Children's home run by One Step Care Limited Assurance visit report: 2552036 4

Inspection report children’s home: 2552036 1 Registered provider: One Step 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 a private provider. It is registered to care for up to four children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties, learning disabilities, mental disorders excluding learning disability, drug dependence and alcohol dependence.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 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 8 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 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: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2552036 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2552036 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy trusting and secure relationships with staff, and make excellent progress from their starting points. Families and professionals corroborated this. One parent said, ‘I am over the moon, I am really happy with the progress [Name] has made. I know they are safe, happy and well looked after.’ One professional said, ‘I wish they could be there forever, it’s an amazing place and I would recommend it to anyone. [Name] has made massive progress and is thriving.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Seeking the views of children is prioritised. Staff use a wide range of forums to achieve this, including children’s meetings and key-work sessions. Children are also involved in the review of the home’s development plan. This means that children have a say in their care and planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported in preparing to move on to independent living. Children have their own individualised ‘Preparing for Independence’ plans which cover all aspects of life that a child living independently will need to know. Children have tasks and challenges to complete which support them to increase their knowledge and understanding. Staff also remain in contact with children who have left the home, and continue to include them in some activities. This approach provides children with ongoing support and prepares them well for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Staff support them to attend all of their health appointments, including therapeutic work. Staff challenge health professionals appropriately when a review of the children’s health needs is required. For one child, this has meant that they are no longer taking any medication and their diagnosis is being reassessed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in full-time education, employment or training, and have excellent attendance. For some children, this is significant progress. Staff attend all education meetings and advocate well for the children. This supports children to continue progressing in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in the home, and it provides them with a warm and welcoming environment. One child scored living in the home as 10 out of 10, while another child described it as being ‘lovely and brilliant’. Children’s bedrooms are decorated to reflect their likes and dislikes, and their views are sought when choosing artwork and furniture for the home. Although the home is appropriately furnished, it is in need of decoration and cleaning in some high-touch areas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to voice their concerns when issues arise, and feel confident about speaking with staff. However, complaints leaflets are not readily accessible to children without the assistance of staff. This prevents children from raising complaints confidentially in the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2552036 4

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

Children said that they feel safe living in the home. Staff understand children’s experiences of trauma and use this knowledge to respond to children’s needs effectively. This approach has been effective in reducing risk-taking behaviours, and supports children to develop meaningful relationships with staff. As a result, there have been no incidents that have required the use of physical intervention, and very few missing-from-home episodes. For some children, this is significant progress.

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

Regular key-work sessions take place each month, with additional sessions taking place following any significant incidents. Staff are creative in their delivery of these sessions, for example using social media videos of real-life stories to discuss issues such as child sexual exploitation. This gives children the opportunity to discuss these issues and increases their knowledge and understanding so that they can be aware of the potential risks.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed when staff are appointed. This provides assurance that they are suitably vetted and qualified to provide care.

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

Reports, including risk assessments, and behaviour management plans are clear and easy to read. They include detailed plans of how children’s risks will be managed by staff. However, one example has been identified of a known risk not being included in the child’s case record. Although this has not had a negative impact on the child, it is important that staff have the correct information so that they can provide appropriate care.

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

Rewards given to children far outweigh the use of sanctions. However, the recording of sanctions is poor. Sanctions are not restorative in nature and lack any management analysis. Children’s views are also not sought appropriately. This means that it is not clear whether the use of sanctions is fair and appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She is passionate and has an excellent understanding of the children and their needs. She is supported by a stable and committed team of staff who share her vision for the home. This means that the children benefit from consistent staffing arrangements and practices, which provides them with stability and security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is instrumental in changing the lived experiences of children. One child said, ‘When I came to this home it changed my life.’ Another child said, ‘All the staff have been amazing, and I wouldn’t change one thing about the home or the staff. It’s like no other care home I have ever known.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel very supported by the management team and are confident about seeking advice and guidance. One member of staff described the manager as being ‘a fantastic, fair and approachable leader’ who is ‘always looking at ways to support the staff and children to not only achieve but to thrive’. Inspection report children’s home: 2552036 5 The manager ensures that new staff joining the home receive an induction and a structured training programme that is relevant to the individual needs of the children. Training records are kept up to date and identify the type of training completed, as well as when training needs to be reviewed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff, including the registered manager, receive regular supervision. However, some supervision has little focus on the individual needs of the children in the home, and there is no opportunity for reflection on practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has internal auditing processes for monitoring the performance of staff and how the home functions. However, these processes are not always effective. There is a lack of management analysis in some key documents. In addition, there is no mechanism in place for the manager to be assured that the staff have read children’s records when these have been revised. These shortfalls in the home’s monitoring systems hinder the manager’s ability to be assured that the staff are responding appropriately to the changing needs of the children. Inspection report children’s home: 2552036 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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 8 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

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 (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record 8 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2552036 7 confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that children are aware of the complaints procedure, and are able to access the forms and make a complaint without the need to ask staff, in order to protect their privacy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Risk assessments should include all known risks and details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that systems are in place so that all staff,

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Recommendations

including the manager, receive regular supervision so that they can reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2552036 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: One Step Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 43 Bewicke View, Birtley, Chester-le-Street, Durham DH3 1RU

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Inspector

Paula Shepherd, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2552036 9 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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