Children's home run by Newcastle City Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 1 SC044485 Registered provider: Newcastle City 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 is run by the local authority and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to seven children and/or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager has been registered since 2004.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures within this home that mean children and young people are not protected, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 6 February 2019

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/04/2018 Full Good 15/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and use this understanding to deliver care that meets the children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to— meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(2)(a)(c)(i)) 20/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who— develop positive relationships with them; engage with them; and take their views wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— help each child to express views, wishes and feelings. (Regulation 7 (1)(2)(ii)) 20/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met; In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to— understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. 20/10/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 4 (Regulation 10 (1)(ii)) The positive relationship standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust: an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. In particular the standard in paragraph (1)requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children; de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children; understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(ix)(xi)(xii)(xiii)) 20/10/2019

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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 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; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; 20/10/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 5 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)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(b)) 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 to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 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; demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting upon— feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(2)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 20/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (1)(3)(a)) 20/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 20/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— the name of the child; 20/10/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 6 details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the measure used; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so

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Requirement Due date

(‘the authorised person’)— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(b)) The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which— include the information and documents listed in schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)) 20/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e)(5)) 20/10/2019

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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. (Regulation 45 (1)) 20/10/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 7

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The experiences of children and young people living in the home are poor. The condition of the home is substandard. Damage to the building is left unrepaired and a lack of homely fixtures and furnishings gives the home an institutional feel. Children and young people’s bedrooms are dirty, furniture is broken, and carpets are threadbare. Children and young people are moved from bedroom to bedroom to manage group dynamics. However, these bedrooms have been previously damaged, and this has not been addressed by the staff team before children and young people have moved into them. This leads to children and young people feeling insecure and unsafe. They feel undervalued, and as a result do not in turn value their surroundings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children and young people are not being encouraged to engage positively in the home. Children and young people have been choosing to spend large periods of the day outside of the home without staff supervision, and as such they are missing out on activities that are stimulating and rewarding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Consultation with children and young people is limited. As a result, children and young people do not know what the plans are for their future. Children and young people say they are not listened to. Children’s meetings do not take place on a regular basis and children and young people’s views are not recorded on their plans or in the daily records. Children and young people gain no sense of belonging and do not develop the ability to gain control over important aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children and young people’s health needs are not being met. For one child who has a complex and persistent health condition, a lack of evaluation and monitoring means that this condition is not improving, which adds to his distress. In addition, the manager has failed to identify any strategies to address refusal to take medication that is given to manage the child’s condition. Children and young people’s diets are not being monitored effectively. In one case, a child’s diet consisted mainly of toast and cereal.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Behaviour management strategies in the home are inconsistently applied. Behaviour that is predictable was managed by the imposition of a sanction when measures could have been put in place to prevent an incident occurring. The sanctions used are, at times, inappropriate. One child had his clothing allowance used to pay for damage caused in the home. There was no evidence that the sanctions used to manage the presenting behaviour were evaluated and reviewed to ensure that they were effective. This means that children and young people are not helped to understand the consequences of their behaviour on themselves and others.

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

Children and young people are at risk in this home. There is no clear identification of risks, both in the home and in the community. Large-scale building works were being undertaken directly outside of the home. However, no assessment of risk had been undertaken of the Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 8 works, and as such children and young people are left in potentially dangerous situations.

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

Vulnerable children and young people are going out for long periods without staff supervision. Staff do not always know where the children and young people are, and records do not evidence the actions taken by staff to keep children and young people safe.

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

Some children and young people assault staff and engage in threatening behaviour towards each other. Children have stated to staff that they feel bullied, and records detailed other incidents of bullying that have not been recognised as such by staff. This leaves children vulnerable in the home. Complaints records are incomplete, and children and young people are not informed whether their complaint has been addressed satisfactorily. This leads to children and young people feeling unsafe and less likely to raise future concerns.

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

Some children and young people have been locked out of their home or had access to parts of the home restricted by staff members. Staff have taken this action to manage behaviour. In other circumstances staff call the police to manage the behaviour of children and young people, and as such life for children and young people in the home is chaotic.

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

Serious incidents are not being notified to HMCI by the manager. Records relating to a number of incidents are in the manager’s office but have not yet been evaluated by him. This potentially leaves children and young people at risk.

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

At the time of the inspection, an empty bottle of bleach was found by inspectors in a child’s bathroom. When this was raised with the manager, who was accompanying the inspectors, the bottle and the contents could not be accounted for and there was little concern or urgency shown for the health and well-being of the child. The situation took some time to be resolved, with the help of senior managers. Although the child was not hurt the lack of an initial response is a concern and demonstrates that staff have become less focused in their responses to protecting children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership and management of the home are poor, both in the home and at a strategic level. The manager has not received supervision between January 2019 and 23 rd July 2019, despite arrangements being put in place to cover the absence of the line manager. This is the subject of an internal enquiry by the provider. The staff team are not receiving supervision and staff meetings are a rare occurrence. As such, opportunities for staff to discuss the concerns they have about a children and young people’ safety or care are being missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring and oversight of practice are poor, and this has contributed to the quality of care reducing to an unacceptable level. Monitoring and review systems are not being used by the registered manager. External scrutiny from the independent visitor has failed to identify the issues raised following this inspection, and the reports are often submitted late to the regulator. This means that the regulator must evaluate risk based on out-of-date information when making judgements about the care being provided. Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 9 Inspectors were unable to evaluate whether safer recruitment practices were in place as the files held on the home were incomplete or unavailable. This places children and young people at risk from people who may wish to cause them harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The statement of purpose for the home has not been reviewed within timescales and is now out of date. Children have been placed with needs that do not match the home’s statement of purpose. This means that staff are not equipped with the skills required to meet those needs, and children and young people are being exposed to behaviours that staff are not able to manage.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children and young people’s case records are poor. There are gaps in recording, and the language used in the records is judgemental and not child-friendly. Incident reports do not fully record how staff manage risky situations, and the language used is vague and open to misinterpretation. This reduces assurance that staff are practising safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The provider took swift action to close the home following the inspection as standards of care were not being met. An internal review of practice will follow.

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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: SC044485 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Newcastle City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Barras Bridge, Civic Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8QH

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Inspector(s)

Mark Proffitt, social care inspector Sue Atkinson-Millmoor, social care regulatory inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: SC044485 11 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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