Children's home run by Outdoor Care Limited Assurance visit report: 2587132 4

Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 1 Registered provider: Outdoor Care 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

This home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 17 September 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/09/2024 Full Good 13/06/2023 Full Good 13/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 3

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improvement to be good

Children who live in the home are not making progress in all aspects of their lives, because leaders and managers do not have effective oversight. The care and safety of children have been affected, and children’s progress has been limited. One child is socially isolated, and the staff have not been creative in encouraging the child to make friends and participate fully with their peers. Furthermore, staff have not helped another child to develop important skills to prepare them for becoming a parent.

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improvement to be good

Staff try to encourage children to attend health appointments. Staff make alternative arrangements with health providers to ensure that health checks take place when children refuse to attend. However, staff do not always offer specialist care or advice relating to their emotional health.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not supporting children to learn all of the necessary skills that they will need to successfully manage their own care when they move on from the home. A social worker said that they were worried that staff were not doing enough to prepare children for adulthood. Staff are supporting one child to access a specialist worker when they move into their own home. However, this does not ensure that all children are well prepared for their next steps.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not support children to have clean and tidy bedrooms. One child’s room was untidy and had not been cleaned for some time. Surfaces were dirty and littered with cigarettes ends, ash and other rubbish, and the bathroom and toilet were dirty. Furthermore, some areas of the home require updating. Staff are not showing children that they are valued and deserving of a clean and homely environment. Furthermore, this does not provide children with a good model of how to care for their own space.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children with their education and training. The child is attending their training provision and is making good progress. Staff work with education professionals to find the right provision for children where their needs can be met. This shows children that staff care about their learning.

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improvement to be good

The staff help children to rebuild relationships with loved ones. Children have regular family time and can enjoy activities such as go-karting and overnight stays where appropriate. Staff offer support to families to make family time a positive experience. This includes, for example, buying a takeaway for them to enjoy. Family members speak positively about the support they have received and children can see that their loved ones are important to staff too. Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 4

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments do not contain the information that staff need to keep children safe. For example, the child is smoking in their bedroom, the risk assessment does not cover that risk and staff do not take reasonable steps to prevent this from happening. Consequently, there is a risk of a fire occurring in the home. Staff are also reluctant to check the child’s room for items that may increase that risk, such as lighters and other paraphernalia.

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improvement to be good

Children are at risk because of their misuse of illegal substances. Staff have not received appropriate training so that they can understand the risks and meet the support needs of children. This impacts the effectiveness of the staff in being able to care for and safeguard children.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not keep clear records of the important conversations they have with children. This does not evidence that children are receiving the right help and support to address behaviours that place them at risk of harm. Consequently, it is not clear if children are being supported to learn about their risks and how to keep themselves safer.

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improvement to be good

Staff use effective de-escalation techniques to support children when they are angry or upset. This is because staff know the children well and they have good relationships with them. One professional said: ‘I think they know how to communicate with [the child], and they allow [the child] time to process information.’ This accounts for the low number of incidents in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have sufficient oversight of staff practice or the quality of care being provided to children. This means that they do not understand how well children are helped and protected or what needs to change to address significant shortfalls in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not ensure that children receive effective care planning. This is a result of a lack of up-to-date statutory documentation on children’s files, which in turn means that there is no meaningful work completed with the child to address their difficulties. Furthermore, the home’s care plans for children are not reflective of their needs and do not tell staff what they need to do to meet those needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not always work effectively with multi-agency professionals. One professional said that staff have not communicated important information with them. The manager is not able to evidence that regular reports are sent to those involved with the children. Furthermore, the manager does not escalate issues in relation to receiving updated plans or assessments. This means that the sharing of information between the home and others has not been effective. Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 5 The manager lacks an understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. For example, the quality of care review completed by the manager lacks an evaluation of the care provided to children. The manager has not consulted with children in relation to the care they receive and there is no action plan to progress any necessary improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff supervision is not always meaningful. Staff do not always discuss issues related to children or review the development of their practice. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to review the performance of staff and ensure that they are providing continuity of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have worked in the home for a long time, with no staff leaving or joining the workforce since the last inspection. The child currently living in the home likes living there said, ‘This has been the only place I have been happy.’ One professional said: ‘They know [name of child] well.’ This has helped the children to establish secure and trusting relationships. Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 6

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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.

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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

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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)) 30 September 2025

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 7 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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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)(a)(c)(h)) 30 August 2025

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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

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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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 child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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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 30 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 8 needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 30 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)) 30 August 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s homes is a nurturing environment that meet the needs of their children, and that they are supported to maintain a homely environment. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that systems are in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision so that they can reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 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: 2587132 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Outdoor Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 1PP

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Inspector

Laura Roberts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2587132 11 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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