Children's home run by The Percy Hedley Foundation in North Tyneside

Inspection report children‟s home: 1234323 1 Registered provider: The Percy Hedley Foundation

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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 accommodates up to 20 children or young people who have sensory impairment and/or learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. A charitable foundation operates the home.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/06/2017 Full Good 15/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: 1234323 2

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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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; and

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(d)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the written residential care and support plans are regularly reviewed and updated so that they accurately correspond with the care that is being carried out. In addition, ensure that the residential plans are evaluated so that they effectively underpin good practice, and that all the documentation is signed and dated. 03/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children‟s home a statement (“the statement of purpose) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, 03/03/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: 1234323 3 revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the version. (Regulation 16(1)(3)(a)(b)) The registered person must maintain in the home the records in schedule 4 and ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation (37)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must provide an accurate copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual hours worked. 03/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“the quality of care review”) at least once every six months. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care for the children. (Regulation 45(1)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must set out in writing the shortfalls identified during the home‟s monitoring and include strategies that the registered provider puts in place to rectify the shortfalls. 03/03/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people receive good individualised care that meets their needs. They enjoy living at the children‟s home and they have positive relationships with the staff and with each other. Activities are a strength, which ensures that the children and young people have a wide range of meaningful experiences. This enhances their progress and their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are supported and enabled to maintain good contact with their families, friends and significant others. Visitors are made to feel welcome at the home and the staff and parents regularly communicate, which keeps parents up to date with their children‟s care and support. This collaborative way of working enhances the children‟s and young people‟s outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children and young people are in full-time education. The school is situated on the same site as the children‟s home, which provides high levels of consistency and continuity. The school employs a range of professionals including speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. Consequently, the children and young people Inspection report children‟s home: 1234323 4 have immediate access to these vital services which promotes and improves their health and well-being..

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communication and consultation are good. The children and young people are included in making choices and expressing their views. They have access to a range of communication aids, which in some instances has enabled children and young people to express their views for the first time. The relationships between leaders and managers, the staff and other professionals are good. This leads to effective inter-agency working.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions are managed extremely well. Careful planning, assessment and good consultation support children and young people who are moving into the home and those who are moving on to adult placements.

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

The provider has improved safeguarding practice by meeting a previous requirement to improve the home‟s child protection policies and staff training. The staff are more aware of the importance of good risk management and how this improves safety for the children and young people. There are no children or young people at risk of exploitation, bullying or radicalisation.

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

Positive, trusting relationships between the staff and the children and young people lead to good behaviour management. The home‟s ethos is to manage behaviour positively by considering the children‟s and young people‟s needs and their disabilities. This approach helps to develop the children‟s and young people‟s positive emotional health and their overall well-being.

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

This children‟s home is purpose-built to meet the needs of children and young people who have complex physical disabilities and, for some children and young people, a range of life-limiting healthcare needs. The provider ensures that these children and young people have access to the necessary moving and handling and medical equipment that they need. The provider also employs relevant qualified professionals who work directly with the children and young people and carry out robust needs assessments. These interventions promote the children‟s and young people‟s safety and their welfare.

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

The children and young people live in a safe environment that meets their needs. Regular fire, health and safety checks are undertaken, and all utilities and medical equipment are checked and serviced regularly.

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

The registered manager has been in post since April 2017. She has previous experience of working in children‟s homes in the public and private sectors, and has attained a relevant diploma qualification, as required for her role as a registered manager.

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

The home has progressed by meeting a previous requirement and recommendation. The Inspection report children‟s home: 1234323 5 registered manager has reviewed safeguarding arrangements and the standard of recording in the children‟s and young people‟s records has improved, specifically the language used by the staff when recording case notes.

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

The registered manager and the staff team have also progressed in other areas to drive improvement. For example, there is better communication with other registered managers and senior managers; administration of medication has become saferfollowing additional staff training; and the children and young people are joining in more community-based activities.

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

The provider has not recently submitted to Ofsted a copy of the home‟s statement of purpose. Consequently, the information held by Ofstedis significantly out of date and factually inaccurate. This compromises Ofsted‟s ability to monitor the children‟s home between inspection visits.

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

The home has experienced a high turnover of staff and there continue to be several staff vacancies. The provider has introduced a range of proactive strategies for improving recruitment and retention, which are beginning to create a more stable workforce. However, these have not yet ensured that the home has a full complement of staff.

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

The percentage of staff who have attained a diploma level 3 in caring for children and young people, or an equivalent qualification, is approximately 50%. This ratio of qualified to unqualified staff is low considering the needs of the children and young people. There were no indications at this inspection that any child or young person is at risk from significant harm. However, a prolonged period of inadequate staffing could potentially lead to shortfalls in practice.

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

There are strengths and weaknesses in the home‟s monitoring. Outcomes from this inspection show that there have been improvements and progress made in the operation of the home, which are impacting positively. However, some areas for development have not been adequately identified or addressed, for example the quality of the written residential care and support plans, which lack detail, clarity and evaluation.

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

The outcomes from the home‟s monitoring are not properly highlighted, for example in the form of written action plans that can be measured and evaluated. In addition, there are no written plans for how shortfalls in practice will be addressed.

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

There are four new requirements identified in this inspection report.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: 1234323 6 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: 1234323 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Percy Hedley Foundation

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Percy Hedley School, Forest Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8YY

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Inspector

Debbie White: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1234323 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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