Newcombe Lodge

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

All staff understood the purpose of treating children with kindness, compassion and dignity. Each child had differing arrangements for how they wanted staff to wake them up or enter their bedroom, and staff respected this. This was clearly recorded at the front of their care plans, so new staff were aware.

Children’s views were sought regularly at reviews, and they were encouraged to pursue their interests. Occupational therapy staff supported children to hone their independence skills and help prepare them for adulthood.

Children’s cultural, religious and personal preferences were respected. The service was able to recall when specific dietary requirements were met by the service to cater for a child whose cultural beliefs promoted a specific eating regime.

Find out what we look at when we assess this area in our information about our new Single assessment framework.

Staff treated children with compassion and kindness. They respected children’s privacy and dignity. They understood the individual needs of children and supported them to understand and manage their care and treatment.

Staff were discreet, respectful, and responsive when caring for children. Care was age appropriate and positive risk taking was encouraged to promote autonomy and independence, when appropriate.

During our two days of visiting the home we observed and listened to staff and the registered manager interacting with children. All the contacts we saw between staff and children were pleasant and staff spoke respectfully and kindly to children.

Staff directed children to other services and supported them to access those services if they needed help.

Children said staff treated them well and behaved kindly. Staff felt that they could raise concerns about disrespectful, discriminatory or abusive behaviour or attitudes towards them.

Staff followed policy to keep children’s information confidential.

Staff gave children help, emotional support and advice when they needed it.

Staff supported children to understand and manage their own care treatment or condition. Staff understood and respected the individual needs of each child they told us staff treated them well and behaved kindly.

Staff received and kept up to date with training in the Mental Capacity Act and supported children to make choices for themselves regarding their care and living arrangements while at the home. This included making a bedroom plan and an unsettled plan which detailed the preferences of the child.

A 'keeping connected' care plan included aspects of how the child could build and maintain relationships within their own communities away from the home.

Children were encouraged to care for their own pet and staff bought their dogs to work which the children enjoyed.

Comprehensive care plans detailed interventions staff would take to meet the needs of the children. Clinical risk assessments were in place and RAG rated, this meant there were actions to mitigate risks with additional information supporting the severity and likely impact for each child. Staff were able to explain actions they had taken to keep children safe when they had displayed risky behaviours, such as incidents of absconding.

An unsettled plan was in each child’s care records which highlighted known successful interventions.

The manager explained how a child was expedited for a neurodiversity diagnostic assessment. Following this assessment, the service was better equipped with interventions tailored more to their neuro-diverse needs with the support of appropriate medicines.

All staff we spoke to spoke highly of the management and leadership of the organisation. Examples were given how individual working arrangements were implemented for staff so they could balance their work and personal/family life effectively. One example included a staff member who chose to travel over 2 hours daily to work due to the satisfaction they received within their role. Staff retention was high and there was a long-standing well established team. Staff were encouraged to undertake training in areas of interest, some staff were undertaking training at a leadership level which ensured succession planning was robust.

The service ensured staff received support through supervision of their work, clinical supervision and team supervision sessions.