Children's home run by North Tyneside Council in North Tyneside

Inspection report children’s home: SC038557 1 SC038557 Registered provider: North Tyneside 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 provides short breaks for up to five children who have sensory impairment, learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. It is operated by a local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered since 2008.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 11 to 12 December 2018

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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 requires improvement to be 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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2018 Full Outstanding 02/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC038557 2 31/08/2016 Full Outstanding 22/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC038557 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 recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that— full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(1)(2)(a)(3)(d)) 09/01/2019

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, steps should be taken to ensure outside play areas are free from avoidable hazards and are presentable, to enable children to enjoy and be stimulated in accordance with their identified sensory needs.  Regulation 39 sets out the requirements on the registered person to have a complaints procedure. Children must be aware of this procedure and be reminded of it as necessary. There may be children whose abilities and understanding are such that regulations 7(2)(b)(ii) will need interpretation according to their individual circumstances in consultation with their social workers. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 22 and 23,

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Recommendations

paragraphs 4.13 and 4.24)  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations Inspection report children’s home: SC038557 4 including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Specifically, individual risk assessments must detail specific contingency arrangements to follow if strategy or equipment is not able to resolve the issue of concern.  Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and

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Recommendations

be protected from significant harm. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9) In particular, staff need to support children to understand internet safety as they would at home and at school. This would provide consistency and clear expectations for children who require structure in their lives.  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Specifically, the registered person should have a suitable training matrix that is appropriately detailed to enable positive monitoring and evaluation to take place.  The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care

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Recommendations

through observation and engagement with the home’s staff involved in the care or protection of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.23) Specifically, use opportunities for learning in team meetings from any incident of concern and record learning outcomes achieved.  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2 and 13.3)

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Recommendations

In particular, safeguarding should be added as a stand-alone item to ensure that it is discussed on each occasion.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff positively promote new experiences and opportunities for children and young people during their short-break stays. Inspection report children’s home: SC038557 5 Children and young people are primarily provided with a warm, nurturing environment where they are encouraged to socialise, develop independence skills and feel emotionally secure. A social worker commented, ‘What makes this home stand out is how happy the children are, and they get really excited about coming; they are often in with peers they are matched with; rapport is excellent, and the staff don’t see this as a job they genuinely care about the children.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people make progress in developing independence skills and taking small, achievable steps in completing basic personal care tasks and helping at mealtimes. Children and young people are encouraged and supported to sit at the dining-room table and eat healthy, nutritious food. This is recognised as a real achievement by parents. A parent commented, ‘He [Name], used to have a real bad diet but now he is able to eat full meals, vegetables and all, anything since he came here; and now at home he has a full Sunday lunch, he previously could not allow his food to touch and now no problem.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of stays is enhanced by the good communication that is maintained by the staff on a day-to-day basis with school and parents. The sharing of information relating to behaviours, moods and medication changes is essential to supporting children and young people’s well-being. This helps staff to provide a proactive response to situations that may negatively impact on the children and young people during their stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people enjoy an array of activities either in the home or out in the community. These trips, such as visits to the Northumberland coast and to Alnwick Castle and Gardens, are facilitated by the staff and support children and young people to explore their environments. This promotes the emotional and physical well-being and confidence of children and young people, and gives them a sense of adventure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Festivities are always celebrated in the home. During the inspection, the children and young people were going to a Christmas pantomime in the community and the previous week had enjoyed a Christmas party at a local cricket club. This provided an opportunity for current and past children and young people to come together with their parents to enjoy Christmas with staff and old friends. Additionally, children and young people yet to access the service were also invited, providing them with a stepping stone to engagement with the service.

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

The children and young people are protected and have their short breaks in a safe environment. The home’s high levels of staffing allow for appropriate supervision of children and young people, which in turn means that their individual needs, as detailed in their individual plans.

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

There are good levels of communication with parents and education and health professionals prior to children and young people accessing the short-break stays. Staff Inspection report children’s home: SC038557 6 conduct visits to schools and family homes to support an overall understanding of behavioural patterns by observing children and young people in different environments. This also supports consistency and structure in the planning of stays. Additionally, advice and guidance are routinely sourced from the local authority’s behaviour assessment team in order to assess risk and identify strategies to support children and young people.

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

Risk assessments are individualised and identify clear strategies to employ to reduce the impact of harm. However, contingency plans are not consistently detailed and the assumption made is that all staff are aware of the steps to take. This potentially leaves children and young people at risk.

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

Physical interventions have not been required to address children and young people’s behaviour. Staff are trained in de-escalation intervention strategies. Children and young people do not go missing and they are supported by staff who understand their statutory safeguarding responsibilities and the procedures to follow. This protects children and young people from harm and exploitation. The staff team is vigilant in recognising and looking for any worrying physical signs or changes in behaviour. Leadership and management support is available when needed if situations occur that require further consultation.

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

One-to-one support for children and young people in the home is highly visible. The staff team supports children and young people to use a range of electronic games, which are often brought from home. The service has Wi-Fi installed which is available to children and young people who wish to use it. Children and young people are guided and taught to use the internet safely while they are in their family homes and at school. However, there are no records of internet safety being taught to and discussed with children and young people during any of their key-worker sessions at the home. . Given the level of consistency that children and young people with complex needs require, this potentially puts them at risk.

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

Staff are trained in the safe handling and administering of medicines. They follow a thorough process that is highly effective in ensuring accuracy is paramount. The registered manager ensures that all staff undertake competency assessments to maintain consistently high standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager is an experienced practitioner who has worked at the home for several years. She has the appropriate qualifications to undertake her role. An experienced deputy manager has been appointed since the last inspection. This positively reflects the commitment shown to strengthening the overall leadership of the service, thus supporting positives outcomes for children and young people and their families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Although staff receive regular supervision, there is a lack of reflection on practice and safeguarding is not a stand-alone agenda item. Additionally, opportunities for learning Inspection report children’s home: SC038557 7 are not acted upon consistently in team meetings. This does not encourage staff to use opportunities to learn and develop individually and as a team while considering and discussing the safe care of children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff complete a range of mandatory training courses associated with the specific needs of the children and young people in their care. Where the need is identified, further training is provided on methods of communication, behaviours and medical conditions. Attendance and completion is recorded on a training matrix. However, details such as whether the training is face-to-face or online or when renewal is required are not included. This limits the overall evaluation of individuals’ knowledge and skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Parents and carers are provided with information that enables them to understand the complaints procedure. However, children and young people who have communication difficulties and preferences are not provided with a range of different formats to assist them in their understanding of this procedure. This leaves them at a disadvantage and does not promote their well-being sufficiently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has positively engaged with a local volunteer group that has helped to develop the outside play spaces available to children and young people. Staff, have also helped to develop a sensory garden in a quiet area of the outside playing space. However, playing surfaces require decluttering and the surface is slippery, thus potentially causing a hazard to children and young people and putting them at risk of injury.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

External monitoring is good. The independent visitor attends monthly. They provide an account of progress and identify any shortfalls in the home. The manager acts to address any concerns raised.

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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: SC038557 8 Inspection report children’s home: SC038557 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider : North Tyneside Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 The Silverlink North, Newcastle upon Tyne NE27 0BY

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Inspector

Michael Dack: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC038557 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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