Children's home run by Outdoor Care Limited Assurance visit report: 2587132 4

Inspection report children ‘s home: 2587132 1 Registered provider: Outdoor Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by an independent provider. The home provides care and accommodation for two children. The manager and the service registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 17 December 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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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 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children ‘s home: 2587132 2

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report children ‘s home: 2587132 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living in this home. They are well supported by the staff to build trusting and secure relationships. The diverse and experienced staff team helps children to learn new skills. This helps children to consider and develop aspirations for their future career pathways.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home provides children with a supportive environment in which they make progress. Children develop a sense of belonging to the home. A professional commented, ‘The reason [name] wants to remain at the home as long as possible is that they are happy there and attached. It is settled and it has a consistent staff group.’ Another professional commented on a child’s behaviour, ‘They have made progress with reflecting, they can apologise, they would never have been able to do that before this placement. The staff advocate for their best interests.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are on the cusp of independence and spend a considerable amount of time with their friends and family. Staff have positive relationships with the children’s families and support children to spend time together. This has, on occasion, helped children to manage their emotions, and enabled them to attend family bereavements with support. This means children can develop and maintain a sense of identity and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer children access to specialist help and support and encourage them to attend these sessions. Children receive support from a range of professionals, such as substance misuse workers and mental health services. Staff consistently spend time with children reinforcing positive messages. This helps children to consider the risks associated with substance misuse and supports them in reducing this harmful behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s positive behaviour is encouraged and rewarded. As part of the positive behaviour approach, children are supported to reflect on their behaviours. However, children use inappropriate language in general discussions in the home. This is not challenged by the staff. As a result, children’s learned behaviours are accepted. This does not promote respect or prepare children to be responsible members of society.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff routinely lock the kitchen door at the end of each evening. This is to prevent children from accessing the kitchen during the early hours of the morning. This practice prevents children from having access to all the areas of their home and does not create a homely environment.

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

Children feel safe and secure with staff who understand them, listen to them and support them. Children feel able to go to any staff member for help and support. Inspection report children ‘s home: 2587132 4 One child said that they ‘feel supported emotionally, physically, educationally and with my health’. Professionals agreed with a social worker who said that ‘staff go above and beyond’.

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

Staff undertake individual support sessions with the children on the risks associated with going missing from home and criminal exploitation. This helps children to consider the risks associated with these behaviours and means that they are better equipped to keep themselves safe from harmful behaviours and situations.

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

Staff have a detailed understanding of children’s risks. These risks are highlighted in children’s risk assessments, which are reviewed on a regular basis. However, these risk assessments do not contain personalised information regarding the children’s triggers. This has a potential impact on how the staff manage the children’s behaviour.

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

If children go missing from the home, staff take a consistent approach as they know and follow the clear procedures. They take swift action and ensure that all the relevant people are contacted both during the missing from home episode and afterwards. Staff make great efforts to ensure that return home interviews are completed so that any safeguarding concerns can be addressed and escalated if necessary. This practice helps to protect children. harm.

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

Staff take effective action when children present with increasing risks. They are proactive in arranging and contributing to strategy meetings and ensure that a well- coordinated approach is taken by all professionals. Children are better protected as a result of this action.

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good

The registered manager is supported by a stable and appropriately qualified staff team. They work closely together and use the long shift patterns to establish continuity of care for the children. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, not all staff have received regular and timely supervision sessions. This means that staff are not given sufficient time to prepare for their supervision and reflect on challenging behaviours shown by children. This does not support the personal development of the staff.

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good

The manager and staff share a strong ethos of working with all relevant professionals. These relationships are proactive and ensure information relating to the care of children is shared promptly and effectively. This supports children in receiving coordinated care and access to services in a timely manner. This was confirmed by professionals spoken to during the visit.

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good

Children are able to express their views and opinions. They spend time with staff through formal one-to-one consultations on a weekly basis. This allows children the opportunity to share their thoughts on the care provided to them and any issues Inspection report children ‘s home: 2587132 5 that they may have. Staff use these sessions to strengthen relationships and to ensure that children’s well-being, self-esteem and confidence are promoted.

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good

Staff access a range of online training courses that are specific to children’s needs. For example, they access courses covering mental health, county lines and the ‘Prevent’ duty. However, the manager does not have an effective internal monitoring and reviewing process that enables him to confirm or evaluate the effectiveness of such training. This shortfall is replicated in the oversight of children’s records, which are merely signed off by the manager as having been seen by the operations manager. This limits the effectiveness of the regulatory report that is produced every six months. However, the manager welcomes monthly independent external scrutiny, which he uses to inform any improvements required. Inspection report children ‘s home: 2587132 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider ensuring that the staff understand the need to consistently challenge the use of inappropriate language used by the children. 26 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

mutual respect and trust; 26 August 2021 Inspection report children ‘s home: 2587132 7 an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ix)(x))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider ensuring that the staff are provided with support in order to understand the impact of children’s past traumas and experience on their behaviours.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider ensuring that the staff identify the triggers to potentially harmful behaviours shown by children and record these triggers in children’s risk assessments to support safe care. 26 August 2021 Inspection report children ‘s home: 2587132 8 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

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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

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the staff are provided with regular supervision on a consistent basis. 26 August 2021

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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

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that internal monitoring and reviews take place consistently for all children’s records, and that the training needs of staff are monitored effectively. 26 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and 26 August 2021 Inspection report children ‘s home: 2587132 9 any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

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)(iv)) This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that the kitchen door is not locked at night unless there is a specific safeguarding concern.

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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: 2587132 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Outdoor Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 1PP

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Inspectors

Michael Dack, Social Care Inspector Emma Ridley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children ‘s home: 2587132 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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