Children's home run by Howard House Care Limited in Northumberland

Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 1 SC065312 Registered provider: Howard House Care Limited

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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 a private organisation and is registered for the care and accommodation of up to eight children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered in November 2018 and is not yet qualified.

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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

Date of last inspection: 12 September 2017

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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: SC065312 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2017 Full Good 22/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/11/2016 Full Good 22/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 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 of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b)) 28/02/2019

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Recommendations

 It is crucial that the home works in close partnership with the child’s local authority. The registered person should evidence what they have done to achieve engagement, including any action taken to escalate concerns. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)  The policy on e-safety should be reviewed regularly and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19) In particular, the policy should have clear information about WiFi filter capabilities and have clear procedures in place for checking children’s electronic devices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most of the children and young people at this home make good progress and some make extremely good progress. The staff offer the children and young people good- quality, nurturing care with clear boundaries and expectations. The children and young people build good relationships with the staff and are well supported by them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people arrive with a wide range of needs and concerns about their behaviour. There is significant evidence of progression in all areas of their lives, including behaviour, education and family relationships. Attendance levels at school or work are high for all the children and young people at this home. This improves confidence and emotional well-being in children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff offer good-quality individualised work and bring in specialist workers who can Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 4 offer additional support and expertise. Excellent work carried out with the families of some of the children and young people, often in difficult circumstances, has had many positive benefits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two young people have left the home under difficult circumstances and have had less- positive outcomes. One young person had their placement terminated after their behaviour deteriorated significantly because they did not want to be at the home. Another left without sufficient planning because of a hasty parental decision, and the outcome of this has been poor.

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

The children and young people at this home are kept safe within the home. There have been no concerning safeguarding incidents and there is no bullying.

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

The staff provide clear boundaries and expectations and support the children and young people to keep good routines which involve plenty of activities. The staff use their good relationships with the children and young people to offer advice and guidance and to negotiate good outcomes wherever possible. The staff have not used any physical interventions throughout the entire inspection period. This is good practice.

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

There have been some safeguarding concerns outside of the home. At times, children and young people have gone missing from the home. Staff work hard to locate and return them when this happens, and the number of incidents has reduced over time. Some children and young people have engaged in the misuse of drugs and alcohol when away from the home. Again, staff have addressed these issues with the help of specialist workers and these incidents have decreased over time.

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

There have been some concerns around sexual exploitation with one young person. The registered manager worked jointly with police and child protection services and made considerable efforts to prevent any actual harm. This is good practice and had the additional benefits of protecting some other children and young people within the wider family and community.

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

A recommendation has been made to review the home e-safety policy and procedures. While no harm has been caused, these could now be updated and improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management of the home have been very strong throughout the inspection period, despite several changes. The previous registered manager left the post in June 2018. The current registered manager has just started parental leave and an interim manager has been appointed. All three managers have been very well supported by the responsible individual, who has been instrumental in maintaining high standards of care and consistency of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current registered manager is confident and keen to achieve the best for all the Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 5 children and young people in her care. The management team members are enthusiastic and committed to the work, and the development plan demonstrates that they have good ideas for further improving the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff said that they are well supported by the managers. Supervision is regular and of good quality and the current registered manager has developed this to be more reflective and in depth. Training is another strength of the home. All staff are qualified and there is a current push to introduce more theory and research into the staff’s learning, which is positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has challenged placing authorities at times, but this challenge could be stronger and more persistent. A recommendation has been made to look at this. The registered manager does have good professional relationships with other agencies and workers and this has been particularly well demonstrated with the joint safeguarding work undertaken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A requirement has been made to ensure that the statement of purpose is sent to Ofsted after each revision.

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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: SC065312 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Howard House Care Limited

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Inspector

Colin Imrie, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC065312 7 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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