Children's Home, Residential special school run by Young Foundations Limited in Northumberland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2607536 1 Registered provider: Young Foundations Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to eight children who experience a range of difficulties, which may include social and/or emotional difficulties. The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

This home is located on the same site as a small independent school that is owned and managed but this provider. The inspector only inspected the children’s home. At the time of the inspection, there were five children living 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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Inspection date: 15 December 2021

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 15 December 2021

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2607536 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At this interim inspection, Ofsted judged that it has sustained effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has undergone a thorough refurbishment. Since the last inspection, a new manager has been appointed and this has led to improvements in various areas. The requirements from the previous inspection have been met and there is a positive work ethos among the staff in the home. This has led to a far more homely and positive environment in which children can progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children are welcomed into the home following a sensitive, well-planned series of introductions and visits. The manager takes the lead and involves staff in this process to support the development of good relationships with children. The management team has made improvements in the quality of the matching assessment process. However, there is no evaluation statement and children are not specifically identified in the assessment. This limits the assessment’s reliability and therefore requires further development.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All children are in some form of education. The manager and staff advocate on behalf of children to ensure that their needs are met. As a result, children’s attendance and participation in education have improved.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff meet children’s general health needs and support them to follow healthy lifestyles through the provision of guidance and education. Children’s complex health needs are met by appropriately trained staff. This ensures that children are supported by a skilled and responsive staff team.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The management of children’s behaviours has significantly improved, with children rarely going missing from the home and a reduction in the need for physical intervention. Staff respond proactively to any incidents of bullying and children understand that bullying will not be tolerated. Individual key-worker sessions take place to support children’s safe care and awareness of the boundaries and expectations as laid out in the children’s guide. However, staff recording of sanctions is not consistently reviewed in a timely manner and the views of children are not always recorded. This limits the manager’s ability to evaluate and learn in order to promote positive behavioural change in children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

When children make allegations against staff, the manager follows the relevant protocols to ensure that sufficient safeguards are put in place to help better protect children. However, records of complaints do not reflect how children are informed of the outcome of allegations. This means that children do not receive assurances that Inspection report children’s home: 2607536 3 their allegations are taken seriously, and that the manager has dealt with the allegation appropriately.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff knowledge of whistle-blowing procedures and safeguarding has improved since the last inspection. The management team provides staff with regular supervisions, team meetings and opportunities to reflect on practice. Staff said that this has resulted in them gaining a greater understanding of their responsibilities towards children. As a result, the quality of care provided to children has improved. Inspection report children’s home: 2607536 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 2607536 5

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(g)(i)(ii)) 28 January 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the recording of sanctions is consistent and that children’s comments and management evaluation are completed and recorded in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that they fully consider the individual needs of the existing group of children when evaluating whether they can respond effectively to a new child’s assessed needs. In particular, the evaluation statement should make reference to each child and conclude with an assessment of the outcome and decision made. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 56, paragraph 11.4) Inspection report children’s home: 2607536 6

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: 2607536 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Young Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7 Grosvenor Street, Chester CH1 2DD

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Inspector

Michael Dack, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2607536 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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