Children's Home run by South Tyneside Council in South Tyneside

Inspection report children’s home: 1268334 1 Registered provider: South Tyneside Council

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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 four children or young people who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since 2017.

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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 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

Date of last inspection: 6 November 2018

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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: 1268334 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2018 Full Good 06/09/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: 1268334 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)) 16/08/2019

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that there is an effective system in place for responding to complaints by staff, and ensure that the quality of care provided for children and young people is not compromised. 16/08/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 16/08/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1268334 4 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child is instigated or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people staying at this short-break provision benefit from having positive and trusting relationships with the adults who care for them. Their physical and medical needs are met to a very good standard, and are fulfilled in line with their individual care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people who are referred to the service have their admissions well planned, and the manager ensures that the matching of children and young people is appropriate. This helps children and young people to settle and build friendship groups. Feedback from parents was very positive. Comments such as ‘excellent communication’ and ‘very supportive’ were commonly used. Good preparation ahead of the short-break stays and effective work with parents, carers, children and young people support good outcomes and progress for children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key workers have a good knowledge of the children and young people who they support. Care planning focuses on areas that help children and young people to achieve and make a positive contribution to their home and community. The children and young people have ‘My progress’ and ‘My health’ plans that include goals and targets from other plans drawn up by professionals involved in their care. This approach to care planning ensures that the children’s and young people’s needs are well understood and met by the staff. Inspectors found an inconsistent approach to the way in which information from key documents, including child protection plans, is included in care plans and risk assessments. This is an area for development .

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consultation and the participation of the children and young people are very good. Their individual needs and abilities are considered to enable them to take part in decision- Inspection report children’s home: 1268334 5 making. Staff use a range of resourceful and imaginative ways to interact and engage with all children and young people, regardless of their communication abilities. The staff are nurturing and have a good understanding of children’s and young people’s needs and how best to communicate with them. This benefits children and young people significantly, as they can share their views on how they would like to be cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are offered a wide range of activities. Photographs are used to capture moments where children and young people have participated in an activity. These photographs are included in diary letters to children and young people and their parents following short-break stays. This helps to create lovely memories for children and young people to treasure. Additionally, it helps parents, carers, children and young people to see how they are achieving via the new experiences and opportunities that are provided during their stays. This helps to build children’s and young people’s confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team works well with a range of professionals to ensure that appropriate care is provided for children and young people. One professional commented, ‘The staff here are just fantastic. They are not babysitters. They are very nurturing and help children to make real progress. They get very good outcomes for the children that they care for.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and tidy. There are no obvious issues relating to health and safety. However, the look of the home is dated, and it is in need of refurbishment and decorating. The registered manager has a maintenance plan in place to drive improvements forward in this area .

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improvement to be good

The inspectors found safeguarding incidents that had not been notified to Ofsted. When there have been safeguarding incidents, the staff have followed the appropriate protocols and the other appropriate agencies have been notified. There is no evidence of serious or widespread failings with regard to safeguarding practice, but there are areas that require improvements to be good. The registered manager recognises this and has a plan to address shortfalls.

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improvement to be good

Risk management processes do not sufficiently identify all known risks to children and young people. Risk assessments do not include a baseline of risk or clear strategies to mitigate the risk of harm. Strategies that are identified in risk assessments read as being generic and ambiguous. This means that it is difficult to know how each child and young person will be helped and protected during their stay.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people are supported to recognise risks in a variety of settings to help keep them safe. Sessions include recognising risks in a kitchen, road safety and understanding appropriate behaviours to prevent bullying. The sessions are delivered in ways that are appropriate to the ages and levels of understanding of the children and young people. This means that all children and young people benefit from having the support of staff. Inspection report children’s home: 1268334 6 The staff are responsive to the needs of the children and young people. They manage behaviours effectively. Physical interventions are rarely used. There is one recorded incident that resulted in the staff physically intervening to protect a young person. The use of physical intervention was proportionate and necessary to respond to the level of risk that he was exposed to.

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improvement to be good

Staff supervisions and team meetings include safeguarding as a stand-alone agenda item. The quality of the records is good. The staff are provided with opportunities to reflect and consider their professional development. This helps to strengthen practice and encourages the staff team to focus on safeguarding issues.

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

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified for the position that she holds. She is well supported by an experienced deputy and a dedicated staff team. There is a newly recruited second deputy who will bring further skills and experience to the team. Collectively they share a vision of supporting each child and young person to ensure that good outcomes are achieved.

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

The registered manager recognises the benefits of developing a skilled team. Staff training and development have been high on her agenda, as provide a way to help drive improvements forward. The staff feel valued and motivated because of the training they have received. One member of staff said, ‘The training is great. I have learned loads. We have improved, but our recordings could be better to reflect what we do well.’ Many of the staff are in the process of completing a level 3 National Vocational Qualification. The timescale for these to be completed is before the end of 2019.

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

The registered manager has an auditing system to help identify shortfalls in practice. She welcomes feedback from the independent visitor, as well as the inspectors, to help drive improvements forward. This means that, while there are areas of practice that require improvement to be good, the registered manager does demonstrate the characteristics of good leadership. She is very motivated and passionate with regard to driving the necessary improvements forward.

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

The staff feel confident about raising concerns and complaints with the registered manager. Whistle-blowing procedures have been shared with the staff team. Further training and development days are scheduled for later in the year to consider how staff share information. Several staff have complained about a specific issue. This issue did not relate to the children and young people. The issue has not been effectively managed by the registered manager. Inspectors found no evidence to show that the complaints made by the staff were concluded with clear resolutions. This hinders improvements being made as there is no monitoring or reviewing of the complaints to ensure that effective outcomes and learning are achieved. Furthermore, the registered manager has not considered how this could impact on the quality of care provided in the home. Inspection report children’s home: 1268334 7

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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: 1268334 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: South Tyneside Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Westoe Road, South Shields NE33 2RL

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Inspectors

Jacqueline Tate: social care inspector Paula Kelly: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1268334 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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