Children's Home run by South Tyneside Council in South Tyneside

Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 1 SC032701 Registered provider: South Tyneside Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority operates and manages this home. The home is registered to care for up to five children with emotional and/or social difficulties.

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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 21 January 2021 to carry out a monitoring 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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 22 October 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2019 Full Good 22/01/2019 Full Outstanding 26/09/2017 Full Good 02/08/2017 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences of living in the home are mixed.

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improvement to be good

Children receive a warm welcome when they move into the home. The staff are sensitive to the children’s feelings and any worries that they may have about a new home. The staff support the children with this by preparing them well for their move. The staff provide the children with information about the home, they familiarise themselves with each child’s likes and dislikes and they meet their family. When children arrive, they receive a welcome pack, and the staff provide ongoing support to help children to settle.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to be healthy. Some children benefit from the staff’s support to attend medical appointments, including reviews with specialist services. When children decline this help, the staff are persistent and remind the children of the importance of good health and the value of attending appointments. This results in some children accessing healthcare when previously they have been reluctant.

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improvement to be good

Children are not attending school, further education or training. Staff encourage the children to attend education. However, when the children are not interested, staff do not act quickly enough. This results in the children spending long periods out of education and training, which may affect their future.

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improvement to be good

Children like their bedrooms, which are personalised. Staff support the children to ensure that their bedrooms are clean and maintained to a good standard. The communal areas are well maintained and homely, with pictures on the walls and soft furnishings. There are clear strategies in place, such as additional cleaning regimes, to manage the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic. This helps the children to feel comfortable and safe in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s views and opinions are valued. The staff and manager use the children’s ideas and feedback to influence positive changes in the home. Using a child’s design ideas, a cosy room has been created. It is furnished with sensory items such as soft seating, cushions, laver lamps and water features. This has become a relaxation zone for the children to enjoy.

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improvement to be good

Some children have formed positive relationships with the staff. This results in them enjoying activities together, such as exercise, trips away and celebrating events. Children can identify a trusted adult who they can confide in and share their worries with. Staff listen and react, where appropriate. One child identified their relationship with the staff as one of best aspects of living in the home, saying: ‘I can talk to them about stuff when I’m upset.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 4 The quality of care planning for children requires improvement. There is a theme of children suddenly moving out of the home, without thorough assessment or planning. The manager and staff are not proactive in managing these situations, which results in children experiencing uncertainty and disruption in their lives.

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improvement to be good

Before agreeing that a child can move into the home, the manager considers the child’s individual needs, vulnerabilities and risks. Using the information, she assesses the effect that the group of children may have on each other. This is an integral part of the decision for the child to move in and helps the staff prepare to provide care.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff understand the children’s individual risks and dangers in the community. They provide the children with advice on how to keep safe, and the staff react when incidents occur. However, when risks do not reduce and incidents are repeated, the staff do not take effective action. Delays mean that the children do not get the help that they need quickly, to become increasingly safe.

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improvement to be good

The number of missing-from-home incidents has reduced. When a child is missing from the home, the staff take effective action. They follow protocols, which include looking for the child and informing the relevant professionals, who can also help in the search. When a child is found but is unwilling to return, the staff regularly visit the child and keep in contact to monitor the child’s welfare.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention is rare. It is only used as a last resort to keep the children and others safe. If an incident does occur, a written record is completed by the staff, which is reviewed by the manager. However, the inspector found that one restraint record had key information missing. This oversight prevents the manager from completing a thorough review of physical intervention to ensure that it remains necessary, proportionate and effective.

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improvement to be good

The manager is confident in challenging staff performance and addressing concerns regarding practice. Allegations against the staff are taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. The manager ensures that she informs the necessary agencies, for example Ofsted, the designated officer and the child’s placing local authority. This ensures that the children’s welfare is prioritised, and that appropriate action is taken to safeguard the children.

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good

Staffing pressures have been an issue in the home for over six months. The delay in recruiting staff has affected the consistency of care that the children have received. The manager relies heavily on the in-house relief team to cover shifts. In one example, a child was looked after by 24 different carers, instead of nine. Another child said: ‘You get different answers from different staff.’ The manager understands Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 5 the impact that the staff shortages have had on the team and the care provided to children. She is in the process of recruiting new staff.

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good

Some staff training is not up to date. A large proportion of the relief staff have not completed the organisation’s mandatory training, such as around identifying and responding to child exploitation and abuse. In addition, the inspector found that two members of staff had exceeded the time limit to complete the required qualification to work with children in residential care.

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good

Despite the challenges faced by the staff, they are enthusiastic, and they support each other. They work well as a team and are eager to improve the care that the children receive. One staff member said: ‘I take my hat off to everyone. We rally around and cover shifts, and on top of that, we’ve had COVID.’ They went on to say: ‘I’m confident that the shortfalls will be addressed.’

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good

Staff, including the relief team, receive regular supervision from a senior member of the team. A record of the session is completed; however, there are some inconsistencies in the quality of the records. For example, some records are personalised and detailed, while some are brief and copied from other records.

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good

The manager and the staff communicate with the placing local authority social workers and managers well. This includes attending meetings to share information and serious concerns about the children. However, despite a recommendation made at the last inspection, the manager has failed to escalate significant information regarding a child to the responsible individual.

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good

The manager understands the home’s strengths and weaknesses. She is realistic about the improvements that are needed, and which must be prioritised to have the greatest impact for the children. The manager and the responsible individual have expressed a commitment to address all the shortfalls identified. Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 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)) 10 December

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(viii)(ix)) 10 December

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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— 10 December Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 7 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

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

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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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi)(b))

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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’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)) 10 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and 10 February 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 8 have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32 (1) (4)(a)(b)) 10 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration; 10 March 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 9 details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i) (ii))

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that the manager and staff acknowledge that the importance of understanding who we are and where we come from is recognised in good social work practice, for example through undertaking life story work or other direct work. The registered provider is responsible for ensuring that the staff play a full role in work of this kind. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)  The registered provider should ensure that the record of staff supervision is of good quality. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations and quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with 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) Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 10 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: South Tyneside Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Westoe Road, South Shields NE33 2RL

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Inspector

Catherine Heron, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC032701 12 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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