Children's home run by Impact Childcare and Education

Inspection report for children’s home: 2519081 1 Registered provider: Impact Childcare and Education 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 to five children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2019 and is suitably qualified for the role.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector spoke to all the children who live in the home.

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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 for children’s home: 2519081 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/06/2021 Full Good 03/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/09/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2519081 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are four children living in the home. The children have developed trusting and secure relationships with the staff. Staff looking after them have a shared goal. They want all children in their care to have a positive experience. This helps the children to develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to access health services. Children are up to date with their routine health appointments and they are encouraged to engage with specialist services. Staff educate the children about good health and they support the children to make informed decision about their health. Some children smoke and the staff work well with the children to help them to understand the risks associated with this behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well to engage in their education and they make clear progress. Staff support the children to attend education and the children’s attendance is good. The registered manager and the staff contribute well to the children’s education plans. For children who have completed their education, staff support them to look for employment opportunities. As a result, one child is now in employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of positive experiences, such as going on trips and days out. Staff listen to the children and plan leisure activities with them. All children are given the opportunity to be involved a variety of sports. This is beneficial for the children’s physical and emotional health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to embrace their independence. Staff educate the children on how to keep themselves safe in the community. This allows the children to enjoy a variety of community activities. Because of this, children’s self-esteem and confidence improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with the children’s families. The children are supported well to see their family and friends. The staff ensure that these important relationships are maintained by promoting quality family time. This helps the children to maintain their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a warm and nurturing environment. It is well presented and maintained to a high standard. Children have their own personalised bedrooms, and they are encouraged to take part in gardening. This promotes the children’s positive mental health.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children’s risks and the behaviours that they present. Risk and behaviour management plans provide the staff with clear guidance so that they can identify the triggers that may cause children distress. These plans help the staff to respond to the children appropriately to prevent them from going into crisis. On Inspection report for children’s home: 2519081 4 some occasions, this has helped the staff to divert the children’s attention away from potentially difficult situations. Staff follow the clear strategies to reduce and manage the children’s risks, which helps to keep the children safe.

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

Staff respond appropriately when children are missing from the home. Staff work with professionals and parents to locate the children and return them home safely. Staff ensure that the children have the opportunity to speak to an independent person about their experience when they were missing from the home. This helps the children to understand the risks associate with this particular behaviour.

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

Children are helped to have a safer online presence as the staff help the children to understand the risks and benefits of the internet and mobile phones. Children’s individual risk assessments identify their risk factors. Staff meet with the children to talk about the risk of cyber bullying.

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

Children know how to make complaint. When children do complain, this is taken seriously. However, the managers have failed to provide the outcome of their investigation and action required to one child. This oversight prevents the child from understanding if their complaint has been upheld or not.

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

Staff are suitably trained, skilled and experienced to intervene when children are in crisis. Staff hold children as last resort to prevent them from hurting themselves or others. When children are held, the intervention is for a limited time and the least restrictive method is used. Debriefs are held with the children to ensure that they understand why this was necessary and to gain their views. The managers comment on the appropriateness of the intervention within the agreed timescales. However, the staff do not always receive a debrief following a physical intervention. This is a missed opportunity for the managers to gain the experiences of the staff, and identify any learning from these incidents in a timely manner.

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

Staff use restorative sanctions to help the children to understand that they are accountable for their actions. However, some of these records are not reviewed by the managers in a required timescale. It is also not clear from the records whether the user of the measure, or the child, has been spoken to in the specified timescale. This shortfall has prevented the managers from reviewing the effectiveness of the sanctions used.

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

The inspector’s review of documents shows that there is one serious incident that has not been notified to Ofsted. This failure means that Ofsted is unable to scrutinise the information to ensure that the provider has taken suitable action to keep the children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supported well by a competent and experienced deputy manager, who led the inspection while the manager was on leave. The support provided by the deputy manager to the staff ensures that the quality of care that the children receive remains consistent when the registered manager is away from the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2519081 5 The managers use regular team meetings, supervision sessions and annual appraisals to help them to develop the staff’s care practice. Staff access a good range of training. Some of the training relates to the children’s individual needs. The staff have recently completed training in childhood mental health. This has developed the staff’s understanding of the children’s experiences and how these may impact on the children’s mental health.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the managers. Staff say that they feel valued in their role, and that this helps them to improve the children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The consistent staff team provides a good level of consistent care to the children. When agency staff are required to support with night-time duties, these staff, who have been recruited using safer recruitment processes, are familiar to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The atmosphere of the home is open and relaxed. The managers show a commitment to promote equality and celebrate diversity. They have worked with the staff to create information boards that promote differences and diversity. This has encouraged meaningful conversation between the staff and the children to explore differences in culture and identity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers are committed to making ongoing improvements in the home, and they have addressed all of the requirements and the recommendation made at the last inspection. The managers have a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. These are regularly reviewed to ensure that clear progress is made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2519081 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 prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 15 September

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (1) (3)) 15 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2519081 7 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 15 September

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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: 2519081 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Impact Childcare and Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3-5 Brenkley Way, Blezard Business Park, Seaton Burn, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE13 6DS

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Inspector

Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2519081 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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