Children's Home run by Impact Childcare and Education in Northumberland

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2758201 1 Registered provider: Impact Childcare and Education

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for five children with learning disabilities. There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager were registered in January 2024.

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This monitoring visit

A full inspection of this home was completed on 17 and 18 September 2024. Ofsted judged the home to be inadequate. This monitoring visit was carried out to evaluate the provider’s response to two compliance notices that were issued under regulations 12 and 13.

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This monitoring visit

The registered person has not met all the steps within the compliance notices. This has resulted in the compliance notices being re-issued.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not follow children’s care plans consistently. This includes when staff should complete searches of children’s rooms or check if children have items on their person they should not have. This leads to confusion over care arrangements for children and does not provide children with consistent responses to their needs.

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This monitoring visit

Risk assessments do not reflect risks to children. Although some aspects have been strengthened, strategies to manage risks continue to lack sufficient detail to help the staff to keep children safer. For example, not all risks are included, and existing concerns are not updated with new information. Therefore, safeguards to protect children have not been communicated effectively to staff. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 2 All staff are trained in how to de-escalate incidents and hold children safely. Staff have managed children’s behaviour without the need for physical intervention. However, one member of staff previously failed to record a hold accurately. The manager has not supported the staff team to understand the importance of ensuring an accurate record of restraint practice is kept. This prevents the manager from being assured that holds are safe.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders’ and managers’ oversight of the quality of care provided to children has improved. However, systems used by the manager to monitor and investigate practice do not appropriately evaluate and understand what is needed to improve. The manager also amends documents when reviewing incidents. This is to improve the quality of recording. However, there is no audit trail to understand what has been amended or why.

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This monitoring visit

Staff receive supervision in line with the timeframes set out in the organisation’s policy. However, staff are not supported to reflect on the risks and needs of children and how these impact on the staff. Furthermore, when staff do not follow policy or procedures, there is no evidence of discussions in supervision to help staff make improvements.

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This monitoring visit

These shortfalls prevent the registered person from holding the staff and manager to account.

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This monitoring visit

Two of the requirements issued at the last inspection have not been met and have therefore been re-issued.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/09/2024 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 3

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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 with 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 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 8 December 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

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

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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 (2)(f)(h)) 8 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— 8 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 4 understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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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 understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice; (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that arrangements are in place to— 31 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 5 plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that supervision sessions support staff to reflect upon children’s behaviours. Staff should be given the opportunity to reflect on how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. Supervision should also provide the opportunity for the supervisor to reflect with the supervisee about their practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Impact Childcare and Education

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3-5 Brenkley Way, Blezard Business Park, Seaton Burn, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE13 6DS

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Inspectors

Julia Hagan, Social Care Inspector Mark Cryer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 7 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

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

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