Setting in North Tyneside

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, the home was not judged .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the time of this inspection, there were no children in placement. No young people have been placed in the home since before the previous inspection, which took place on 17 October 2016. The home is temporarily closed. Therefore, this inspection focuses on whether the children’s home meets its statutory requirements in order to maintain its registration and is ready to accept placements. As a result, no judgement is made.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The provider has plans to offer short- and medium-term placements for young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. This is a change from its previous provision of providing short-break services for young people who have learning difficulties. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation to both types of young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Because of these planned changes, the registered manager has sensibly decided to recruit a new team that has enhanced experience and skills to look after young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. She plans a recruitment campaign in April 2017 and said that she hopes for the home to be operational in June 2017. The provider is also seeking to recruit a new registered manager. This will allow the current manager to focus on her service manager responsibilities within the organisation. There are currently no staff in place, other than the registered manager.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The register manager has a clear service development plan in place. She is experienced in the role and articulates a strong and child-focused vision for the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The physical environment is maintained to a high standard and stands ready to provide a homely environment for young people. The fire safety equipment is regularly serviced and checked to ensure that risks are managed effectively. All risk assessments in relation to the safety of the premises have been recently updated.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has recently updated the home’s location risk assessment to reflect the planned changes. This addresses the potential risks to young people who have emotional behavioural difficulties. She has plans to further strengthen the home’s relationships with the local police and safeguarding agencies.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has monthly visits from an independent visitor to ensure that the home remains a suitable environment for young people to live in. The registered manager has updated the home’s statement of purpose to reflect the changes to the service. She has plans to work with the new staff team to review all of the home’s policies, guidance and procedures.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has addressed the one recommendation made at the previous inspection. A clear policy is now in place to protect young people who may self-harm. Because no young people have been in placement, it was not possible to assess whether a previous recommendation in relation to improving care planning has been met. For this reason, this recommendation is repeated.

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Information about this children's home

The service is temporarily closed. It is operated by Dr Barnardos and plans to re- open in June 2017. The home will offer short- to medium-term placements and provide care and support for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 17/10/2016 Interim Not judged 14/10/2015 Full Good

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Effective care planning is essential to the success of placements. The home’s care and support plans should clearly identify the intervention and support in place to help young people make progress. These plans should link clearly to the young person’s relevant plans and help identify small steps in order to demonstrate how young people are making progress. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.2)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection, we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection’.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference that adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service 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’. the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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