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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 1 SC068243

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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

This home provides care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 8 June 2021.

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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 24 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 and 19 January 2022

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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 for children’s home: SC457573 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2019 Full Good 04/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC457573 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in this home. The staff respond well to the children’s changing needs. The staff provide the children with individualised care which includes supporting the children to attend appointments. The children contribute to the development of the home and see positive changes to the home because their views are listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work well with educational professionals and external agencies. This supports the children to attend, and do well in their education placements. The children are well supported by the staff to access education, training and employment. Some of the children’s attendance at school is improving, and for those children who do attend school, they are meeting their expected targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to be healthy. One child has been helped to have their COVID-19 vaccine. The staff have enabled other children to access specialist help for their individual needs. The children receive additional help and support to maintain safe and healthy relationships, and to support them to reduce their misuse of alcohol and drugs. Some of the children now use a vape to reduce their use of cigarettes. However, some staff do not role-model positive behaviours, as they can be seen smoking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to choose and enjoy activities with the staff. Photos are taken which capture these positive experiences. The staff are developing life story books, so they are readily accessible for the children. This ensures that the children have a keepsake of their time spent in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to develop positive relationships. The children feel able to talk to the staff about any worries that they might have. The staff listen to children and advocate on behalf of the children well. This ensures that the children’s views are represented to others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to spend good-quality time with their family and friends. The staff have developed good relationships with some of the children’s family members while respecting the children’s right to privacy. The staff also provide good emotional support to the children when managing relationships with the children’s family members. This has improved the staff’s ability to keep the children safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children who leave the home keep in contact with the manager and her team. This provides ongoing support and continuity for those children who move on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experience of moving into and out of the home are inconsistent. Not all of the children benefit from a consistent approach, and some do not visit the home prior to them moving in. This oversight prevents the children from gaining an Inspection report for children’s home: SC457573 4 insight into what the home looks like and who is already living there. This can create some anxiety for some of the children.

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

Children say they feel safe in the home. The staff have a good understanding of how to keep the children safe. Children’s risk assessments and safety plans are unique to each child, and these are updated when the children’s risks and needs are reviewed. The staff seek advice from other professionals to contribute to the assessment and planning process. This has seen some improvement in the children’s ability to manage their emotions and behaviours.

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

The staff provide clear and consistent boundaries for the children. The children know and understand the rules of the home. Room searches take place only when a specific risk is identified. These searches have proven to be effective in reducing the risks to children who self-harm, cause harm to others and misuse drugs.

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

Physical restraint is only used when necessary to protect the children or the staff from harm. The staff use a restorative approach to help the children to understand why a restraint has been necessary. This focusses on the behaviour rather than the child.

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

The staff continue to build positive relationships with the children and their friends. These relationships help the staff to gain a greater understanding of the children’s needs. This knowledge helps the staff to recognise and intervene when they identify a change in the children’s behaviour. If a child goes missing from the home, the staff respond appropriately and follow the necessary processes and steps to locate the child quickly. This practice has helped the children to become increasingly safe, as there has been a reduction in these incidents.

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

The children say the staff keep them safe. The staff can identify when the children are being bullied, or are bullying others. The staff intervene immediately. They use a restorative and supportive approach towards the children. This practice helps the children to repair and maintain their relationships with their peers so that they can live together harmoniously.

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

The children are supported to make complaints, and they are informed of the outcome of any investigations. When the children make allegations, the manager takes immediate and uses the local authority’s protocol to safeguard the children. This keeps the children safe and also ensures that the children feel listened to, believed and supported. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457573 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a change in the manager since the last inspection. The new manager is supported in her role by a dedicated staff team with a diverse range of skills, knowledge and experience. The staff say that they ‘admire and respect’ the manager’s style and the changes that she can affect.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children receive consistent care. The manager has used staff from the local authority’s other children’s homes and secured a consistent pool of sessional workers to provide continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proactive in developing the home. The manager has identified the areas which require improvement and has addressed these. The manager has streamlined the children’s records and has improved the system to track the children’s progress. Consequently, the children’s records are clear. They explain the children's needs, risks, how these are managed and the children’s overall experience. The changes that the manager has made to the record keeping and review processes, has improved the staff’s ability to understand and meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes regular audits. This ensures that the children’s assessments are regularly reviewed and updated in line with the changing needs of the children. However, this audit failed to identify that the children’s guide, which is child-friendly and uses images to support its explanation, contains some outdated information. This oversight prevents the children from having the correct information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed a robust recruitment process which ensures that those employed have the necessary experience and/or qualifications to work with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides the staff with good quality supervision which is reflective and focussed on the children’s needs. The manager uses this forum to identify areas of learning and development for the staff. This means that any gaps in the staff’s knowledge or practice are swiftly addressed by the manager. A thorough induction process that all of the staff receive, ensures that the children receive a good level of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that the staff have excellent relationships with professionals who are working with the children. She has developed positive links with the community police officers. The staff contribute to professional meetings and share relevant information about the children. This ensures that the children’s plans are up to date and focused on meeting their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457573 6 When the children are not receiving the service that they should from other agencies, the manager confidently challenges other professionals on the children’s behalf. The manager is equally confident in challenging the senior management team in respect of their views and associated decision-making about children’s moves into and out of the home. This is because she understands the needs of all of the children in the home and wants what is best for them.

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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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being needs of the child are met; 4 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC457573 7 children received advice, service and support in relation to the health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff play a full role in life story work. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)  The registered person should review and update the children’s guide as necessary and make sure the children are given an explanation of any changes. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.23)  The registered person should ensure that the children have an effective introduction to the home, taking into consideration if such an introduction should take place over a period of time. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.8)

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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 for children’s home: SC457573 8

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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

Julia Hagan, Social Care Inspector Paula Kelly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457573 9 regulates and inspects 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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