Children's Home run by Good News Nwk Ltd in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report children's home: 1277479 1 Registered provider: Good News NWK Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two children. However, it is primarily operating as a home for just one child. It is registered to provide care for children aged between eight and 17 years on the autism spectrum, with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered by Ofsted in December 2020 and is undertaking the required level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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 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: 1277479 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/01/2020 Full Good 27/02/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1277479 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The new manager has thoroughly addressed the shortfalls highlighted at the last inspection. This includes establishing a permanent staff team. This has provided children with stability and enabled them to benefit from positive, focused work. The staff are becoming increasingly skilled in alternative methods of communication, such as Makaton and social stories. Their creative and person-centred approach has enabled them to enhance their communication with verbal and non-verbal children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living at the home has settled in quickly. Staff, professionals and family members are positive about the care he receives and the progress he is making. Positive feedback was also received from professionals and family members who have worked with the home previously. One parent described having reservations at first about the team’s ability to manage their child’s presenting behaviours. However, this parent happily reported that these initial concerns were unfounded and stated that his child progressed well and would not have moved out if the home had been located nearer to their family home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop in all aspects, including their social experiences, and they have healthier fitness and eating regimes. One child has made good progress in self-care. This is a significant change that has been achieved in a relatively short space of time. A mother described how impressed she was with the independence skills her child is developing, including self-care, as she used to struggle to even get him to agree to get dressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The team was proactive in securing alternative education, such as home tuition, when it became evident that the child would not be returning to his school. This action ensured that the child experienced minimal delay or gaps in his education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are suitably prepared for the transition to their next placement and/or a return home. A social worker praised the partnership working of the home. This includes working with a child’s new placement, whose staff often phone seeking clarity and guidance from the team regarding successful strategies to use with the child. This sharing of information has also assisted the child’s ability to successfully manage the transition with minimal disruption.

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

The home now has a consistent staff team. This has enabled staff to build stronger relationships with children. The team knows each child well and can describe and recognise the tiniest change in a child’s mood. This includes knowing their visible and audible cues. This knowledge is detailed in the children’s placement plans and behaviour support plans. This awareness enables staff to mitigate any triggers, which minimises the number of incidents or escalation in behaviours. Inspection report children's home: 1277479 4 Staff are trained in de-escalation techniques but find that these are rarely required due to having already addressed anything that the child may find upsetting. Staff have strategies and techniques in place that enable children to participate in activities. Their knowledge and awareness of what may trigger or upset a child is coupled with the strategies to mitigate this. This has enabled children who have no

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

safety awareness to participate in various events in the community. Staff are skilful in communicating this information, for example, to visitors, in a non-stigmatising way.

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

Children do not go missing as they are always supervised by staff. Staff are aware of the protocols and processes to follow in the unlikely event of this happening. The children’s risk assessments are much improved and they now contain a level of detail that was previously lacking.

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

Complaints from external parties, such as neighbours, have greatly reduced. The manager and the staff are continually working to improve and maintain relationships within their locality.

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

Medication errors are rare. When an error did occur, the manager ensured that staff practice was reviewed and additional training undertaken. The new system of spot checks is ensuring that staff remain vigilant and appreciate the importance of accuracy.

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

The staff training covers all the required training courses. Additional training is identified as required to meet any specific needs that arise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has been described by staff as supportive. Her empowering and positive leadership is encouraging staff to take more ownership of their roles. She has worked with the team to ensure that processes are clear and that she can track children’s progress through their monthly reports.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has created an environment where the staff feel energised and are keen to develop. She has used staff supervision and appraisals to identify each of the team’s goals and is creating appropriate development plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff recruitment practices have greatly improved. However, there is a need for additional checks when staff have lived, worked or spent extended periods overseas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is clear about how she wishes to develop the service. She has revamped much of the documentation. This includes the children’s guide, which is now more child friendly and accessible. She has also established auditing processes and she conducts regular file audits. These checks are helping to improve standards of recording.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of the monthly reports from the independent visitor routinely fails to meet regulation. This is because often the visitor omits to comment on whether Inspection report children's home: 1277479 5 children are appropriately safeguarded or whether the home is ensuring that children’s well-being is promoted. Another element that is often missing from the reports is external feedback. This feedback could assist the home in developing and understanding what aspects of the service are deemed, by external parties, as positive and/or in need of improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership work continues to strengthen. This unified approach enables all involved to work in a person-centred way that benefits children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home actively pursues placing authorities for responses and information that may be missing. A social worker stated that she appreciates this as it ensures that decisions made about the children’s needs remain the primary focus.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home creates photograph memory books for the children and retain a copy for the home to recall the children who have moved on. It is evident that despite the restrictions of the national lockdowns, the home has been innovative in identifying activities that the children can participate in. The books also show the marked physical difference in children from when they arrive to when they leave, looking more mature and confident. Inspection report children's home: 1277479 6

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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 registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 44 (1) (4)(a)(b)) 22 June 2021

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Recommendation

 The registered person should, as set out in regulations 31-33, be responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, obtain certificates of good conduct for staff who have lived, worked or spent extended periods overseas. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 1277479 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Floor Offices, 25 Sanders Road, Finedon Road Industrial Estate, Wellingborough NN8 4NL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nokuthula Mangwendeza

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Inspector

Sonia Hay, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1277479 8 to 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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