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

Inspection report children’s home: SC458415 1 SC458415 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

This privately owned home provides short breaks for up to six children with a learning disability. The home specialises in looking after children who have an autism spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children staying in the home.

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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 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: SC458415 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2019 Full Good 22/01/2019 Full Outstanding 18/07/2017 Full Outstanding 20/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC458415 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have continued to receive bespoke packages of support during the COVID- 19 pandemic. The care that the children receive meets their specific care needs to ensure that their short-break stays are positive. The manager and her staff work in partnership with parents, carers, and health and educational professionals to ensure that this happens. As a result, targets centred often around personal care and independence skills are put in place and reviewed. This enables the children to make good progress. A parent commented on the planning around her child by saying: ‘It’s been amazing from the beginning; communication is brilliant. The plan for our child was personal and we went over it together; incredibly detailed to meet his needs.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a happy place; photos of the children taking part, enjoying activities and celebrating their achievements are displayed throughout the home. Children have ‘Achievement Albums’ that record their positive experiences when they come to stay. Staff record and monitor the children’s achievements in developing social skills and the steps that they take towards meeting their personal set targets. Children’s key workers often go through these with them. This develops the children’s confidence and supports their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Pictorial notices are evident around the home, helping the children to understand the environment and know each room’s purpose. For example, the notices show the computer suite, arts and crafts room, sensory room and playroom, to name but a few. Their individual bedrooms are prepared in advance with a lovely photo of the child on their door. This enables the children to feel comfortable in their surroundings and have a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to help contribute and understand their short-break plans. Pictorial information and headings in the children’s files provide them with an explanation about their care and support. Staff communicate with the children on a range of topics. These are usually to develop the children’s understanding of socially acceptable behaviour. Unfortunately, recordings in the children’s one-to-one sessions do not always read clearly. They use words and phrases such as ‘inappropriate behaviour’ and ‘an incident last night’, but do not explain. This does not help the children to understand what their behaviour was, or enable the manager to monitor the effectiveness of the work completed by the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff share the children’s short-break experiences with the children’s families via written summaries. However, the lack of detail provided in these hinders the families, carers and the professionals, where relevant, to be able to assess any changes in the children’s behaviour and the consistency of care. The manager has recognised this, and has taken appropriate steps to improve this practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC458415 4

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

Children’s complex needs are consistently met. A thorough approach to planning each individual short-break stay supports safer care. Risk assessments and behavioural support plans are carefully put together following consultation with all relevant parties. The children’s individual risks, triggers and behavioural traits are clearly identified in their care plans to support safe care. This enables the staff to really know the children and helps the staff to promote the children’s welfare.

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

Staffing arrangements are sufficient. This ensures that the children receive good care and support in line with their safe care plans.

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

The environment is spacious and uncluttered, which enables the children to freely explore and enjoy their short-break experience. The children can spend time with their peers, staff or on their own, with staff nearby to respond, should this be required to safeguard the child.

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

Children can express themselves and at times do push the boundaries. The staff consistently address this behaviour so that children learn what is acceptable and what is not. This structure and routine helps the children to settle quickly.

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

Children with complex needs may become unsettled and need support from the staff to become calm. When this does occur, the staff who are suitably trained respond appropriately. The staff effectively use de-escalation techniques and use the strategies identified in each child’s individual care plan. This helps the children to settle quickly and return to a more relaxed state.

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

There is an effective system in place to ensure that the children’s medication is received, stored and administered safely. This ensures that the staff, who are appropriately trained, continue to meet the children’s health needs as required and safely.

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

There has been a consistent approach to staff recruitment to ensure that the staffing levels are maintained and that they provide continuity of care for the children. However, the inspector could not confirm if a reference for one member of staff had been verified. This oversight has the potential to expose the children to the risk of harm. The manager raised this immediately with the human resource section of the provider, to ensure that this was addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced, and she confidently leads her staff. She is supported well by an assistant manager and a staff group who provide consistently good-quality short breaks to children and their families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the manager has continued to be proactive in ensuring that the plans for the children are thorough and effective. She ensures that the needs of the children are gathered from all the relevant professionals and the Inspection report children’s home: SC458415 5 children’s families. This ensures that the plans put together for the children’s short breaks are comprehensive and that relationships are improved through good communication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, training and support. Team meetings demonstrate a thorough overview of the service, where staff discuss a range of topics with the safe care and progress of children at the centre. The manager and the staff plan together to ensure that the children receive a positive experience that is both safe and rewarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Families spoke enthusiastically about the service overall and were consistent in expressing how much the children enjoyed coming for their short-break stays. They spoke about social stories, using pictorial formats that enable the children to feel less anxious. One parent said, ‘They have lots of visual aids and amazing social stories available, and I have used their ideas. I am passing [my child’s] needs over to them and they have a lot more ideas for him.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective internal monitoring and audit processes in place. The care provided to the children is scrutinised by an independent person monthly. Although this person considers the views from the staff, there is no consistency in gaining feedback from the children, their families and the wider professional network. This limits the effectiveness and potential development of the service provided to the children and their families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a safe area assessment in place. It has been put together using a range of sources of evidence. However, although the manager has formally requested up-to-date information from the police, this has not been received. The manager has failed to escalate this missing information from the police. As a result, the assessment is not as effective as it could be.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose and children’s guides are informative. They help the families and the children to understand the arrangements in place for their care, and the steps that they can take if they, or their family, wish to make a complaint. Pictorial formats are used by the staff to explain this to the child. However, the children and their families are not provided with up-to-date information as the information pertaining to the children’s commissioner is out of date. Inspection report children’s home: SC458415 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 recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d) (7)(a)(d)) 31 December Inspection report children’s home: SC458415 7 This relates to ensuring that all the steps are taken to verify both references provided for an applicant before the applicant commences their employment.

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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

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that the independent visitor consistently accesses the views of other professionals on the care provided to children. 31 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff at the short-break setting seek to build relationships with others involved in the child’s care. In particular, the registered person should share comprehensive summaries of the children’s short- break stays to those who are primarily responsible for the child’s overall care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 12, paragraph 2.11)  The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose and children’s guides are updated to reflect the current details for the children’s commissioner. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that one-to-one key-work sessions with the children are clear and avoid all-encompassing terminology to describe an incident or circumstances that led to the session. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the annual review of the location of the short-break provision reflects the current views of others, such as the police and the local authority. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report children’s home: SC458415 8

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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: SC458415 9

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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

Michael Dack, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC458415 10 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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