Children's Home run by Right-Trak Limited in Northumberland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 1 Registered provider: Right-Trak 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 up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties, autism spectrum disorder or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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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: 2530253 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/06/2021 Full Good 12/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are welcomed into the home following a thorough and well-planned introduction. Before they move in, they visit the home and meet the other children. The manager provides the children with a personalised, child-friendly, age- appropriate welcome guide. This enables the children to become familiar with the home and helps them to settle in quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children have successfully transitioned to their identified school. The staff support them to attend, so all the children have made steady progress. The manager and staff maintain particularly good levels of communication with the school leads. In particular, the staff share information about the emotional presentation of the children. This helps the education staff to be proactive in identifying any areas of additional support that the children may require. A professional said, ‘I have never worked with a children’s home that has been so hot on recording and sharing of information.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical and emotional health needs are met. The in-house clinical psychologist provides staff with weekly consultations which enable them to reflect on their practice and support them to develop strategies to help the children. Children are also supported to attend individual sessions with the psychologist. These sessions help the children to explore and understand their emotions and equip them to manage their feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views, wishes and feelings on a range of topics are taken into consideration. The children identify the activities, menus and any developments that they think the home would benefit from during the weekly ‘chatterbox.’ This system is embedded in the ethos of the home as a way of ensuring that the voice of the child is heard. Staff also spend time with the children. They talk to the children about their emotional well-being and how they can manage their responses when they are upset.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusted and respectful relationships with a nurturing staff team. The staff support the children to follow consistent routines so that they know what to expect. The children feel at ease and comfortable in their home, and they seek out support from the staff when needed. This is because the children have developed positive relationships with the staff through taking part in shared activities and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities in the community and they have enjoyed holidays. They have attended a Premier League football match, joined local football clubs and gyms, taken part in a city break and enjoyed the spacious garden with the huge trampoline. These activities support the children to be active and help them to Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 4 enjoy a range of positive experiences, which promotes their emotional and physical development.

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

Children’s well-written care plans include their individual risks and relevant behaviours. They are updated as live documents and reviewed and audited each month. This means that the staff record and review patterns of behaviour and triggers. This enables them to plan and record effective strategies which protect the children from harming themselves and others.

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

Children are supported well by staff who are trained in the provider’s preferred de- escalation and physical intervention model of practice. Incidents that require the children to be physically held have significantly reduced. The children and staff have a debrief following the incident, and the manager and staff maintain detailed and well-written records of the event and the follow-up work. This practice supports risk management and ensures that the emotional well-being of all is prioritised.

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

The number of incidents of children going missing from the home is low. When these do occur, there is a proactive coordinated response that includes a range of professionals. The manager and staff actively search the local communities and talk with the children’s families, police and education professionals. As a result, the time that the children are away from the home and may be at risk of harm is significantly reduced.

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

Allegations against staff are reported immediately to the appropriate agencies. The manager ensures that these incidents are fully investigated. There are good lines of communication with all relevant parties, and the required safeguarding procedures are followed to ensure that the children are safe. This supports good safe care for the children.

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

Staff recruitment is carefully managed in accordance with safer recruitment procedures. Additional questions are explored with candidates when gaps are identified in the information that has been provided. This helps to prevent unsuitable people from being employed to care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is skilled and knowledgeable about the provider’s therapeutic model of care. This supports her vision, and the ethos of the home, in providing the children with a nurturing positive environment in which they make progress. The staff are supported and trained to develop their knowledge. This means that the children receive consistent care from a skilled staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic and committed to her role. This has enabled her to maintain a good level of consistent care to the children since the last full inspection. This is despite the high turnover of staff. Although comments from the staff and external professionals indicate a level of stability has returned, the manager and the Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 5 responsible individual are aware of the potential disruption that the turnover of staff may cause for the children. Together, they recognise that this is an area for further review and evaluation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a thorough and comprehensive audit and monitoring tool in place. This supports her understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. Additionally, external monitoring takes place by the independent visitor and this is well received by the manager. This level of scrutiny, and forward- thinking approach, has improved the quality of care that the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

High-quality, monthly children’s summary reports keep the children’s social workers up to date. These colourful and child-centred reports, completed by the manager and staff, provide a comprehensive overview of the experiences and progress of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that the staff are well supported through regular supervision sessions and purposeful team meetings. These systems enable the staff to reflect on their practice and the outcomes for children. The children’s safeguarding arrangements, experiences and progress are central to these discussions, which are evaluative and well recorded. Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they monitor and review the patterns and trends of the turnover of staff and be able to understand and, where possible, address any negative trends. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 54, paragraph 10.19)

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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: 2530253 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Winovation, Houghtons Yard, Shields Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE6 2YP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Melanie Spriddell

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Inspector

Michael Dack, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 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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