Children's Home run by North East Autism Society in Sunderland

Inspection report children’s home: SC446957 1 SC446957 Registered provider: North East Autism Society 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 provides care for up to four children who may have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2012.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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

Date of last inspection: 3 September 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC446957 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/09/2019 Full Outstanding 27/11/2018 Full Outstanding 20/09/2017 Full Outstanding 28/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC446957 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide the children with good care. The children’s welfare is the staff’s priority. Children respond well and form secure relationships with the staff. This has a positive influence on the children’s experience of living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children have previously had an unhealthy relationship with food. Staff work with the children to enable them to try different types of food and make healthier dietary choices. As a result, children learn about the importance of healthy lifestyles, and some of the children’s diets have improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are registered with all the relevant healthcare providers. Staff support the children to attend appointments and have treatment, and reassure them when they are worried. Recently, the children have received COVID-19 vaccinations. Because of the efforts of the staff team, children are generally fit and healthy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise and promote the importance of education. Staff have supported the children with education and activities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Individualised arrangements are in place, with all three children attending full-time education in school or college. As a result, children are making good progress from their respective starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to stay connected with their family members, which reinforces the children’s sense of identity. For some children, this is a complex matter, which the staff manage sensitively and in the least intrusive way possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The physical environment of the home feels and looks like a family home. However, some of the children’s bedrooms are looking tired cosmetically, and there are several repairs to be completed. This does not provide the children with a warm and welcoming environment. In addition, this does not encourage the children to have high aspirations for their future living environment.

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

Staff recognise when the children are struggling to manage their emotions and are feeling anxious. Staff act on this, and they provide the children with reassurance and support. This helps the children to develop their resilience and to manage situations that may otherwise be challenging for them.

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

Staff are proactive in identifying any potential risks to the children, and they have put in place support to enable the children to keep themselves safe. However, this practice is not always underpinned by good-quality written risk assessments, as these assessments do not detail the child’s current risks. While the current staff team does respond to the children’s known risks and implement the agreed Inspection report children’s home: SC446957 4 strategies, these strategies are not clearly recorded. This hinders unfamiliar staff from understanding what actions they must take to support the children effectively.

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

Children’s behaviour-management plans are detailed and child-centred. They help the staff to understand and respond positively to the children. Effective strategies are in place, such as seeking medical advice and carrying out regular welfare checks following any physical interventions. Consequently, incidents of challenging behaviour have reduced, and the children generally respond positively to the boundaries and expectations.

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

Restraint is only used when other de-escalation methods have failed. Records indicate that the restraints applied were necessary and proportionate to keep the child and others safe.

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

Children living at this home present with behaviours and risks that require limitation on their free time. This is set out clearly in each child’s care plan, which staff understand and implement. Staff support the children to take appropriate risks according to each child’s individual ability. This has helped the children to improve their independence skills.

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good

The registered manager has positive relationships with the children. She is hands- on, and she works directly with the children when there are staff shortages. The need to focus her time on undertaking this work has affected her ability to maintain a satisfactory level of management monitoring. For example, the registered manager has failed to submit the Regulation 45 report (review of quality of care) on time. This hinders the registered manager’s ability to reflect on what has gone well and what needs to be improved.

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good

Some children’s records are not up to date. Inaccurate records lead to confusion and uncertainty for the children. This also affects the registered manager’s ability to provide assurances on the quality of care that the children receive. Furthermore, the lack of organisation with the records means that these cannot be accessed quickly when required.

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good

The registered manager and deputy manager are suitably experienced and qualified. The management team is supported by experienced staff, including some of whom have worked at the home for several years. The stability in the team means that the children receive continuity of care. This helps the children to achieve good outcomes overall.

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good

Staff have regular supervision, and appropriate training is available. Some staff who have been working in the home for longer periods have completed additional training to help them to communicate with children with specific communication needs. This means that the staff are equipped with specific knowledge and skills to offer better care to the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC446957 5 The registered manager and the staff team work well with partner agencies and the children’s families. During this inspection, professionals and the children’s parents provided positive feedback about the care and support that the children receive. Inspection report children’s home: SC446957 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, the 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)) 10 January 2022

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 10 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 10 December Inspection report children’s home: SC446957 7 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (4)(a)) 10 December

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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: SC446957 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North East Autism Society

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: North East Autism Society, 15 Lumley Court, Drum Industrial Estate, Chester le Street, County Durham DH2 1AN

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Inspector

Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC446957 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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