John Greenwood Shipman Centre

Inspection report children’s home: SC465257 1 SC465257 Registered provider: Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is an eight-bedded short-break service for children and young people who have learning disabilities, physical disabilities and associated healthcare needs. The service is managed by a healthcare foundation trust. It is also registered with the Care Quality Commission because staff carry out some healthcare tasks. A registered manager is in post.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 17 to 18 September 2019

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 requires improvement to be 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: SC465257 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2018 Full Good 12/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 17/08/2016 Full Good 25/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC465257 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 recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

p.3

Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

p.3

Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

p.3

Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

p.3

Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

p.3

Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

p.3

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 23/10/2019

p.3

Recommendations

 Ensure that the home complies with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than institutional impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children’s home: SC465257 4  Ensure that there are procedures in place for welcoming and introducing each child to the home and that they are sensitive to the needs of each child at the time of their arrival (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.7). This is in relation to the allocation of bedrooms for short breaks.  Ensure that there are 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

p.3

Recommendations

needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  Ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A recent reorganisation of the organisation’s short-breaks homes has meant that many young people have not previously had their short breaks at this service. Staff have successfully supported young people to cope with this change. Young people have settled into their new environment very well.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are well cared for and have developed strong bonds with new staff. One young person told the inspector that he misses the staff when he is not at the home. He described a staff member as ‘the best’. Another young person communicates very well with his allocated staff member. A strong and affectionate bond was very evident between the two.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand young people’s communication styles very well. This enables young people to express their needs and wishes. Individual preferences are respected. Young people’s choices are carefully recorded so that staff can identify what they enjoy and what they do not like. Staff are quick to recognise when young people are anxious or stressed. They take prompt actions to reassure and help young people who become anxious.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have had a wonderful summer at the home. There have been many outings and activities. These have included trips to theme parks, the zoo and county parks. A trip to a swimming pool is planned for one young person. To ensure that the activity is a success, the entire pool has been hired. Staff put in additional effort to make sure that young people can access local community facilities, whatever their needs or disability. The garden is well used, and the young people thoroughly enjoy the play equipment. Inspection report children’s home: SC465257 5 Planning for a young people’s stays is not always effective. During the inspection, one young person had to change bedrooms mid-stay. There was confusion over which bedroom another young person would be staying in on their arrival. This uncertainty may cause unnecessary anxiety for young people. Furthermore, the seating arrangements at mealtimes are not always carefully thought through. For example, during the inspection

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

one young person was able to try to take one another young person’s food. This could cause anxiety.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Recent changes to the building have meant that bedrooms are now quite plainly decorated. The bedrooms could be better personalised to make the young people feel more welcome and to promote a better sense of belonging.

p.5

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

The registered manager monitors safeguarding matters well. Staff feel very able to talk to her about their practice and what is happening in the home. Although there have been some difficulties in communication between the staff team members, all staff are very clear that they would have no hesitation in passing on any safeguarding concern to managers. Young people’s safety remains a top priority.

p.5

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

Behaviour management strategies are carefully thought through and tailored to young people’s individual needs. The young people have developed some very trusting relationships with staff. Trusting relationships mean that young people are less anxious and have fewer incidents of challenging behaviour. Young people know what to expect from the staff, and behaviour expectations are made clear.

p.5

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

Staff are properly trained in how to restrain young people should this be needed, but they avoid this whenever they can. Staff know what good practice looks like, and the registered manager encourages discussion and reflection after any restraint incidents.

p.5

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

Some safeguarding records are not always maintained to a high standard. This means that some essential safeguarding records, such as employment references and safeguarding training records for bank staff, are not easily accessible. This has the potential to lead to safeguarding errors.

p.5

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

Leadership has not been stable. A new manager was appointed in May 2019. She managed the home for two months. Staff did not feel supported during this period. The manager made several changes. Staff did not feel that they were properly consulted about these changes. This led to some ill feeling. Five staff members left the home, and at one point 11 staff members were absent due to sickness. Most of the sickness absence was stress related. Some of these staff members have since returned, but five remain on long-term sick leave. Staff shortages meant that some short breaks had to be cancelled during this period. The previous manager has now returned to her post and Inspection report children’s home: SC465257 6 has resolved many of the problems.

p.5

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

The registered manager has done her very best to stabilise things and to listen and respond to staff concerns. She and the organisation have made sure that the home is now going in the right direction, but there is still more work to be done. The staff team is still very unsettled, and it will take time for this to be resolved.

p.6

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

Young people have been protected through this difficult period. This is testament to the remaining staff and managers. They have worked extremely hard to make sure that the culture in the team remains safe, even if staff relationships have been fractured. If there have been shortfalls in the delivery of care, these have been reported and efficiently dealt with. The manager has ensured that lessons have been learned.

p.6

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

There are a lot of bank staff, but these staff are regular and well trained. The young people really enjoy their company, and they are performing well. The young people have already made some excellent relationships with them. Less experienced staff are always accompanied on shift by a more experienced person.

p.6

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

Staff supervision has taken place, but there is not a formal process to provide regular, structured supervision for staff. A record is not always made of supervision.

p.6

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

Both requirements made at the last inspection have been met. There are improvements to fire safety and to staff training records. A good system is in place for refresher training on healthcare tasks to make sure that the young people’s health needs can be safely met.

p.6

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.6

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: SC465257 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sudborough House, St. Marys Hospital, 77 London Road, Kettering, Northamptonshire NN15 7PW

p.7

Inspector

Caroline Brailsford, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC465257 8 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.7

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 http://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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8