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

Inspection report children’s home: 1234319 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 provides short breaks for up to six children or young people who have a sensory impairment, learning disability and/or physical disability. It is operated by a charitable foundation. The manager has been registered since June 2016.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

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

18/07/2017 Full Outstanding 25/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1234319 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 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— understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(v)(b)) In particular, ensure that consistency of practice is maintained in the management of medication on arrival and departure from the home and administering protocols are complied with effectively. 26/04/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e)) 26/04/2019

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) In particular, implement effective monitoring and file-audit processes to ensure that consistency of recording practice is high.  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, documented entries should be completed in full where applicable. Inspection report children’s home: 1234319 3  The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of

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Recommendations

the care provided by the home, the experiences of children receiving short break stays and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weaknesses in the home’s care, which will be captured in the report. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 64 and 65, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care provided to children and young people is individualised to meet their complex physical and health needs. This helps children and young people to feel safe and enjoy their individual short breaks. Their well-being, self-worth and confidence develop as a result of the quality of care provided to them . Relationships between children and young people and staff are based on trust and respect. Staff show their commitment through providing a warm and nurturing environment. Children and young people are confident and feel safe in their care. The children and young people take part in a range of activities in the home and out in the community. For example, at their own request, the children and young people have set up a club for activities. This enables them to take managed risks, supported safely by the staff. The staff provide children and young people with opportunities to learn new skills through new experiences. For example, children and young people regularly go out for meals. They

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

make their own menu choices and learn to wait patiently as a group. Additionally, children and young people develop skills in cooking and shopping using self-checkouts. Individual targets and goals are often achieved through completing everyday tasks, thus developing their independence and confidence. Staff record children and young people’s stays appropriately. However, inconsistency in completing documents in full is a shortfall. This potentially leads to information within reports being inaccurate. Educational transport arrangements are good. Children and young people travel to school with staff from both the home and the adjacent school. This supports communication and strengthens collaborative working practices. A parent commented, ‘[Name] thrives in that environment as she feels safe. She has a trained team around her that are able to meet her needs. They handle any issues really well.’

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improvement to be good

There are no serious safeguarding concerns that leave children and young people at risk of being harmed . However, there have been a number of medication errors, which led to an Inspection report children’s home: 1234319 4 internal investigation. A thorough review of administration and administering processes took place and a series of appropriate safeguarding actions were taken. At the time of the inspection, these actions had only recently been agreed and it was difficult to determine their outcome. However, medication procedures in place enabled the staff to respond quickly and effectively and did not leave any children or young people at risk of harm . The manager and her staff work collaboratively with parents and professionals. This enables information shared to lead to well-written short break care plans and individual risk assessments for children and young people. This helps children and young people receive

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improvement to be good

consistent care during their stay. The children and young people who access the short breaks have complex physical disabilities and some children and young people have a range of life-limiting healthcare needs. Specialist training is provided for staff to meet the individual needs of children and young people allocated to their care. Staff knowledge and skill are assessed by relevant qualified professionals prior to staff taking responsibility for specific support needs. This provides individual packages of care that keep children and young people safe. This children’s home is purpose-built to meet the specialist needs of the children and young people who attend. The environment is very safe and is maintained to a high standard. Medical equipment is checked and serviced regularly, and a range of health and safety checks are undertaken. Staff complete safeguarding training and are aware of child protection policies and

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improvement to be good

procedures to keep children and young people safe. There are no children at risk of exploitation, bullying or radicalisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is very experienced and qualified. She is supported by the recently promoted deputy manager, who has come from the adjacent school and knows many of the children and young people who attend for short breaks. The children and young people are very responsive to her presence as a familiar adult. This provides stability in their care. The manager and deputy work alongside the staff in meeting the needs of children and young people. Their knowledge of each individual is supported through the seamless collaboration with the provider’s school adjacent to the home. Sharing of information between the home and school is a strength of the service, and helps children and young people to be given a consistent approach to their overall care. A recommendation made at the last inspection has not been completed in full. Internal monitoring and analysis of outcomes for children and progress of the home are not

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

evaluated effectively. This hinders continuous improvements in practice. The provider has made the decision to separate the short breaks provision from its residential partner that shares the same site and building. Staff have commented that this has provided them with their own identity and has enabled them to focus entirely on short breaks. Staff indicated an increase in morale and consistency in practice in the care of children and young people. A member of staff stated, ‘The children and young people now have massive consistency, and they love it as they see the same staff over and over again. The staff know the children and young people far better than they used to . ’ The provider failed to notify HMCI in a timely manner of an incident that occurred. The Inspection report children’s home: 1234319 5 registered manager rectified this mistake and no child or young person was put at risk. However, this compromises Ofsted’s ability to monitor the short break provision and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

provide an appropriate response. The manager and her staff work very positively and respectfully with parents and carers. A parent commented, ‘I have nothing but high praise. They have supported me often, just by making me a cup of tea upon arrival. They are really caring and professional.’ The staff feel supported by the manager and deputy manager. One member of staff commented, ‘I always enjoy my supervision with the manager. I feel like I can talk about anything and I feel very supported.’ Another commented, ‘You don’t have to have formal supervision booked; they will do ad hoc supervision at any time you request. Managers are friendly and supportive.’ This provides for a positive working environment and ensures that children and young people have a positive experience during their stay.

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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: 1234319 6

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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

Michael Dack, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1234319 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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