their short breaks. Key workers have exceptional knowledge of the children and young people. Highly individualised child-friendly care plans and risk assessments are developed. They evidence the journey and progress that the children

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

and young people make throughout the time that they use the service. Each child and young person’s needs and abilities are taken into account to enable them to participate in making decisions. The staff team uses a range of resourceful and imaginative techniques to interact with children and young people who experience communication difficulties. Staff are attentive to indicators such as body language, facial expressions, gestures and behaviours. This approach values and respects the opinions of the children and young people. The children and young people attend local schools. Communication is consistently effective. A headteacher said, ‘We work really well together with staff at the home, we do training together and communication is excellent. They are caring and professional, they go above and beyond for the children and young people.’ Behaviour management strategies used in both school and at the home are observed and discussed with

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

teaching staff and families. ‘Board maker’ computer software communication symbols are used across school and home. This enables staff to be consistent in handling behaviours displayed and to be more effective in their communication with the children and young people. This increases the sense of safety felt by children and young people. Some of the children and young people have complex healthcare needs, requiring specialised care and support. Staff have received the training to meet these needs competently and with dignity. They work closely with healthcare professionals. This multi-agency approach ensures that the children and young people are cared for safely. The manager and staff are committed to providing memorable experiences for the children and young people. They see it as important to challenge barriers that can hinder such experiences. Activities on offer are wide ranging. In the home, the TV, DVDs,

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

games, arts and crafts are popular. The home has a newspaper that is produced on a regular basis, covering a wide range of news and current affairs. This helps the children and young people to gain knowledge of the wider community. Highly imaginative personalised video recordings to demonstrate achievements are enthusiastically recorded by the children and young people. They have taken part in making a film with a professional film company. This film has been screened at a number of film festivals Inspection report children’s home: SC033645 4 worldwide. Regular use of facilities within the local area such as parks, museums, theatres and climbing walls provide stimulating and fun experiences. This ensures that the children and young people not only have new experiences but are consistently learning that they are capable of improving their physical and emotional well-being.

p.3

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

The children and young people at this home are kept extremely safe, and they feel safe. There are high levels of supervision at all times, both inside the home and when out in the community. This supports the children and young people’s needs, ensures proactive responses to situations and reduces risk. Staff are vigilant and have an excellent understanding of the children and young people’s vulnerabilities. They understand risk well. They are able to successfully achieve a good balance between minimising risk and allowing the children and young people to take appropriate risks as part of developing independence skills. Staff understand the behaviour of the children and young people. They recognise when children and young people are becoming anxious, confused or angry. They are very skilled in being able to divert and de-escalate situations before they become more challenging. Physical interventions are very rarely used. On the occasions that they have

p.4

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

been used, they have been low-level and brief. Individual assessments and robust risk management plans clearly identify risks and give staff a wealth of measures to help limit negative behaviours. Pictorial behaviour plans are in place for children and young people who experience communication difficulties. The storage, administration and recording of medication is meticulous. Six-monthly medication audits are undertaken by a community pharmacist. This provides stringent external scrutiny. Staff undertake safe handling of medication training and the home has a comprehensive medication policy. This significantly reduces the chance of errors occurring. The manager has been proactive in sourcing bespoke safeguarding and behaviour management training specifically relating to children and young people who have disabilities. This ensures that the staff have a clear understanding of the added vulnerabilities of the children and young people. It enables them to provide an

p.4

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

exceptionally safe and secure level of care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has created an excellent service in which the children and young people flourish. He and the senior staff have put considerable effort into creating a culture and ethos in the home that is consistently successful. He is an excellent role model and is ambitious for all of the children and young people. Since the last inspection, the manager and his senior team have introduced a number of improvements and developments that have enhanced the home’s performance and outcomes for the children, young people and their families. A major achievement has been gaining ‘Autism Accreditation’ from the National Autistic Society. This entailed staff undertaking a rigorous audit of practice and a three-day evaluation from external Inspection report children’s home: SC033645 5 monitors. A member of staff said, ‘This was really hard work, but we learned so much. It strengthened our team and we are all really proud that our hard work and dedication

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

has gained us this highly valued accreditation.’ The manager has high expectations of the team. He has developed a comprehensive monitoring system that ensures he is aware of day-to day practice. His up-to-date knowledge of the needs of the children, young people and their families is exceptional. In particular, he demonstrates flexibility in his approach to issues affecting parents and their need for the service at varying times. Parents spoken to all indicated that they were very happy with this flexibility. One parent said, ‘We are going to see our daughter perform in a show. I contacted staff and they were very happy to rearrange my son’s stay, which means so much to us as a family.’ Staff team meetings take place regularly. They offer the opportunity for group learning and discussions on individual children and young people. Regular supervision, training and support provide purposeful professional development. This has created a highly

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

skilled and dedicated staff team that is forward thinking in the ways in which it strives to improve the service. There is a great deal of evidence of working in partnership with others. Work with education and health is outstanding and highly successful. Working with families is at the centre of practice. Families actively contribute to plans for the children and young people and their comments and suggestions are listened to and acted on. This makes them feel valued and enhances all aspects of the care that the children and young people receive. The manager is innovative and encourages this in his staff. He clearly uses wide-ranging research to inform practice and to help staff develop and learn, thus enabling them to understand the needs of individual children and young people in a more systematic way. The manager and his staff team are highly motivated and dedicated. They work hard to create an environment in which the children and young people can be safe, have fun

p.5

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.

p.5

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 Inspection report children’s home: SC033645 6 children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC033645 7

p.5

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Dot McGough, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC033645 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8