Children's home run by North East Autism Society in County Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC416136 1 SC416136 Registered provider: North East Autism Society Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to five children who may have learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in September 2012.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 20 September 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC416136 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/01/2022 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Outstanding 05/02/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC416136 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has been supported to move on from the home as part of a planned move to their new home. This was achieved with good advocacy and planning. As a result, they have moved to an environment that better meets their needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from warm and nurturing care provided by a consistent staff team. The children receive lots of praise and encouragement from staff to help them to build their self-esteem. They develop trust in staff, and every aspect of their care is personalised to meet their needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Strong, trusting relationships between staff and children and clear boundaries result in children making good progress. They learn to manage emotions better, gain confidence and feel more settled. Children’s views are sought through individual planned discussions and care reviews. Staff carefully consider the children’s views when developing the children’s care plans.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure that the children keep in touch with the people who are important to them. Staff ensure that the children regularly see their family and friends. The children’s families are warmly welcomed into the home. This helps the children to continue to have positive relationships with their loved ones.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are consistent daily routines in place that help children to process information about their daily activities. This increases their confidence and reduces any anxiety. The children have good school attendance, and learning is actively promoted in the home. As a result, the children’s life chances are improved.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a range of fun activities with staff. The staff take the children on trips and outings to make special memories and have enjoyable experiences together.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to their attend health appointments. Staff promote healthy eating choices and provide guidance to help the children to make nutritious meals and understand the benefits of being active.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and well maintained throughout. Children were seen to be completing household chores with the staff. The children have personalised bedrooms that, with support from staff, were decorated to their taste. All of this contributes to the homely atmosphere, where children feel a sense of belonging.

p.3

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

Staff understand their responsibilities in safeguarding children. Staff who are new to the home complete a detailed induction. All staff have access to ongoing training Inspection report for children’s home: SC416136 4 opportunities to meet children’s needs. This includes safeguarding, internet safety and autism training. This helps the staff to better understand the children’s vulnerabilities and risks.

p.3

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

Risk assessments and care planning documents are individualised for each child and subject to regular review. These documents direct staff to further information to help them to understand the actions that they should take to keep the children safe.

p.4

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

Incidents of concern do not occur often. When they do occur, the incidents are well managed by the experienced staff team. Staff sensitively help children to explore why they might feel angry or upset. Staff understand how best to respond to the children’s needs to keep them safer.

p.4

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

Staff only hold children as a last resort to keep everyone safe. The staff use the children’s preferred communication method to explore their feelings following an incident. The manager evaluates incidents to review their effectiveness and adapt the strategies used. This reflective practice ensures that the staff understand how to best support the children and reduce future incidents.

p.4

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

The manager has oversight of medication practice and completes monthly audits. Medication is stored appropriately and administered in line with children’s plans. This ensures that the children receive their medication in a safe way.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified manager and is supported by an experienced deputy manager. They have been working on an improvement plan since the last full inspection. The manager knows the home’s strengths and weaknesses and there are plans in place to further improve the service.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular reflective supervision from the management team. Staff are provided with opportunities and a safe space to reflect on their practice. This helps them to better understand their roles and responsibilities and develop their practice. Staff say that they value the input and support from the managers.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff understand their responsibilities in safeguarding children. Those who are new to the home complete a detailed induction. There is a clear plan for new staff members to progress to a complete the necessary qualification when they have passed their probationary period.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most of the staff have completed the organisation’s mandatory training. The rota is arranged to ensure that suitably trained staff are available to meet the needs of the children. All staff have access to ongoing training opportunities to ensure they are equipped to meet the needs of children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended and there is an established agenda. They provide an opportunity for the staff to discuss the children’s needs and the effectiveness of the strategies that they use to support the children. However, team meetings do not Inspection report for children’s home: SC416136 5 take place monthly as stated in the provider’s statement of purpose. Therefore, the requirement from the last inspection has not been met. Consequently, this has been reissued.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring has not identified that important information is missing from a child’s file. The manager has not sought to obtain this document from the relevant authority. As a result, the child’s records are incomplete. Inspection report for children’s home: SC416136 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

p.6

Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation (5)(d))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the important documents, such as the looked after child health assessment, are obtained in a timely manner. 1 November 2023

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation (13) (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that team meetings take place monthly in accordance with the home’s statement of purpose. This requirement has been reissued from the previous inspection. 1 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC416136 7

p.6

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: SC416136 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: North East Autism Society

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: North East Autism Society, 15 Lumley Court, Drum Industrial Estate, CHESTER LE STREET, County Durham DH2 1AN

p.8

Inspector

Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC416136 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9