Children's home run by Compass Children’s Homes North East Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2594952 1 Registered provider: Artemis Support 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 a private provider. The home provides care and accommodation for up to three children with emotional and/or social difficulties and learning difficulties. Two children live in this home. The manager and the service registered with Ofsted in September 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 the setting in March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted 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 good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2594952 2

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Inspection date

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2594952 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good standards of care from a nurturing staff team. Children’s care plans are detailed and are well written. Staff follow the guidance in children’s care plans to ensure that the children receive individualised care and support. As a result, children make very good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences of moving into the home are positive. The manager completes pre-admission risk assessments before the children move in. Staff get to know children’s likes, interests and individual needs. This ensures that staff are aware of children’s needs, and helps the children to develop trusting relationships with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel valued because they are listened to. Children are regularly consulted about their wishes and feelings, and they benefit from having an independent advocate. The manager has recently introduced a new tool for staff to gather the children’s views in a way that suits children’s communication needs. This, and the positive way in which staff advocate for children, ensures that children receive the services and the support that they need to enhance their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children stay connected with those people who are important to them irrespective of the distance between them and their family and friends. The staff understand the importance of these relationships, and they nurture and support these links. This helps children to remain happy and settled, and helps children to maintain their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access a wide range of activities that they enjoy participating in. Activities are well planned and provide the children with opportunities to have fun, develop new friendships and gain new hobbies and interests. These improve children’s daily lived experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s learning and development are supported in line with their education plans. Staff have good relationships with educational professionals. Communication books between the home and the school ensure that there is effective communication between the agencies. This supports children to receive consistent care. Children thrive because of this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well to access a wide range of services that improve their health and well-being. Improved health for children supports the progress that they make in other areas of their life, including their social and emotional well-being. Inspection report children’s home: 2594952 4

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

Children’s safety plans detail how children will be helped and protected. Staff follow children’s safety plans to help keep children safe. Staff supervisions and team meetings provide the staff with opportunities to discuss the strategies to reduce risks to children. Additionally, the staff consult with therapeutic services to improve strategies in children’s safety plans. Children receive better protection as a result.

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

The manager’s systems to monitor staff’s practice highlights areas of good and poor practice. Where staff practice is poor, the manager undertakes internal investigations to satisfy herself that children are safe. She highlights necessary actions to improve staff practice, including training for staff. Additionally, the manager works effectively with other professionals to help keep children safe. Children’s safety improves because of this.

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

Staff carefully plan children’s key-work sessions to ensure that these focus on the high-risk areas. Children benefit from these targeted sessions as they are helped to understand the risks associated with their behaviours, and they can share their worries and concerns with the staff. This approach has been effective in helping children to reduce their risk-taking behaviour which may place them at risk.

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

The use of physical intervention has significantly reduced as staff manage the children’s behaviour well. Staff use de-escalation techniques to manage children’s behaviour when children are in crisis. The management team has good systems in place to review the use of physical interventions. These ensure that the use of physical intervention is appropriate, and that staff practice remains safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is appropriately qualified and has the relevant experience. She registered at the same time as the service. The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths as well as areas that require development. She welcomes feedback from her independent visitor to develop the service. She utilises feedback from children, parents, carers, professionals and other stakeholders to improve the service for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals about the manager and the staff team is excellent. A professional commented, ‘They go above and beyond. [Name] has fantastic relationships with the staff team. This is an excellent placement. The staff are very supportive. They tick all the right boxes.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides additional learning opportunities for the staff. She has developed ‘champion roles’ that support the development of her team. Additionally, the staff access regular ‘mentor sessions’ that aim to enhance their skills and knowledge. Children receive better care and support because of this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the manager has effective monitoring systems in place to evaluate the quality of care that children receive. However, the manager has no clear systems to Inspection report children’s home: 2594952 5 monitor the complaints that they receive. For example, some records relating to complaints do not detail all the steps that have been taken to address the complaint. This means that the records of complaints do not consistently demonstrate the accountability of the actions taken by the registered provider. This limits the manager’s ability to evaluate incidents of complaints effectively and to improve practice. Inspection report children’s home: 2594952 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that following complaints made that there are consistent and clear lines of accountability. Arrangements should be in place for the registered person to monitor and to evaluate any impact on children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)

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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: 2594952 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Artemis Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Queens Lane, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland NE1 1RN

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Inspectors

Jacqueline Tate, Social Care Inspector Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2594952 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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