Children's Home run by No. 57 Ltd in Stockton-on-Tees

Inspection report children’s home: 1244413 1 Registered provider: No. 57 Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager has been registered since 4 December 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 9 September 2020, to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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: 27 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1244413 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/11/2019 Full Good 05/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1244413 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build good relationships with staff who know them well. Staff take time to get to know the children and develop secure and trusting bonds with them. Children feel able to confide in staff when they have worries or concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. Children attend every day and are making good progress in line with their personal education plans. When issues arise, staff and education professionals work together to ensure that these are quickly addressed with minimal impact on children’s learning. Consequently, children begin to recognise how education will shape their futures in a positive way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and staff ensure that they are able to attend all of their health appointments. Staff also support children to access specialist mental health services that help them to start to consider their previous experiences and trauma. This allows children to explore their thoughts and feelings. Staff provide care that helps children to feel secure and learn to express themselves appropriately. One professional stated: ‘[Staff are] intuitive in their care, helping children to make remarkable progress.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence in an age-appropriate way. Children are encouraged to help around the home and keep their bedrooms clean and tidy. Staff facilitate children making friends in the local area and spending independent time out of the home. Children are developing skills which will help them in their next stages of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to pursue their interests and hobbies. One child has joined a local football team, and another is learning to box. Staff provide opportunities for new experiences, and children have been able to enjoy a summer holiday. Staff capture the memories of these important events by collecting photographs and memorabilia, so as to provide the children with a record providing the children with a record of positive times at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff do not always ensure that the children’s care plans and risk assessments are regularly updated. Some aspects of plans are no longer relevant, but have not been removed. Plans do not articulate the cultural needs of children so that the staff can demonstrate how these needs are met. For example, one child uses specialised hair products and styling. While this is accommodated, it is not explicit in their plan.

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improvement to be good

Children become increasingly safe because staff understand their needs and can effectively manage their behaviour. Staff use regular key-work sessions to support Inspection report children’s home: 1244413 4 children to learn socially appropriate ways of expressing their frustrations and anxieties. This means that staff do not need to use physical restraint.

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improvement to be good

Children are not involved in substance or alcohol misuse. They are not at risk of exploitation and rarely go missing. One child has been recorded as missing on one occasion. This was well documented and staff explored all avenues to quickly locate the child, in line with good practice. There have been no reoccurrences, because children feel safe in the care of staff.

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improvement to be good

Not all staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities in reporting safeguarding concerns. Although this has not led to a failure to protect children, staff require a fluent understanding of safeguarding procedures. Children could be at risk of harm if policies and procedures are not followed correctly.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are not updated in line with the guidance set out by the home. This has not resulted in any unmet needs or safeguarding concerns, because the children’s needs have not changed. However, without regular oversight and reflection, the children’s risk assessments may not remain relevant and effective.

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improvement to be good

The home needs some repairs and maintenance, and the manager has plans in place to address these. However, a recent health and safety audit identified that electric sockets in the office require attention. There has been an unacceptable delay in addressing this issue.

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good

The home is managed by an experienced manager who provided consistency for the staff and children during a time of change and upheaval. Staff are supportive of the manager and described her as approachable. They feel well supported by her in their own roles.

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good

Feedback from professionals demonstrates that the manager and staff work positively with other agencies for the benefit of children. These relationships are effective in maintaining good communication, and the manager advocates well for the children.

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good

The home has a core team of staff who are employed by the organisation. However, due to changes in the organisation’s structure, the manager is often reliant on agency staff. There is insufficient flexibility in the rota to ensure that shifts are covered and that key tasks are completed. One of the consequences is that key documents are not signed by the staff or manager. This means that the manager’s oversight is reduced, which may result in practice issues not being addressed.

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good

Leaders and managers are not always able to deliver care as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Staff have not completed the necessary training to deliver a therapeutic model of care. This means that the stated aims of the service are not always achieved. Inspection report children’s home: 1244413 5 Leaders and managers do not have effective monitoring systems in place. This means that they do not have good oversight of the progress of the home and its areas of strength and areas for development. The registered manager completed a review of the quality of care provided by the home. However, there was no evidence of consultation with children, their families or other professionals. The report did not demonstrate the impact of the care provided on the experiences and progress of children. This means that leaders and managers do not have insight into how to develop the service and make improvements which benefit children.

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good

The registered manager does not ensure that she has access to children’s most up- to-date care plans. There is no evidence of consistent challenge to the local authority or escalation when this has been unsuccessful. This means that plans for the care of children may not always reflect their current needs.

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good

Staff supervision and appraisal are not always delivered in line with the organisation’s policy. Supervision is not consistently recorded, and staff are not routinely provided with a signed copy of the record for their reference.

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good

When children make complaints, they are not always responded to within appropriate timescales. When one child made a complaint, the manager failed to notify the relevant professionals, and has not given feedback to the child. Furthermore, while actions were taken to make the child safer, this was not sufficient to remove all manageable risks. This left the child and individual staff members in a potentially vulnerable position.

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good

Serious incidents rarely occur, but when they happen the manager does not always notify Ofsted. This prevents independent scrutiny of the actions taken to ensure the safety and well-being of children. Inspection report children’s home: 1244413 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) 30 November

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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 it seeks to achieve for children; and

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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 personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)) 30 November

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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—

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Requirement Due date

that staff— 30 November Inspection report children’s home: 1244413 7 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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(h)) 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; 30 November Inspection report children’s home: 1244413 8 are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (1) (3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that complaints are recorded, and that an outcome is provided for the complainant within the relevant timescales. 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e)) 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the report contains the views and wishes of the children, and demonstrates the impact of the quality of care on the outcomes and experiences of children. 30 November Inspection report children’s home: 1244413 9

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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: 1244413 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspector

Deb Duffy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1244413 11 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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