Children's Home run by Resilience North East Limited in Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 1 Registered provider: Resilience North East Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children with emotional and social difficulties, and learning disabilities.

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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 inspectors spoke with both of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 18 and 19 April 2023, the children’s home was judged inadequate as serious and widespread failures were identified in the protection of children and significant breaches in regulations relating to the leadership and management standard. Ofsted issued compliance notices under regulations 10, 12 and 13.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 30 May 2023, a monitoring visit was carried out to review the provider’s response to the compliance notices. The provider demonstrated that they had taken Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 2 appropriate action and made improvements in the quality of management oversight, safeguarding arrangements for children and the administration of medication. Therefore, the compliance notices were met.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The requirements previously issued under regulations 14, 23, 28, 33, 35, 36, 40 and 45 were not reviewed during the monitoring visit and were restated. Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/04/2023 Full Inadequate 07/06/2022 Full Good 21/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 4

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improvement to be good

The provider has made changes in the home and addressed most of the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. The children have benefited from these changes; however, further improvements are still necessary.

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improvement to be good

Children said that they like living in the home. They are mostly settled and have appropriate routines.

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improvement to be good

Some children have made progress, this has not been well documented and evaluated by the manager. The children’s care plans are comprehensive, personalised and detailed; however, the staff’s actions and the children’s goals are not well defined. This means that the staff do not have clear plans to follow, and this may affect the progress that children make.

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improvement to be good

Children have positive relationships with staff. Each child has a nominated key member of staff who completes one-to-one discussions with them. However, these discussions are not regular, they are unstructured and they do not link in with the children’s needs. Also, the sessions are not evaluated, and they do not identify follow-up support or further actions that are needed. This affects the quality of the support that the children receive.

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improvement to be good

The home is spacious and comfortable for the children to enjoy. However, some areas are not well maintained, and staff do not complete regular checks of the home and garden. For example, a bath panel and shower curtain were missing, and there was no soap for handwashing after using the toilet. Some carpets required hoovering, and discarded toys and guttering were left in the garden.

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improvement to be good

The staff keep the kitchen door and the external doors to the enclosed garden locked at all times. This means that the children must ask the staff to unlock the doors, which prevents them from carrying out tasks independently. The manager has not ensured that professionals and parents are aware of this arrangement. He has also not reviewed whether this restriction is proportionate and necessary for all of the children.

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improvement to be good

The children continue to have access to a range of enjoyable activities, including attendance at community groups and trips to theme parks and the cinema. The children are encouraged to make choices according to their individual communication needs. They have individual memory books that include photos of their various activities and trips. Children said that they are looking forward to their summer holiday.

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improvement to be good

Children are well supported to visit their families, including enjoying overnight stays. Staff continue to recognise the value of promoting children’s family relationships. Sometimes, parents visit the children at the home. One parent positively described Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 5 seeing their child as being ‘happy and comfortable’. The parent also said, ‘They [the staff] are person-centred.’

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improvement to be good

The provider has completed a fire risk assessment and has strategies to reduce the risks to the children from fire. However, inspectors found that all the home’s fire extinguishers were stored in a locked cupboard. The provider did not consult with fire experts when relocating and locking away the fire extinguishers.

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improvement to be good

The staff hold the children to prevent children posing a risk to themselves or others. These holds are well documented and are consistently reviewed by the manager, who has a follow-up discussion with those involved. However, the physical intervention training that the staff have received is specifically for older children and does not include the needs of the younger children living in the home. This means that the staff are not confident in using the correct holds, should it be necessary.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are lengthy and cover a wide range of potential risks and vulnerabilities that the children face. They include most of the strategies that staff should follow to reduce risk. However, risk assessments are not carefully reviewed to reflect the changes in children’s needs and the progress that they have made. This impacts on the quality of the information that staff have available.

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improvement to be good

The staff encourage children to behave well, and for some of the children, their behaviour has improved. Staff use consequences to help the children to manage their behaviour. However, they are not consistently applied, regularly reviewed and, in some cases, not recorded.

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improvement to be good

Serious incidents involving children are rare. When they do occur, staff take immediate action to protect the child involved to increase their safety. The manager has reflective discussions with the staff; however, in some examples, actions identified for the staff are not well communicated to the staff team. As a result, improvements in practice are slower to take effect.

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improvement to be good

The provider has ensured that most staff are trained to administer children’s medication and that the manager carries out audits to monitor the medication administration. However, these audits do not consistently identify shortfalls, meaning that some gaps in records are not addressed. This increases the risk of medication errors.

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improvement to be good

Allegations against staff are taken seriously and investigated. Where necessary, action is taken to address poor practice. Staff are reminded regularly about the provider’s whistle-blowing policy and asked to reflect on safeguarding practice during supervision sessions. This helps to promote a positive safeguarding culture. Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 6

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good

The manager has completed a review of care report. Although systems to monitor the quality of care have improved, there are some gaps in the manager’s oversight of the children’s experiences and progress. This means that the manager does not fully understand what the children have achieved, where they need extra support and how the staff need to develop further.

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good

Staffing changes have unsettled the children and undermined the consistency of their care. Some staff have resigned; therefore, there are various vacancies. A recruitment campaign is underway. However, in the meantime, staff from the provider’s other children’s home provide cover.

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good

The manager is child-centred and determined to make further improvements in the home. He is supportive to the staff and he has created a more positive working environment where staff feel motivated to work together as a team. Staff continue to speak positively about the leadership in the home.

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good

Staff receive reflective practice-related supervision from the manager or deputy manager. Discussions include safeguarding, children’s needs and staff’s well-being. A written record is completed, which provides an overview of discussions and agreed actions. In some examples, staff suggestions were not progressed by the manager.

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good

The provider has not ensured that the home’s statement of purpose is revised in accordance with regulations and sent to Ofsted. The statement of purpose does not include all the required information, for example, details of the staff’s experience and their qualifications.

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good

Feedback from the children’s parents and professionals is mainly positive. The manager and staff attend meetings and share information about the children’s needs. The quality of communication is mostly effective; however, there are some occasions when parents and professionals have not received information in a timely manner.

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good

Record-keeping has improved; however, this is an area that needs further work. An electronic case file system has been implemented, which has helped to ensure that significant events and the children’s day-to-day lives are better documented. It has also improved management oversight. However, some records lack detail and do not clearly demonstrate what staff aim to achieve and the positive effect on the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 20 September Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 8 The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(c)) 6 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 20 September

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult; 20 September Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 9 provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(vi)(vii)(c)(i)(ii)(d))

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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. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)) 20 September

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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 within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 20 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. 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)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should decide what each review of care should focus on. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 10 for the next 6 months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: 1248773 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Resilience North East Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fellingate Care Centre, Fox Street, Felling, Gateshead NE10 0BD

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Inspectors

Catherine Heron, Social Care Inspector Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1248773 12 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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