Children's home run by North Tyneside Council in North Tyneside

Inspection report children’s home: SC038564 1 SC038564 Registered provider: North Tyneside Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a local authority and is registered for the care and accommodation of up to five children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager has been registered since 2007.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC038564 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/08/2018 Full Good 25/01/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/05/2017 Full Good 28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC038564 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children settle quickly in an environment where they are respected. The staff give children positive messages and nurturing care that helps them feel safe and valued as individuals. This ensures that their well-being is supported from day one.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are skilled in developing trusting relationships with children, their families and a range of professionals. Close, supportive relationships enable children to make progress in all aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to attend education and to attain in accordance with their individual level of ability. The staff work collaboratively with social workers and educational professionals to ensure that children who are not attending are returned to education as soon as possible. The staff listen to children and strive to ensure that the right package of support enables them to learn in a supportive educational provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children take part in a range of positive activities of their choosing, often with staff, and team games with friends and peers. Children’s interests are explored and encouraged. The opportunities and experiences are many. This enables children to experiment, make friends and to develop confidence in positive environments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage and support children to develop independence skills. This can take the form of completing basic living skills, such as maintaining their bedroom to an acceptable level and ensuring that dirty clothes make their way to the washing machine, independent travel and cooking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff as a team maintain a consistently supportive dialogue with parents and carers. This often leads to fractured family relationships being repaired. Children, where able, return home with planned outreach support. This is provided by staff at the home where relationships are already strong and based on mutual respect and trust. The children are supported at their pace and that of their parents in a planned way to re-engage positively.

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

The staff team has fully embedded research-informed practice that supports the care planning process. This approach helps children, with support from a trusted adult, to take an active part in their daily planning. As a result, key workers spend valuable time with children identifying and rating risk. The children develop a level of understanding and awareness that promotes safe care and positive change.

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

The staff team is proactive in reducing the time that children who go missing are away from the home. They actively look for children and follow clear, individual safety plans to ensure that children are returned safely. They work with the local police in gathering of Inspection report children’s home: SC038564 4 intelligence in keeping children safe. Additionally, an advocacy service provided by the local authority is tasked with providing children with an opportunity to speak to a familiar face upon return. This enables children to develop trust and share their concerns and reasons associated with going missing and hopefully lead to a reduction in potentially harmful behaviour.

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

The staff spend quality time with children to ensure that they are fully aware of the expectations and boundaries that are part of living at the home. The children quickly become accustomed to what is expected of them and of others. This provides a shared, positive living environment where any bullying and disrespect will not be tolerated. There have been very few physical interventions or sanctions since the last inspection. This shows the positive nature of the environment that the children live in, thus promoting their well-being.

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

The staff and management team are appropriately trained to a good level in safeguarding children. E-learning is supported by face-to-face training in a variety of subjects, with elements of child sexual exploitation, radicalisation and extremism, and in- house training on county lines. This ensures that staff are aware of current issues that have an impact upon children in society and leads to stronger safe care in and out of the home for the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and holds an appropriate qualification. He is supported by two effective deputies who share his high aspirations for the children. They know their children well and strive to provide a level of care that promotes positive progress in any child who comes to live at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team provides a supportive working environment for the staff to work in. The staff as a team share the management’s high aspirations for children and undeniably demonstrate a collective commitment to maintaining high standards. Supervision is monthly and team meetings are purposeful and use the adopted research- informed practice approach. Since the last inspection this has led to a consistently high level of engagement with children. The staff commented that they were confident and positive with this way of working and that the children also liked the approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has responded to improvements required in the home since the last inspection. However, there is further work required to ensure that living spaces are made more homely and promote children’s well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At the last inspection, significant changes had been made to the home’s statement of purpose and these had been appropriately shared with Ofsted. However, on this occasion that has not been done and therefore this has been made a requirement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well managed by a very committed leadership team that inspires and promotes confidence in its staff. This enables children to feel safe and make progress. Inspection report children’s home: SC038564 5

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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, 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes if 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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, to improve the bathing and toileting facilities in the home and make the upstairs spaces more homely. 28/11/2019

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of revision. (Regulation 16(3)(a)(b)) 14/11/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC038564 6

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC038564 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Tyneside Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 16 The Silverlink North, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE27 0BY

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Inspector

Michael Dack, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC038564 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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