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

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Full inspection 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. It provides care for up to three children with learning disabilities, sensory impairment or drug and alcohol dependence.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one young person living at the home at the time of this inspection. The inspector spent time with them 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: 23 January 2024

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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: 2632726 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/01/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/10/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has lived at the home for four years. This has provided them with stability and a sense of belonging. The young person has developed positive relationships with staff, as the core team who provides care has remained the same. This allows the young person to get to know staff well, and through developing these close relationships, they can talk to staff and share their feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are effective at communicating with the young person. For example, staff use social stories to explain and prepare the young person for appointments and any changes. One member of staff has looked at the use of Picture Exchange Communication System and how this will help further. Staff also encourage the use of Makaton. The staff give this young person a wide range of ways to communicate to make sure that their voice is heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that an advocate continues to support the young person so that any decisions made are in their best interest. This includes making sure that the young person will be supported when they have to leave the home to move to their adult home. This will lessen any anxiety and impact of the move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise that education is important to the young person, who loves attending daily. This helps with their learning and social development. The manager has ensured that the young person’s education has been extended for another year. This will provide some consistency while there are other changes taking place in the young person’s life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff know the young person very well. They want to provide positive experiences to ensure that the young person has the best care possible. Furthermore, staff support the young person to safely explore their identity and creative interests, such as dressing up, singing, dancing and theatre. Staff support the young person to attend a local theatre group, which has helped with their confidence as they perform with others and meet new people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person regularly sees their family who visit the home. This helps the young person to maintain important long-lasting relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a large, comfortable space, and staff make it homely and as natural as possible with photos, games and toys. The young person’s room is personalised with belongings that they want in it. Some areas of the home need improving, for example, the fake grass in the yard has become a trip hazard. Also, on some days, the drains’ odour comes through into the home. Addressing this will enhance the home environment for the young person. Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 4

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

The young person’s needs are well understood by staff. There is clear guidance for staff about what action to take and when. For example, staff follow strategies if the young person runs away from them when out in the community. When staff do not follow the young person’s plan, the manager looks at learning from this to ensure that staff work together to keep the young person safer.

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

There is good working together and assessments from other professionals to inform the young person’s behavioural support plan, for example from the learning disability nurse, speech and language and occupational therapist. This includes frequent meetings with the professionals who support this young person to create a multi- disciplinary approach. Changes in staff’s practice can happen quickly, especially as the young person’s needs change.

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

There are clear strategies for staff about the use of physical intervention when the young person is in crisis. Since the last inspection, there has only been one occasion when staff had to physically intervene. This was to prevent the young person from running out into the road, as staff know that physical holds are only to be used when the young person is at risk of significantly hurting themself.

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

There is a robust approach for medication administration, with oversight from a medical clinician. This ensures that staff know when to use emergency medication to help the young person when they struggle to keep calm. Staff are effective at using other de-escalation techniques, such as hugs, humour and hand squeezes. This ensures that medication is not overly relied on to manage the times that the young person struggles to manage their feelings, emotions and behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was not present during the inspection, and a senior member of staff assisted. This demonstrates that arrangements when the manager is absent from the home are suitable and the home continues to run well in her absence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When the young person has to move out to their adult home, their transition is well planned and includes researched-based practice. This includes involving the current staff team to assist the new staff team to learn about the young person and their needs before caring for them. This will also support the young person to develop new relationships, reducing their anxiety that is caused when there are changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoke positively about the support they receive from the manager and leadership team. Supervisions are reflective, and discussions take place about the young person’s care during team meetings. Training provides further support for staff’s knowledge. These all ensure that staff have the skills needed to care for the young person and to continue to progress their own professional learning. Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 5 Professionals are confident in the team’s ability to care for the young person. There are good working relationships, which is important as a large group is involved to ensure that there is a cohesive approach so that the young person’s complex needs are prioritised and met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite having oversight of the young person’s records, the manager did not identify some shortfalls in the staff’s recording. Some of these issues were dealt with while the inspector was at the home. However, the shortfalls are specifically in respect of when the young person has been in crisis. The staff do not fully record the event, and it is not always clear what has happened and when. For example, the information included for one event does not compare to the timing of the whole scenario. Without a full understanding of what has happened, the manager cannot be reassured that she has proper oversight of staff’s practice. Additionally, staff do not always write from the young person’s perspective, using clinical terms which are not child-friendly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has addressed the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 9 August 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that information about the child should 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 homes should be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2632726 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Ashdown Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Miriam Dolman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2632726 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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