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 operated by a private organisation. It may provide care for up to two children who have emotional and social difficulties and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a manager who registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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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

13/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are welcomed into the home sensitively and have planned introductions to meet staff and other children. This supports children to start to develop relationships at an early stage. Children describe having trusting relationship with adults who care for them. This supports children to make progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with family and friends. Family time is promoted for children in line with their care plan as well as their wishes and feelings. Staff develop a positive dialogue with parents and make suitable arrangements. This supports children to maintain links with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children need extra support to attend school consistently. Staff work closely with schools and social workers to address any issues. Staff also work creatively with children and introduce incentives to support them back into education. When children are not attending school, staff offer educational activities while pursuing alternative options for learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to attend health appointments. When children decide not to attend their appointments, staff have discussions with children to help them understand why this is important. Staff actively discourage children from smoking or misusing substances, and they make referrals for extra support from health professionals. Children said they have reduced the frequency of their substance misuse while living in the home. Children are educated to learn how to make healthier life choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to discuss their views with staff in regular house meetings or during their daily care. Children said they feel staff listen to them, and they understand how to make a complaint if they wish to. This helps to make children feel that their views and wishes are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The property is well furnished, and children contribute to how spaces in the home are used. One child has a computer station set up centrally in the home to involve others in their activities. Children each have an en-suite bedroom, and they are supported by staff to keep their spaces clean and tidy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home uses a door alarm and camera that captures when children leave the home. This is in place without a written policy to describe how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of children living in the home. Managers have not sought consent from children’s placing authorities. It is unclear whether professionals and children are aware of this intrusive surveillance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children experience unplanned endings to their placement. Managers have made decisions to move children from the home when it is clear they cannot meet Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 4 their needs. This means that not all children experience a planned and supported move.

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

Children’s risks are known to staff. When there is a serious incident, staff work with children to help them understand the risks to their well-being. Individual support sessions take place with children regularly. This supports children to focus on important aspects of their lives, such as developing their independent living or reducing substance misuse. This helps children to understand how to make positive decisions and be safer.

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

Staff are skilled in de-escalating children’s negative behaviours. There have been no physical interventions in the home since the last inspection. Staff are trained to work with children, focusing on positive behaviours. Children are encouraged to make amends rather than having consequences imposed on them. Staff help children to reflect on the impact of their behaviour. This helps them to make better decisions.

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

Staff maintain professional relationships to ensure that those involved with the children understand their day-to-day care needs. Social workers said the staff keep them informed of any changes or concerns and that they respond well to children’s risks.

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

Children’s risk assessments are detailed and provide information to staff about children’s risks, behaviours and vulnerabilities. However, some sections of their plans are not personalised to meet the children’s individual needs. Consequently, staff do not always know how to address certain risks for children. For example, there are no clear actions for staff about how they should work with children to reduce instances of them smoking in their bedrooms.

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

Leaders and managers have not made it clear what actions they expect staff to take when children go missing from home. The home has a missing-from-home policy but the actions that staff should follow are not reflected in the children’s individual care plans. Despite this, staff respond effectively when children go missing. Staff will look for the child, report them missing to the police and keep the local authority and parents updated. The staff welcome children when they return home and ensure that return home interviews take place. These arrangements help staff to understand the risks posed to children when they are missing from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced, permanent manager. The home has a stable team of staff that describes feeling well supported by leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers know the children well. They understand that progress can be different for each child and how to access support when needed. Managers Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 5 monitor children’s progress and regularly review the quality of care provided. This supports children to continue to make progress from their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision from managers. This allows them to reflect on their practice and how they contribute to meeting the needs of children in their care. Staff receive annual appraisals to formally assess their fitness to conduct their role and consider future development. This means staff performance is a priority for managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor also has responsibility for completing the manager’s supervision. This may impact on the independent visitor’s impartiality when completing their monthly report for the home. The content of supervision does not focus on the safety and progress of children, or the development of the service. Leaders and managers were not aware of this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers complete an assessment when a child is moving into the home. The assessment considers whether staff have the right skills to meet a child’s needs alongside those of the other children living in the home. This helps to ensure that the home is effective in meeting the competing needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have not kept the home’s statement of purpose up to date to accurately reflect the care provided in the home. Details related to staffing, qualifications and the model of care had not been updated. This does not provide stakeholders, children or their families with access to important information about the care provided by the home. 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, The 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 in the given timescales.

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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)(a)(b) (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.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and was not fully met. 28 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

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 in 28 days of the revision. 28 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 7 (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 28 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint, at the registered provider’s expense, a person (“the independent person”) to visit and report on the children’s home carried on by the registered provider.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), the registered provider may not appoint the following as an independent person—

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Requirement Due date

a person involved in preparing the care plan of any child placed at the home, or a person responsible for managing or supervising that person;

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Requirement Due date

which the registered provider considers to give rise to doubts about that person’s impartiality (for the purposes of producing the independent person’s report – see regulation 44).

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider becomes aware of a potential conflict of interest in relation to the independent person before or during the independent person visiting the home (see regulation 44), the registered provider must—

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Requirement Due date

make arrangements to cancel the visit without delay; and

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Requirement Due date

appoint a different independent person to visit the home. (Regulation 43 (1) (3)(c) (7)(a)(b)) 28 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there are systems in place so that all the staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision so that they can reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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 9

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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

Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 10 regulates and 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 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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