Children's home run by Highfield North East Limited in Redcar and Cleveland

Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 1 SC408656 Registered provider: Highfield (North East) Limited 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 provider. It provides care for up to four children who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified for this role.

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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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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

Date of last inspection: 5 November 2019

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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: SC408656 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2019 Full Good 12/03/2019 Full Good 16/10/2017 Full Good 13/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress as a result of living in the home. Children who are new to the home are quick to build positive relationships with staff. This is because staff are positive role models and provide the children with nurturing care. Children make happy memories with staff and enjoy spending time together taking part in activities such as go karting, boxing lessons and horse riding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend their education placements and make good progress. When children are first admitted to the home they take part in multi-agency meetings to look at their education and learning needs, and they help to develop plans to meet these needs. This approach means that children learn the value and importance of education and are supported to continue their learning to achieve their future career aims. One child said, ‘Staff listen to you here. I had been out of education for a while and I have come here and they have sorted it for me and I am now enrolled to start college.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have regular opportunities, during one-to-one sessions, to discuss their wishes and feelings. Children are able to explore their worries and concerns and look at ways to overcome these. Staff also use these sessions to work with children to address any behaviours that are unacceptable, such as bullying, and help them to understand how these behaviours have an impact on others. This approach helps children to express their opinions and also consider the views of others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. They are generally fit. They take regular exercise, eat a balanced diet and lead healthy lifestyles. When children need additional mental and emotional health support, staff complete relevant referrals to external specialists. This means that children are able to quickly access the support that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported with their independence. They learn cooking skills and help to keep their bedrooms and communal areas clean and tidy, and they help to invest in the home. One child has secured a part-time job and also volunteers at a community centre. This is a great opportunity for this child as this experience reflects their future career plans.

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

Risk assessments do not always provide staff with clear guidance to follow in order to manage and reduce risks to children’s safety. These documents do not include the details of all known risks, or they include risks that are not relevant to the child. This is confusing for staff and does not provide an accurate picture of the factors that may place children at risk of harm. Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 4 Children’s plans do not always provide staff with the information that they need to effectively manage children’s behaviours. Some plans use generic language and statements, such as ‘staff to use de-escalation techniques’, without detailing what these techniques are or explain their use of language in the plans. This is not helpful for staff and could lead to inconsistent approaches to managing children’s behaviours.

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

The use of physical restraint is rare. When restraint is used, these incidents are well documented and include the actions staff have taken to de-escalate the situation and to keep children safe. Staff and children participate in debriefs following all incidents of restraint. This ensures that all involved have the opportunity to learn from the incident.

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

There were a high number of missing-from-care incidents that relate to a child who has now left the home. In these circumstances, staff followed the protocols in place and worked collaboratively with the child’s social worker and local police teams. This meant that the child was quickly located and returned safely to the home. However, for children recently admitted, there are no missing-from-care protocols in place. Consequently, staff are unaware of the actions to take, and this may place children at risk of harm.

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

Leaders and managers promptly act on allegations made by children. These are addressed through a multi-agency approach and in consultation with the local authority designated officer. This means that the child is kept increasingly safe following any allegation of harm and re-enforces to the child that they are listened to and what they say is taken seriously.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager are well respected by staff and other professionals. They both have a hands-on approach and lead by example. This way of working ensures that staff are consistent in their approach and encourages the nurturing ethos that is prevalent in the home. This creates a culture where there are high aspirations for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment procedures are mostly followed. However, there was one occasion when managers did not verify a staff member’s historical employment with vulnerable adults and children. This missing information means that the suitability of this member of staff cannot be determined.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the home in order to ensure that all health and safety checks are completed. This means that children live in a safe home. The manager knows the strengths of the service and acts on any identified shortfalls without delay. This means the home continues to develop to meet children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 5 Staff receive continuous training and benefit from regular team meetings and formal supervision sessions. These are focused and reflective, they provide staff with guidance and they support their development. Children’s progress and safeguarding concerns are standing agenda topics for all team meetings. This means that staff are kept up to date with all significant matters relating to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff induction booklet is informative and provides staff with the information they need regarding the day-to-day operation of the home and the legal expectations. This information is essential for their role and helps staff to develop their skill base to ensure that they are able to meet children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 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 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

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

help each child to understand how to keep safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that missing- from-care protocols are in place when children are admitted to the home. Also, ensure that children’s risk assessments are accurate and represent risks to children’s safety. 17 March 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.

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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 each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans include relevant techniques for staff to follow to care and support the children when they are upset or angry. 17 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 7 The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (2)(a)(b) (3)(d)) 17 March 2022

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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: SC408656 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Highfield (North East) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 37 Emerald Street, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Cleveland TS12 1EE

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Inspector

Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 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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