Children's home run by Compass Children’s Homes North East Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2688909 1 Registered provider: Artemis Support Limited

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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 a private provider. The home can provide care for up to four children who have emotional and social difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection since the home was registered in October 2022. The manager was also registered in October 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke with both children during the inspection.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2688909 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in this home. They said that they are happy, feel safe and would not change anything about the home. There are trusting relationships between the staff and the children because the staff understand the needs of the children well. The strength of the home is the relationships that the staff have with the children. One parent said, ‘I am so impressed. I have no worries whatsoever with the level of care afforded to [Name of child]’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well with their education. When a child is excluded from school, the staff provide the child with structured learning. This helps the child to make continued progress with their education. One education professional said, ‘The progress [Name of child] has made is a testament to the structure of the relationships and routines in the home’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s health is prioritised well, and staff have a good oversight of children’s healthcare needs. The staff support one child to attend medical appointments, which the child had previously declined to attend. The child’s social worker said, ‘It was amazing they [staff] have achieved this, because it is a life skill [Name of child] will need’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to participate in a wide variety of activities. This helps the children to develop their social skills and learn new talents. Where possible, the staff include the children’s brothers or sisters to attend activities. This helps the children to maintain and develop relationships with family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff create short stories that describe social situations for the children. This helps the children to better understand the world around them. However, the staff do not have information about one child’s birth parent. This prevents the staff from fully supporting the child to understand their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have access to a children’s guide, which is available in two formats. One is a printed document, and the other is a talking book. However, the printed version is lengthy and contains some misleading language. The talking book also contains some errors. These shortfalls prevent the children from having access to up-to-date and accurate information that they may require.

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

Staff know the risks that the children face. The children’s risk assessments are updated regularly. These contain clear strategies that support the staff to help them to keep the children safer. When an incident happens in the home, the staff are quick to provide physical and emotional support to a child. This minimises the risk of harm because staff know the children and their needs well. Inspection report for children’s home: 2688909 3 Staff use physical interventions to help to keep the children safe. The staff usually guide the children rather than hold them. Staff always speak with the child after an incident. This helps the child to understand that the staff are acting in this way to keep them safe. However, on one occasion, a child’s bedroom door was locked by a staff member to help to keep the child safe when an incident was occurring in the home. This was addressed by the registered manager with the staff member to

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

The registered manager acts swiftly when a child makes an allegation. This helps to keep children safe. The registered manager ensures that investigations are completed promptly. Children are helped to understand the outcome of any allegations they make. The registered manager supports the child and staff to repair relationships when necessary. This helps maintain trusting relationships.

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

Children do not go missing from home. However, there is a clear risk assessment in place for each child in the event that this situation arises.

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

The registered manager evaluates how he and the staff team can meet and manage a child’s known needs before they move into the home. However, the registered manager did not evaluate one known risk about a child when considering their compatibility. This oversight prevented the staff from implementing a strategy to reduce the likelihood of this known risk occurring.

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

The provider operates a safer recruitment process. However, the registered manager does not have oversight of whether any gaps in an applicant’s employment history have been explored. Instead, this responsibility lies with the provider’s human resources department. This prevents the registered manager from being satisfied that all the required checks are made before the staff start caring for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is committed to making sure that children receive good- quality care. He is supported well by the deputy manager. The registered manager has a strong presence in the home and divides his time well between performing his managerial duties and spending time with the children. He is realistic about the areas that need to be developed, and he continuously seeks ways to improve the operation of the home. This ensures that the children continue to receive a good level of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and reflective supervision. These sessions consider the needs of each individual child, the performance and practice of the staff member, the staff member’s training needs and areas for continued development. The registered manager provides opportunities for staff’s professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager does not have written consent from the children’s placing authorities to use door alarms on children’s bedroom doors. This oversight prevents a child’s social worker from being satisfied that the use of such monitoring systems is necessary and proportionate. Inspection report for children’s home: 2688909 4 Children who access their records may feel stigmatised or struggle to understand some of the information held about them in its current format. Some of the language used by the staff in the written documents does not reflect the child- friendly language that is used in the home on a day-to-day basis. The registered manager recognises this, and he is addressing record-keeping with the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While the registered manager has an auditing system in place, this does not consistently and effectively identify shortfalls contained in the children’s records. Furthermore, some of the children’s documents do not effectively track and monitor the progress that the children make. This means that the opportunity to identify areas where children could further develop are missed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2688909 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have fully considered what impact any new child moving into the home may have on the existing group of children. This should also include how the risks associated with those children already living in the home may impact on the new child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4).  The registered person should ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, the registered person should be satisfied that any gaps in an applicant’s employment history have been suitably explored and understood. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing at the time of placement. This specifically relates

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Recommendations

to alarms on children’s bedroom doors. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that statutory documents containing information about a child, inform targets to help a child to make progress. In particular, the children’s records should effectively track and monitor the progress that children make. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is age-appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure they

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Recommendations

understand it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  The registered person should ensure that the staff understand the importance of carrying out life-story work or other direct work with the children. In particular, the registered person should ensure that information about a child’s birth family is requested from the child’s placing local authority, to help the staff to support the child to understand their identity. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, pages 16, paragraph 3.14) Inspection report for children’s home: 2688909 6

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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: 2688909 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Artemis Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Queens Lane, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 1RN

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Inspector

Julia Hagan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2688909 8 inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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