Children's home run by Newcastle City Council

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033645 1 SC033645 Registered provider: Newcastle City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated and managed by a local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to six children with physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities. One child may reside in the home and five children may stay under short-break arrangements.

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Information about this children’s home

There are 47 children using the service. One young person lives in the home and there were three children on a short-break stay during the inspection. The inspectors observed the children and their interactions with staff at different times over the two days.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2017.

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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

Date of last inspection: 13 and 14 June 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A full inspection was carried out on 13 and 14 June 2022, which identified serious failings in respect of the quality of safeguarding of children. In response to these Inspection report for children’s home: SC033645 2 failings, Ofsted issued the provider with three compliance notices under regulations 12, 13 and 14.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The compliance notices required the provider to address the failures.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was carried out on 2 August 2022 to review the provider’s response to the compliance notices. The inspectors found that the provider had taken appropriate action and met all of the steps of the notices. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033645 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/06/2022 Full Inadequate 01/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/10/2019 Full Outstanding 04/10/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC033645 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s stays are well planned and co-ordinated based on each child’s needs. The management team carefully assess which children can stay and the staff and resources needed. The manager prioritises the quality of children’s experiences over the number of children who can stay in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff prepare the home for each child. This involves consideration of their individual needs and personalising their bedrooms. Redecoration of the bedrooms is sensitively managed around the children’s stays. Further improvements have been made to the garden, increasing the outside options available to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Observations of the children, some of whom are non-verbal, suggest that they are happy and settled. The children have positive relationships with the staff. These relationships help the children to feel comfortable and secure. One child arrived at the home in tears after school, but as soon as they saw their key worker they beamed big smiles and appeared happy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communication with families and other services is good. Families value the service and the ongoing advice and support that they receive from staff. One parent said that attending the service had ‘done wonders’ for their child. Families and professionals say that children’s self-confidence and social skills have increased. The staff support children to make progress towards targets that reflect their needs and abilities. Achievements are acknowledged and celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities. The staff support them to access new experiences. The staff have made links with community resources that give children the chance to engage with music and art projects. The staff understand children’s routines and children have opportunities to have quiet time, as well as taking part in outings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to attend school. Sometimes, this includes providing transport. The staff liaise closely with children’s education provision to share relevant information about the child’s well-being and their stay. Targets are shared between school and the home; this consistency helps children to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote children’s health needs and liaise with relevant experts. Children’s nutrition and hydration plans are clear. The administration of medication is well managed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consulted about what they want to do in their day, and they are communicated with in a way that suits their needs. The staff help the children to understand their routine, such as knowing what is ‘now’ and ‘next’. Children’s views are regularly sought; their ideas have been incorporated into improvements to the home and garden. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033645 5 Referrals for advocacy are made. However, when these are not progressed, the manager does not escalate the issue in a timely manner. This resulted in one child waiting too long for an advocate.

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

The quality of safeguarding practice has continued to improve. There is good evidence that the provider has not become stagnant in addressing the issues from the previous inspection and instead, they have learned from previous experiences and made changes to practice.

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

There was an effective response to a child having unexplained bruising, which helped that child to be safe. Staff demonstrated the correct use of body maps.

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

Evidence from interview questions and team meetings demonstrates continued commitment to ensuring good safeguarding practice.

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

Serious incidents involving children are rare. The staff manage these situations well. There are now systems in place to ensure that risk management plans are reviewed after each stay so that they reflect any changes to a child’s needs.

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

The staff follow children’s night-time care plans, and improvements have been made to how this is recorded. This ensures that children receive appropriate supervision and checks while they sleep.

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

Behaviour support plans provide details about how children may respond to a variety of situations, and the child’s likes and dislikes. However, they do not specifically set out the strategies that staff should follow. Inspectors found that information is spread across different documents, and is sometimes duplicated and inconsistent. Linking this to two incidents, it is not clear how the staff have followed plans. This means that neither the manager nor the staff can be certain that children’s behaviour is being consistently or effectively managed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a change to the management team. A new deputy has been appointed. The team works well together, sharing managerial responsibilities and providing support to the staff. The registered manager and the staff team have taken steps to build on the improvements that were identified in the monitoring visit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale has improved, and the staff are positive about the changes to practice. Practice-related supervision takes place regularly, and has a set agenda that includes discussions around children’s progress and safeguarding. The staff have received specific training to meet the children’s individual needs. This means that staff have a better understanding of children’s complex needs and vulnerabilities and how to respond to them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033645 6 The quality of children’s records continues to improve, and files have been reviewed and updated. A system is in place that enables the manager to be sure that the staff have familiarised themselves with any amendments to children’s plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and the staff have worked hard to ensure that meeting notes, such as looked after reviews, strategy meetings and assessments, are now included in children’s files. However, the staff are not consistent in recording steps that they have taken to support children. This means that there are gaps in records and that children’s experiences cannot be analysed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033645 7

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(b)(iii)) 27 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(c) (2)(a)(i)) 4 November 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC033645 8

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC033645 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Newcastle City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Newcastle Civic Centre, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8QH

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Inspectors

Laura Grundy, Social Care Inspector Catherine Heron, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033645 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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