Children's home run by St Cuthbert’s Care in Newcastle upon Tyne

Inspection report children‘s home: SC459244 1 SC459244 Registered provider: St Cuthbert‘s Care 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 charitable organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children and/or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager has been in post since January 2019 and has made an application for registration with Ofsted. The manager has a recognised qualification in leadership and management.

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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 Inspection report children‘s home: SC459244 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/07/2018 Full Good 20/06/2017 Full Good 15/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/11/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children‘s home: SC459244 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people make good progress from their starting points. They settle quickly, including when placements have been made in an emergency. Children and young people stated that they want to remain in the home. They feel that this is their home and that they are safe and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Members of staff provide loving, accepting care to children and young people, and their welfare is the priority of the staff team. Children and young people respond well and form positive relationships with their carers. These relationships are key to the progress made by the children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are generally healthy. They attend routine and urgent medical appointments. The staff team undertakes training if a child or young person has additional physical or emotional health needs. Because of the efforts made by the staff team, the well-being of children and young people is improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people have good outcomes in their education. For some, this is evidence of significant progress from their starting points. Children and young people know that the staff team is proud of their achievements, which is good for their self- esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are consulted about living in the home. They regularly attend meetings to discuss topics pertinent to their day-to-day lives. They attend care planning meetings, so they can provide their views to members of the professional network. Children and young people are learning that their wishes and feelings are important and that they have the capacity to influence their world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Members of staff support children and young people to spend time with their families, including when they are living far from their home. As a result, they maintain their relationships with key family members when they are unable to live with them. This helps children and young people to feel valued and supports their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home would benefit from being decorated and repairs being completed in a timely manner. Although this work is now being undertaken, it has taken a long time for it to be arranged. Children and young people have chosen the colour scheme. They are pleased with the work that has been started, but they feel that it could have happened sooner.

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

Children and young people are safe in this home. They rarely go missing, there is no concern about substance misuse and they are not involved in criminal activity. Members of staff use their positive relationships with children and young people to talk about risk- taking behaviours. For most children and young people, this is significant progress from Inspection report children‘s home: SC459244 4 their starting points.

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

When children and young people do go missing, staff follow procedures closely, including going out to look for them. Independent return home interviews are always offered. Because of this consistent approach, children and young people know that they are kept in mind by their carers when they are out of the home.

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

Members of staff are skilled at managing challenging behaviour. They make use of training, including de-escalation techniques. Because of the strength of their relationships with children and young people, these strategies are usually successful.

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

Members of staff know that children and young people are learning to understand and manage their emotions. Children and young people learn that their carers are committed to looking after them, which consequently helps them to invest in the home.

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

The staff team follows the detailed risk management plans for children and young people. Members of staff record any incidents fully, and keywork sessions take place. Sometimes there is a delay to these discussions. This limits the ability of staff and other key people to know the outcome of the sessions.

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

Until very recently, the staff team had not been large enough to meet the day-to-day needs of children and young people. The manager is part of the shift pattern, to reduce the need for agency staff. As a result, key management tasks are not prioritised. The independent visitor has drawn attention to this issue over several months, but little improvement has been noted.

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

The manager does not have systems to track the progress and experiences of children and young people. The manager has not prepared a report to review the quality of care within timescales. The previous report did not meet the regulation. Without such systems, staff cannot have a shared view of the developing needs of the children and young people.

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

Records in the home are generally difficult to navigate, including case files and personnel files. Information about children and young people is kept in several places. Some electronic records are not easily accessible. This was an issue at the last inspection and a recommendation made then is repeated.

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

Some staff have not had regular supervision sessions, although newer members of staff are prioritised. Supervision sessions are not structured and recorded in line with the statement of purpose. Minutes of supervision sessions are not seen until the next session, so staff cannot reflect on them before they meet again.

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

Members of staff, including the manager, are qualified in line with regulation. Many have extra qualifications that are an asset to the home. Members of staff complete all mandatory training and undertake additional training when required. Children and young Inspection report children‘s home: SC459244 5 people are cared for by a staff team that is gaining valuable skills and that understands the benefit of ongoing learning.

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

The staff team is stable, and there have been few changes in personnel since the last inspection. Members of staff spoke very positively about working in the home. They find the manager supportive and readily available for advice. Children and young people are living in a home where their carers are happy to work.

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

The manager fully accepts the shortfalls in the management of the home and is committed to making the required improvements. The senior team has produced a detailed action plan to address issues that have been identified.

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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— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 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; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) and (2)(d)(f)(h)) In particular, the home should have systems in place to ensure that the manager understands the progress made by the children and young people in the home and enough staff such

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Requirement Due date

that the manager has time to carry out management functions. 16/08/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (―a quality of care review‖) at least once every 6 months. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered 31/07/2019 Inspection report children‘s home: SC459244 6 person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— the quality of care provided for children; the feedback and opinions of children about the children‘s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(1)(2)(a)(b)(c) and (5))

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Recommendations

 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 (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 61, paragraph 13.2). In particular, supervision should take place in line with the home‘s statement of purpose, with the written notes being made available to staff in a timely manner.  Staff should seek to meet the child‘s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the

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Recommendations

quality standards‘, page 15, paragraph 3.7). In particular, the manager should ensure that improvements and repairs are carried out in good time, so that children and young people feel that staff value them.  Some records may be kept electronically (Regulation 38), provided that this information can be easily accessible by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 61, paragraph 14.2). In particular, transfer of records to electronic formats should be carried out in a timely manner to avoid any unnecessary impact upon case records. This was a recommendation at the last inspection and is repeated.

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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 Inspection report children‘s home: SC459244 7 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: SC459244 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: St Cuthbert‘s House, West Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE15 7PY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Sheila Errington

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Inspector

Jane Titley, social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC459244 9 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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