Children's Home run by Newcastle City Council in Newcastle upon Tyne

Inspection report children’s home: SC033642 1 SC033642 Registered provider: Newcastle City 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 local authority manages this home, which provides care and accommodation for up to six children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager has been registered since 2008.

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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 outstanding

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 4 September 2018

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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: SC033642 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/09/2018 Full Good 02/08/2017 Full Good 01/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/05/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC033642 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 within 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— that staff—

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, when concerns are raised about the possibility that children and young people may be at risk from other children and young people in the home, swift and effective action should be taken to reduce that risk. 19/11/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC033642 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people receive help and support from an experienced staff team. Individualised care is provided which enables children and young people to achieve their maximum potential. The staff team is supported by an experienced and knowledgeable leadership team that provides the right environment for children and young people to grow and develop their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff, children and young people are good. Throughout the inspection, children and young people were observed engaging with staff who responded in a caring and nurturing way. Feedback from parents and professionals states that the staff have the children and young people at the centre of everything they do, even when faced with difficult and challenging behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are in good health. They are supported to eat a healthy and nutritious diet and are encouraged to learn about the food they eat through ‘Cookies Corner’, a space dedicated to food facts and education. This has not only encouraged children and young people to try new and healthy food but has also equipped them with skills and knowledge that will help them in later life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff engage with health professionals to ensure that specialist help is in place to meet children and young people’s emotional health needs. This ensures that staff can support children and young people in crisis to regulate their emotions and help them to feel safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are making extremely good progress in education and employment from their starting points. If children and young people come to the home with no educational provision, alternative arrangements are quickly put into place while appropriate permanent school places are found. This ensures that they maintain the skills and confidence they need to transition into a new school.

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

Clear and detailed risk assessments are understood by staff. Staff understand the historical experiences that have led to children and young people being placed at significant risk and how this may influence their behaviour. This means that staff can support children and young people effectively in one-to-one sessions around their plans. This teaches children and young people what they need to do to keep themselves safe.

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

Children and young people rarely go missing from the home, even when this was a frequent behaviour prior to admission. However, when this does occur, staff are tenacious in their attempts to locate the children and young people and return them swiftly and safely to the home. As a result of their trusting relationships with staff, Inspection report children’s home: SC033642 5 children and young people stay in touch with staff when they are out. If they encounter difficulties while out in the community, they are confident to ask staff for help. This helps children and young people feel valued and safe.

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

Staff are committed to helping the children and young people in their care. However, when the individual needs of children and young people cannot be met by the home, managers and leaders have not always taken decisive and effective action to prevent this from impacting on others living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by an experienced, passionate and inspirational manager. Feedback from children, young people, professionals and parents is glowing, and identifies him as being an extremely influential part of their lives. Two deputy managers support him in creating a vision of high expectation and ambition for children, young people and staff alike.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers know the strengths and weaknesses of the home. They learn from their shortfalls and implement plans to prevent any repeat. Leaders and managers have ambitious plans in place to develop the home to improve outcomes and experiences of children and young people living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers provide an environment where staff feel supported to learn and develop. Through high-quality supervision, appraisal and team meetings, staff are encouraged to be reflective in finding innovative and creative ways in which to support the progress of children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers actively promote tolerance, equality and diversity. Young people who wish to explore their identity are supported to do so in an environment that is inquisitive and progressive. To ensure that this support is effective, leaders and managers ensure that training and development opportunities are designed to meet the specific needs of the children and young people living in the home.

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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. Inspection report children’s home: SC033642 6 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

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Information about this inspection

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: SC033642 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Newcastle City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Barras Bridge, Civic Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8QH

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Inspector

Mark Proffitt, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC033642 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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