Children's home run by Active Young People Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 1 Registered provider: Huntercombe Young People Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care and accommodation for children who have a learning and/or physical disability. The home offers long-term residential placements and short-break services for up to nine children.

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Information about this children’s home

This home has previously been registered with a different provider. The previous reports are available on the Ofsted website.

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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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 2

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Inspection type Inspection judgement

Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 3

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff. This is because staff know and understand them well. Although the children do not use verbal communication as their primary communication method, staff use non-verbal skills to ensure that they seek children’s views and opinions. This means that children are involved in decisions about their care and support. For example, children are able to express their preferences with regard to who supports them with their personal care.

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improvement to be good

Staff mostly understand how to meet children’s physical and emotional health needs. When appropriate, they work with other agencies and health professionals to ensure that children can access the services that they need. However, for one child, staff’s failure to adhere to a specific health care plan caused harm to the child. As a result, the child experienced an unplanned move from the home.

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improvement to be good

Children make progress in education. Staff encourage children to attend school daily, stressing the importance of continual learning. When children have not been in school for a long time, they are supported to return in a structured way in order to help them to grow in confidence and recognise their achievements.

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improvement to be good

The home is welcoming and well-maintained. The physical environment incorporates children’s specialist equipment while remaining homely. These conditions help the children to feel valued, which supports their self-esteem.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to celebrate their differences. For example, they have participated in events such as Halloween, Ramadan, and Remembrance Sunday. This helps the children to accept and appreciate different cultures.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy a variety of individual and group activities. They benefit from using the sensory room in the home, which they find both stimulating and relaxing. With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, children are able to attend community events. Staff ensure that they photograph these occasions in order to build positive memories for children of their time living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s needs and risks are not always fully assessed prior to their admission to the home. For one child, this meant that the staff did not have the skills required to meet the child’s complex needs or act in line with the child’s specific care plan. This placed the child at risk of harm. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 4 Children’s risk assessments and health plans are not always reviewed in line with the organisation’s policy. These documents are not signed and dated. When body maps are recorded, they lack independent scrutiny. Furthermore, the storage and organisation of children’s records mean that these may not accurately reflect the care children receive, or if this was delivered consistently or in line with their plans. This shortfall does not promote children’s safety and welfare and means that the manager is unable to fully review staff practice.

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improvement to be good

The manager follows safer recruitment checks in respect of verifying references, disclosure and baring service checks and confirming identity. However, any noted gaps in employment history are not always explored. This means that the manager cannot be confident in the suitability of all staff to work with children.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete regular health and safety checks, and the children participate in regular fire drills. This means staff are confident that children are able to exit the home safely in the event of a fire.

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good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has left the home. A new manager is in post and has applied to register with Ofsted. The manager has a clear vision for the home with a good retention plan. However, this is not yet fully embedded to evaluate the impact.

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good

There are some discrepancies in staff recordings in children’s case files that mean that the manager is not always able to ensure that staff consistently deliver individual care and support for children as detailed in their care plans. The manager recognises this shortfall and is taking action to address this. However, it is too early to assess the impact of these changes.

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good

The manager has internal monitoring systems in place to review the development of the service and how the service meets children’s needs. However, these are not effective. The manager does not always complete regular audits to examine key care planning documents. As a result, some of these documents are not up to date. In addition, these documents do not always reflect accurately children’s day- to-day care and experiences. This lack of management oversight prevents the manager from effectively reviewing the quality of care that children receive.

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good

Staff say that they receive good support from their colleagues and managers. They benefit from regular team meetings that are also learning opportunities, and training courses for staff reflect children’s complex needs. However, not all staff receive regular formal supervision. This prevents staff reflecting on their practice and managers from identifying and addressing shortfalls in staff practice.

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good

The manager works closely with social workers and other professionals. The positive relationships between services mean that their communication is effective and that children receive the help that they need. One professional commented Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 5 that staff are ‘in tune’ with the children’s needs. This reflects the quality of care the staff provide. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 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 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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)) 31 December 2021

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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)) 31 December 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 31 December 2021 Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 7 promotes their welfare.

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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))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 31 December 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 31 December 2021

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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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 31 December 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, as set out in regulations 31 to 33, they maintain good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 8 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 for children’s home: 2624223 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Huntercombe Young People Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Morton House, Morton Road, Darlington DL1 4PT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Maureen Richardson

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Inspectors

Evelyn Chafota, Social Care Inspector Deb Duffy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2624223 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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