Children's Home run by Action for Children in Northumberland

Inspection report children‟s home: SC000673 1 SC000673 Registered provider: Action for Children

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a charitable organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for children and young people who have learning disabilities. The home can provide care and accommodation for up to five children to live permanently and for five children to have short breaks.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

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

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children‟s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC000673 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2018 Full Good 13/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/12/2016 Full Good 18/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC000673 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— (a) include the information and documents listed in schedule 3 in relation to each child; (b) are kept up to date; and (c) are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b) and (c))

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, to ensure that there is an up to date local authority care plan in place and appropriate consent forms in place for each child or young person 30/06/2019

p.3

Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

p.3

Recommendations

In particular, ensure that all appropriate references are taken for newly appointed staff and ensure that all references are verified by telephone. Also, ensure that all new staff have a full induction completed in an appropriate timescale and that they have sufficient formal supervision to enable them to understand and learn their work roles.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is divided into two separate parts. One has five residential beds and the other, five short-breaks beds. It has remained settled throughout the period since the previous inspection. There have been some staff changes. Some children and young people have stopped attending for short breaks and others have started. Only one young person has left the residential provision and no children or young people have been admitted. Inspection report children‟s home: SC000673 4 The children and young people who live in the residential provision enjoy the experience of living in the home and they all make good or better progress. The young person who left moved on to adult care in a planned transition after a successful placement at the home. The other children and young people are settled and have plans for longer-term placements. All of them are making good progress with their independence skills, education and other personal goals and targets. Some have made particularly good

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

progress with improving communication skills and some have made very good progress with developing more social skills.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people who attend for short breaks clearly enjoy their experience and make good progress. They enjoy a wide range of activities and are also able to work on agreed goals.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people in both parts of the home have good relationships with the staff. The staff are dedicated to their work and are caring and nurturing towards the children and young people. They encourage the children and young people to spend time in the local community taking part in activities and using local facilities and amenities, which is very positive.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work closely with the families of the children and young people and this joint understanding and work benefits everyone. One social worker spoken with, who has extensive knowledge of the home, said it was „amazing‟ and said they did not know what they would do without its service and its flexible approach.

p.4

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

The children and young people who live at or visit the home are supervised closely by attentive and vigilant staff. The children and young people have mostly been kept very safe. The only exceptions have been two accidents involving hot drinks, where children have been hurt. The registered manager has taken appropriate action to address these issues and practice has since changed.

p.4

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

The staff understand risks and make good risk assessments. They put appropriate controls in place. This is especially so when they accompany the children and young people outside of the home. There are appropriate boundaries and expectations in place and these are consistently applied.

p.4

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

Generally, the staff do not use sanctions with the children and young people, preferring to explain what is expected and giving guidance and appropriate direction. The staff do sometimes use physical interventions, but these are few in number and are usually short and very light touch.

p.4

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

Security at the home is good and staff have taken care to ensure that no child or young person has gone missing during this inspection period.

p.4

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

One young person has made an allegation against one member of staff. The registered Inspection report children‟s home: SC000673 5 manager reported this correctly and dealt with this well. It was decided by all involved that the issue was unfounded. There have been no other complaints made by children and young people, parents or carers, or by any other persons.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager changed the management structure at the home, appointing two team leaders in January 2018 who each have responsibility for one part of the home. He has also clarified line management roles within the home, which has shared out the leadership and management tasks. These changes have had a positive effect on the service offered. Staff are generally very experienced and clearly work closely together.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager monitors care practices well. He has improved the record keeping, but the inspector found that there was some missing information and documentation which needs addressing. There are clear processes in place for staff handovers and for the organisation of shifts.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff said they get good support from the registered manager and also that they get good training opportunities. They said the manager was supportive and approachable.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is some particularly good joint working with other professionals and other agencies. The registered manager has developed close links with various health services and also with education providers and there is good communication between the home and external professionals. The registered manager is adept at ensuring that services and resources needed by children and young people are found and acquired.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A recommendation has been made for the registered manager to strengthen recruitment checks and to improve staff supervision.

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 children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟. Inspection report children‟s home: SC000673 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action for Children

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

p.6

Inspector

Colin Imrie, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC000673 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.

p.6

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.7

Inspector

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

p.7

Inspector

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

p.7