Children's home run by Outdoor Care Limited Assurance visit report: 2587132 4

Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 1 Registered provider: Outdoor 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 an independent provider. The home provides care for two children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager and the service registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 3

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improvement to be good

Progress for children is mixed, as the manager has failed to assess and match all the children’s competing needs effectively. The manager has not been provided with up- to-date information about the children, and they do not agree with the strategies, which involve children’s ‘free time’ in the community. However, the manager has failed to escalate and challenge this with the local authority. Subsequently, the assessment of the children’s competing risks and the staff’s ability to manage the children’s behaviours are not fully considered. Consequently, children struggle to make progress.

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improvement to be good

Not all children attend school or an alternative education provision. The manager and staff work with the headteacher of the virtual school, schools and social workers to support the children to return to education. However, the staff do not consistently encourage children to take part in home schooling to provide structure and routines in which children can learn. This leaves children unoccupied and disadvantaged socially and academically compared to their peers.

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improvement to be good

All children are registered with local health agencies, and appointments are made for them to attend. However, children do not attend all of their appointments. The staff talk to the children to encourage attendance, and they cover specific areas, such as health, on a regular basis. However, the staff do not promote or encourage the children to take part in any smoking-cessation programmes or address this behaviour with children who smoke in the home. This oversight compromises the health and safety arrangements for everyone in the home and limits the promotion of good health and well-being of children.

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improvement to be good

Children are given advice and support during their introductions into the home. The staff communicate with the children positively. This has helped some children form good relationships with the staff. A child said, ‘Everything is great. I get my own freedom and time to myself if needed. Staff are great, and they help me to calm down when I need to. I love it.’

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improvement to be good

There have been mixed outcomes for some children since the last inspection. This has resulted in the staff supporting some children to move out of the home prematurely. Staff stay in touch and offer ongoing support to children who have moved out of the home. This promotes children’s resilience and a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to spend time with their families. When disruption or a breakdown in relationships occur, the staff encourage and support the families to re- engage. The family and professionals involved spoke positively about the support provided by staff when supporting family time. This helps children to maintain a sense of belonging and identity. Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 4

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans are comprehensive; however, these plans are not individualised to the children’s bespoke needs. This oversight prevents children from receiving personalised care to promote their welfare.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always identify and support the children to manage their risks safely in the community, and boundaries such as getting children up and engaged in their education and respecting boundaries such as smoking are not consistently applied. There are clear strategies to support risk reduction for children when they go missing from the home. However, when the children spend lengthy periods of time in the community, the staff do not know where the children are or what they are doing. This exposes children to the risk of harm and exploitation.

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improvement to be good

When risks for the children are identified, the staff work well with the local authority safeguarding professionals and the police. The sharing of information is proactive. This supports the reduction of potential harm to children.

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improvement to be good

A social worker said: ‘The staff have done everything that we have asked, and communication has been really good with me.’

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good

The manager is supported by a stable staff team that is committed to caring for children. The manager and staff spoke positively about the children. The staff spoke collectively about feeling supported by one another and the management.

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good

The manager is responsible for ensuring that the quality of care provided to children is evaluated alongside the provider’s preferred model of care. However, this is not clear in the assessment of the progress and experience that children have. This does not, therefore, support and identify the improvements required in the care of children and the development of the home.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision. However, the manager was unable to provide a copy of his last supervision record to confirm that this had taken place in line with commitments identified in the home’s statement of purpose. This does not provide a positive message of safe and secure recording systems.

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good

The manager has failed to provide Ofsted with a copy of their updated statement of purpose. This oversight prevents Ofsted from scrutinising the operation of the home to ensure that it remains compliant with its own registration.

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good

The majority of staff are qualified. They access a range of online training which supports their understanding of the children’s needs. Face-to-face training covering Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 5 childhood trauma was well received by staff. This supports the staff’s awareness of children’s presenting behaviours.

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good

The leadership and management team ensures that team meetings take place. The records of these meetings are detailed and provide a good overview of the children’s day-to-day events relating to their safety and well-being. They also provide a platform for the staff to safely discuss any practice issues so that they can continue to improve on the consistency of care provided for children. However, team meetings have not taken place consistently or been rearranged in a timely manner. This limits the ability of staff to be able to reflect and consolidate their practice during specifically challenging times. Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that the decision- making that takes place regarding the children spending time in the community with their peers during education hours is challenged. 27 July 2022

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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)(2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that the children’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans are personalised and clearly represent the children’s individual needs. 27 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 7 The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii)(x) (b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that the children are provided with, and encouraged to participate in, a structured program of education in the home when they are waiting for a formal education placement to be identified. 27 July 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v) (b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that the staff maintain clear boundaries and expectations about smoking for the children and that they promote positive routines for the children. 27 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 8 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;

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)) 27 July 2022

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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.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out on the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that when they complete an impact risk assessment for a child that moves into the home, that the risk assessment suitably evaluates and considers all of the child’s known risks and emerging needs, and evaluates how these may impact the children who already live in the home. 27 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 27 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 9 keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help the children to understand, and where necessary, work with the children to change the child’s harmful behaviours in key areas of their health and well-being, such as drugs, alcohol and tobacco. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)  The registered person should ensure that the staff are provided with regular team meetings. This enables the team to discuss the quality of care for all children living in the home. The manager must lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. They should also play a key role in shaping the ethos of the home through developing a culture of high aspirations for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52,

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Recommendations

paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that the review of the quality of care provided by the home evaluates the experiences of children living there and evaluates the impact the care is having on improving the outcomes for the children. If referring to the provider’s preferred model of care, the registered person should ensure that this is linked to the outcomes for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.2)

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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 for children’s home: 2587132 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Outdoor Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 1PP

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Inspector

Michael Dack, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 11 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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