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

Inspection report children's home: SC038564 1 SC038564 Registered provider: North Tyneside Council 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 who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered in June 2003. The manager has been registered since 2007.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Inspection dates: 31 August to 1 September 2021

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people, taking into account good

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Inspection dates: 31 August to 1 September 2021

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Inspection dates: 31 August to 1 September 2021

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Inspection dates: 31 August to 1 September 2021

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

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Inspection dates: 31 August to 1 September 2021

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Inspection dates: 31 August to 1 September 2021

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/10/2019 Full Good 29/08/2018 Full Good 25/01/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC038564 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living in this home. They trust staff and turn to them for guidance, help and advice. Children feel able to go to any staff member. One child said, ‘Staff are brilliant’. One professional said, ‘It is a shame children move on, as staff do so much more than just assess children’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to create a warm and welcoming environment for the children who live here. The children’s rooms are tastefully decorated and furnished. This provides them with pleasant and comfortable personal spaces. Significant work has been undertaken to the bathing and kitchen areas. This has greatly improved the comfort and facilities within the home. However, some redecorating work is yet to be undertaken in communal areas. Children would also benefit from photographs of themselves displayed in the home. This would help them to feel a strong sense of belonging to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to and their views matter. Weekly children’s meetings take place which children attend and contribute to. Staff respond to children’s requests, which has resulted in outings taking place and meals added to the menu. Individual dietary needs in line with a child’s culture are catered for. This helps children feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The diverse and experienced staff team understands the needs of the children and help them make progress. Children develop relationships and friendships, independent living skills and emotional resilience in the short time they are there. Staff place a high value on educational attendance and attainment. There are strong links with the local education support team and many of the children access their services. Children are encouraged and supported to value learning. This results in children attending, achieving and progressing in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While staff understand children’s achievements, they do not always record them. It is important for children to see these records as well as hear them so that they can reflect on them. This will help motivate children to further progress and succeed.

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

Children told inspectors they feel safe and cared for living in this home. One child said, ‘Staff care for me and want me to be safe,’ and more than one professional spoken with said that ‘Staff go the extra mile’.

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

Children’s risk assessments are clear, current and understood by staff. Staff undertake work with children which has reduced harmful behaviours such as missing from home and substance misuse. This has resulted in children becoming safer and better able to protect themselves. Inspection report children's home: SC038564 4 When children do go missing, staff take a consistent approach, as they know and follow the procedures. Staff take swift action and ensure that all the relevant people are contacted both during the missing-from-home episode and afterwards. The police missing-from-home coordinator values the working relationship she has with the staff team and the efforts they undertake to locate a missing child. The registered manager is reported as being ‘very caring and concerned for the children’.

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

Staff develop positive relationships with the children and use de-escalation techniques to manage challenging behaviours. This means that physical intervention has not been used for over two years.

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

The use of sanctions is rarely used. A restorative approach helps children understand the impact of their behaviours and gives them the opportunity to make amends.

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

Safeguarding agencies are notified of any significant incidents. There is also regular and effective communication with professionals who are kept up to date about any issues or concerns. Staff are proactive in arranging and attending meetings for the benefit of the children.

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

Some doors downstairs are locked overnight and have been for several years. This is viewed as a safeguarding measure due to the location of the home. However, this measure is not reviewed regularly and therefore may not always be a necessity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that children move in and out of the home in a planned and considered way. Children’s individual requirements are recognised. For example, the registered manager made sure that a vital piece of equipment was identified prior to a child’s admission. This meant that the child was not at a disadvantage to their peers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has developed a positive, child-centred culture within the home. The staff team is committed to caring for the children to a high standard. It believes that every child can progress and achieve. This gives the children confidence that they can achieve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported and valued by the registered manager and deputy managers. One staff member commented that it is ‘the best management team’ he has worked for. Team meetings and supervision take place regularly where the focus is the children’s experiences, needs and plans. But as one staff member commented, ‘It is also about your well-being’. Staff are supported to undertake specialist training, which is then shared with the team. This improves the skill set of the whole staff team and benefits the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Action is taken quickly and thoroughly to address any areas of concern relating to staff. This means that any actions required to safeguard the children can be made promptly. Inspection report children's home: SC038564 5 Staff record information on the relevant electronic and paper files. Effective management oversight ensures that this has a positive impact on the children’s experiences. However, when staff make amendments to the paper files, it is not always clear. This means that it is difficult to identify what has been amended and by whom. Inspection report children's home: SC038564 6

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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 registered person must ensure that any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises —

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21 (c)(ii)(iii) 2 November 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s homes is a nurturing and supportive environment that can meet the needs of their children. They will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. This relates to a lack of personalised items in the home, such as photographs of the resident children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff recognise and celebrate the achievements of their children. This specifically relates to recording children’s progress. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.7)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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 children's home: SC038564 7

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Emma Ridley, Social Care Inspector Paula Kelly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC038564 8 to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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