Children's Home run by Ashdown Care Homes Limited in Gateshead

Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 1 Registered provider: Ashdown Care Homes Limited 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 three children with learning disabilities, sensory impairment or drug and alcohol dependence.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There was one child living at the home at the time of this inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

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

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 17 October 2022

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/10/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 3

p.2

improvement to be good

One young person has lived in the home since it was registered and is now 18 years old. The progress from their starting point has been positive, although their experience of living in the home is variable. This is because managers do not deliver consistently good help and protection.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff can put restrictions in place with the young person, as there is a court order allowing them to do so. However, a copy of the order is not in the young person’s file. This means that staff could be applying the incorrect restrictions as the instructions in the court order are not accurately outlined in the young person’s care plan and risk assessment.

p.3

improvement to be good

The young person is making progress in education and has good school attendance. Staff support the young person by transporting them to and from school each day. Staff and school professionals work well together and have a communication book to provide regular updates. This ensures that all those involved in the young person’s care have up-to-date information about their daily experiences and progress.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff support the young person to stay connected with their family members. The family spends time in the home and in the community with the young person to enjoy shared experiences. Photos of the young person engaging in activities and positive experiences with staff and family are displayed throughout the home. This helps the young person maintain positive familial relationships.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff work with the young person to prepare them for their next steps. This includes staff supporting the young person to develop basic life skills. The young person’s move to adult living is being prepared so that staff can support a positive experience of moving on from the home.

p.3

improvement to be good

The behaviour support plan is that when the young person is in crisis, staff lock themselves in an office to provide some distance between them and the young person. Staff continue to follow this plan even when the young person is heard to hit their body against the door, which could result in injury. The staff’s recording of these incidents includes insensitive language to describe the young person’s behaviours. The registered manager does not review these records, and therefore staff continue to respond in the same way.

p.3

improvement to be good

Not all the staff are trained to safely hold the young person when they are in crisis. There has been one occasion when staff held the young person. The record of this is detailed, and staff provide information of how they tried to de-escalate the situation Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 4 before it escalated further. However, staff did not receive a debrief to reflect on what happened and for the manager to have oversight of the incident.

p.3

improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have assessed that it is not safe for staff to restrain the young person when they present a risk to themselves or others. This means that staff do not follow the provider’s behaviour management policy to manage risks to the young person.

p.4

improvement to be good

Risk assessments provide information about the young person’s behaviours and vulnerabilities, although they lack detail about how staff will safeguard the young person from harm. Furthermore, managers do not ensure that the risk assessment is reviewed to make sure that the risks to the young person are managed safely.

p.4

improvement to be good

There has been one incident of the young person going missing. On this occasion, the registered manager and staff did not follow the young person’s safety plan. This led to delays in staff alerting the police to help them locate and safely return the young person home. Staff asked for an interview to take place with an independent person. However, this did not take place until two months after the missing episode. This prevented conversations with the young person from taking place in a timely way to support them.

p.4

improvement to be good

Consequences are used in the home. These are not effective, as staff do not link them to the young person’s behaviour, and there are incidents when the staff implement a consequence on the following day. This hinders the young person from understanding and learning the impact their behaviour has on others.

p.4

good

Leaders and managers have not provided staff with the training required to safely meet the needs of the young person. This relates to physical intervention training, which may be required if the young person needs support while they are in the community. Furthermore, one member of staff has not achieved the required qualification to work in a children’s home. Leaders and managers are aware of this shortfall and are taking steps to redeploy the member of staff who remains working at the home.

p.4

good

The registered manager does not have an effective monitoring system in place in respect of checking when the young person has been injured. Body maps do not provide sufficient information about injuries sustained. Furthermore, the registered manager does not review these records. The lack of systems in place could impact on the protection of young people when injuries occur.

p.4

good

Leaders and managers do not follow safer recruitment practice. They did not satisfy themselves that one member of staff has provided a full history of their employment, and therefore they have not explored a gap in employment. This has the potential to leave children and young people at risk of harm. Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 5 Staff said that they feel well supported by the registered manager. Reflective conversations take place in regular supervision sessions. These provide an opportunity for staff to focus on their practice, development and the young person’s care.

p.4

good

Staff lock the main exit doors to safeguard the young person in line with their court order. However, these are locked with a key. This could prevent a safe escape route in the event of a fire. The registered manager has agreed the fire risk assessment will be reviewed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(b)) 8 March 2024

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

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, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 8 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 7 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; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

p.7

Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home,

p.7

Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

p.7

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

p.7

Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

p.7

Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

p.7

Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)) 8 March 2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

p.7

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; and 8 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 8 are kept up to date (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that any legal orders or capacity assessments related to a child are obtained.

p.8

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. 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)

p.8

Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2632726 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ashdown Care Homes Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5 Ladyrigg, Darras Hall, Ponteland, Northumberland NE20 9QS

p.9

Inspector

Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 10 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, person 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.9

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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10