Children's Home run by North East Autism Society in Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC458415 1 SC458415 Registered provider: North East Autism Society 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 offers short breaks for up to six children with learning disabilities, specialising in caring for children with autism spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were staying at the home. The inspector spent time with the children 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: 14 February 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: SC458415 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/10/2022 Full Good 09/11/2021 Full Good 08/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC458415 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people benefit from having short breaks at this home and some have been staying for many years. This allows them to develop strong relationships with the staff and other children and young people who stay at the same time. The manager carefully plans which children and young people can stay together. This is dependent on their individual needs and means that children and young people get the best from their short breaks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a strong emphasis on making sure that all children and young people have the means to communicate their needs. Children and young people are well supported to express their views, wishes, likes and dislikes. Staff learned Makaton to support children and young people with alternative ways to communicate. They also get to know children and young people’s individual signs that they have developed themselves. There is a new Picture Exchange Communication System book. This has been a success and ensures that children and young people can tell staff what they want to do. This could be swimming, going for an ice cream, trips to a local farm or any number of activities that can be arranged. This helps children and young people to go out and enjoy experiences that they might not otherwise be able to do.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children and young people with their learning. Individual targets for each child and young person help to develop their life skills, such as helping to prepare food or changing their bedding. Additionally, staff help children to learn about keeping safe, for example by teaching them about stranger danger and road safety. Staff evaluate and measure how well children and young people are meeting their targets. All achievements, no matter how small, are celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Routine is important to the children and young people. For some, social stories help to prepare them for every visit. Staff set out in the stories what the children and young people will do throughout their visit, including which staff will be with them. This helps to prepare children and young people in-between their short breaks and manages their anxieties about being away from home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a robust plan when young people’s short breaks are due to end. The transition to receive support from adult services is well planned. Each young person’s diagnoses, needs and anxieties are considered to ensure that the young person has time to get ready for the change. This includes meeting the new staff and seeing the new place that they will be going to. By doing this in a child-focused way, the young person is supported emotionally and practically with this significant change.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans detail the vulnerabilities for children and young people and how staff should respond. Staff know the children and young people Inspection report for children’s home: SC458415 4 well and recognise the signs to indicate if they are happy, unhappy, anxious or becoming distressed. By following individual support plans, staff can help children and young people to cope with their feelings, which lessens the need for further intervention. However, one child’s risk assessment has not fully addressed a concern raised about their self-harming behaviours. Although there are steps for the staff to follow to manage the risk, not all staff have had ligature removal training to fully equip them with the skills to manage the risk to the child.

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

On the rare occasion that further intervention is required, staff guide children and young people away from behaviours where they could hurt themselves or others. This is only done as a last resort. The manager has good oversight, which allows for any identified learning for the staff team to progress quickly.

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

Staff receive training so that they can respond to children and young people’s health needs. This is essential for some of the children and young people who have diagnosed conditions that require support, such as epilepsy. Staff follow individual epilepsy plans, which ensures that the right action is taken when needed.

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

There is a robust procedure for medication administration. No medication errors have occurred since the last inspection. The manager carries out a medication audit every four weeks. This helps to ensure that the correct procedures are followed by staff and that children and young people are administered the correct medication at the right time. This helps to keep children safe and well cared for in line with their health needs.

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

Leaders and managers investigate any concerns about staff practice. This includes carrying out an internal investigation with oversight from human resources. Actions are identified and addressed. This helps to address any concerns about staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager enjoys her job and wants the children and young people to enjoy their time at the home. She makes sure that they have access to the care that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work together to provide good care for the children and young people. They support each other. Staff say that they are well supported by the management team. There is an open-door policy so that staff know they can receive support at any time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions are regular and reflect on the work carried out. Learning is also carried through into team meetings for staff to have group discussions. This ensures that staff can voice their opinions and be involved in discussions about what is best for the children and young people who they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff work well with other professionals and the families of the children and young people. Professionals speak positively about the staff. There is good communication between school staff and the home’s staff as they are in regular contact with each other. Sharing daily progress ensures that children and young people’s needs can be seamlessly supported in each place. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458415 5 There are some vacancies in the staff team; however, the provider has made the decision to close for one day a week to manage this rather than use agency staff. This ensures that the staff have been employed using the provider’s safer recruitment process. Staff also receive a good induction to make sure that they all have the knowledge and skills to care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has addressed the requirements from the last inspection. However, there are further shortfalls. One member of staff is out of date with three of their mandatory training courses. This means that they may not have the most up-to-date information for those topics. Not all children and young people have the placing authority plans and paperwork on file. Although this has not had a direct impact on the care of the children and young people, with no formal escalation process in place, the manager’s challenge to the placing authority has come to a standstill. Additionally, staff do not always write about children in a child-friendly way from the point of view of the child, and some inappropriate expressions are used. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458415 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)) 16 August 2024

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 16 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each 16 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC458415 7 child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation (5)(c))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information about 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)

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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: SC458415 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North East Autism Society

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Inspector

Miriam Dolman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC458415 9 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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Inspector

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