Children's Home run by Enhanced Young Persons Care Limited in Middlesbrough

Inspection report children‟s home: SC455864 1 SC455864 Registered provider: Holme Farm Residential Village Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or mental disorders, excluding learning disability. The manager is experienced and has an appropriate leadership qualification. The manager was registered with Ofsted in March 2018.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC455864 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2018 Full Good 07/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/04/2017 Full Good 08/06/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC455864 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people make noticeable progress from their starting points. Most live in this home for a long time and regard it as ‘their home’. Children and young people know that they benefit from the care they receive. They are proud of the progress they make and recognise their own accomplishments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people develop strong relationships with members of staff. Children and young people know that their carers are committed to them and want the best for them. This helps children and young people to develop their self-esteem and a belief in their own capabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people do well with their education. They attend school regularly and staff support them to do homework and take examinations. For most children and young people, this is evidence of significant progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The provider employs a clinician who offers individualised support to children and young people. Members of staff also meet with the clinician to improve their ability to meet the emotional needs of children and young people. Because of this support, children and young people make clear progress with their emotional well-being. This has a positive impact on all aspects of their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Members of staff ensure that the physical health needs of children and young people are met. Children and young people attend routine and urgent medical appointments, and gain support with such issues as smoking cessation. Because of the emphasis on physical well-being, children and young people are fit and well and learning good healthy living habits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Members of staff encourage children and young people to take part in the running of the home, including identifying what activities they want to do. Children and young people learn that their views matter and that they can influence the world around them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Members of staff help children and young people to see their families, including when they live some distance away. For some children and young people, this has led to an improvement in family relationships and has helped to influence long-term care planning.

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improvement to be good

Members of staff have varying levels of knowledge about how to assess risk and what to do if children and young people go missing from the home. Further training will ensure that children and young people receive a good response to these issues from all their carers. Members of staff will also benefit from learning about sexually harmful behaviour and the risks posed to children and young people from criminal exploitation associated with gang culture. Inspection report children‟s home: SC455864 4 Clear boundaries are in place and children and young people respond positively. However, the staff team must ensure that behaviour management does not include strategies precluded by regulation. This includes locking doors where there are no safeguarding issues. A revised behaviour management policy that outlines what consequences children and young people can expect from their carers is required.

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improvement to be good

Members of staff need to know when to notify the regulator of serious incidents. This was an issue at the last inspection and a further concern has been identified during this inspection.

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improvement to be good

The number of times children and young people go missing from the home has significantly reduced and they are less likely to be involved in criminal activity. For some children and young people, this is evidence of remarkable progress.

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improvement to be good

Members of staff respond very well to incidents of bullying in the home. Children and young people who have been bullied learn that their carers will protect them. Those who might engage in bullying behaviour are learning that this is not acceptable.

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improvement to be good

The assessment of risk when children and young people move into the home is good. Potential issues are identified, and the management of any risks is clear. Most children and young people who have moved into the home since the last inspection have settled and have made progress.

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

The registered manager is passionate about the children and young people in this home and wants the best outcomes for them. The registered manager leads by example and the staff team shares this level of commitment. Morale is high, and all members of staff are open to new learning to make improvements for children and young people.

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

The registered manager regularly reviews the care provided to children and young people. However, the monitoring systems do not always identify gaps in information. For example, some assessments of risk are inconsistent, and some key local authority documentation is missing. As a result, the registered manager does not know whether the staff team is following the most recent plans for children and young people.

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

The quality of care review does not include actions necessary to improve or maintain the development of the home. In addition, it does not include feedback from members of staff, children and young people and family members. This was an issue at the previous inspection and remains an issue here.

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

Members of staff are supervised by senior staff who are sufficiently experienced to perform this role. Supervision sessions and team meetings should include a standing item on safeguarding. This will help to develop the safeguarding culture within the home.

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

Safe recruitment takes place in this home. The registered manager is currently recruiting Inspection report children‟s home: SC455864 5 new members of staff to complete the staff team. The registered manager deals with capability issues in the staff team appropriately and without delay. This means that children and young people are looked after by carers who have the ability to meet their needs.

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

The manager is committed to making the changes required.

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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, the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards.’ The registered person 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— 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; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is

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Requirement Due date

monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii) and (e)) In particular, the registered provider must ensure that all members of staff understand how to assess risk and keep children and young people safe, including when they are missing from the home. 31/10/2019

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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— 31/10/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC455864 6 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 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)(2)(a)(f) and (h)) In particular, the registered provider must ensure that

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Requirement Due date

monitoring systems are used effectively and identify gaps in service. The registered person must ensure that— children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises— is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate; is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii) and (iv)) In particular, children and young people should be able to go into any reasonable room in the home, unless there is a clear safeguarding reason not to do so. Any decision to restrict the access of children and young people to any part of the home should be for as short a period possible. 31/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out— how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) and (2)) In particular, the behaviour management policy must set out the approach to the use of consequences in the home, including the timescales within which they will be reviewed by the registered manager. 31/10/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC455864 7 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a

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Requirement Due date

child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; 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 there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. A notification made under this regulation— must include details of— the matter; the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(5)(a)(i)(ii) and (iii)) This is a repeat of a requirement made at the last inspection. 31/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered 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 (2)(a)(b)(c) and (5)) In particular, the quality of care report must include feedback from a range of sources and make clear any actions necessary to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. This is a repeat of a requirement made at the last inspection. 31/10/2019

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Recommendations

 Staff need the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm. The registered person should Inspection report children‟s home: SC455864 8 ensure that skills in safeguarding are gained, refreshed and recorded in the home’s workforce plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12) In particular, the staff team should be provided with training on issues associated with exploitation by gangs and also sexually harmful behaviour. This will improve the ability of the staff team to identify risks and protect children and young people in its care.  Supervision of staff practice should ensure that individual adults in the home are engaged in the safeguarding culture of the home so they understand what they would need to do if they found other staff misusing or abusing their position to

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Recommendations

the detriment of the safety of a child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14) In particular, each supervision session and each team meeting should include safeguarding as a standing agenda item. This will improve the quality of the safeguarding culture in the home.

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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: SC455864 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Holme Farm Residential Village Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Fox Street, Sunderland Road, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE10 0BD

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Inspectors

Jane Titley: social care inspector Paula Kelly: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC455864 10 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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