Children's Home run by Newcastle City Council in Newcastle upon Tyne

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033642 1 SC033642 Registered provider: Newcastle City 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 provides care for up to six children with emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were five children living in the home. The inspector observed all the children and spoke with two of them.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is not registered with Ofsted. He has applied for registration.

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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: 28 September 2021

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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: SC033642 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/09/2021 Full Good 06/07/2021 Full Inadequate 16/10/2019 Full Good 04/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC033642 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made good progress and they benefit from living in the home. For some children, this has resulted in significant changes in their lives. One professional said, ‘[Name of child] has finally found the security, which [name of child] has lacked their whole life.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house buzzes with activity. The children enjoy engaging with the staff. They were observed laughing and spending time together. Most children are happy living in the home. One child described it as ‘nice’ and said that everyone gets on well. Another child described themselves as feeling ‘really happy’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager carries out an impact risk assessment to assess the suitability of children before they move into the home. However, sometimes, there are no other options available to the child, which means that they move in despite doubts about compatibility. When this happens, the manager assesses the staff’s ability to meet the child’s needs. He implements additional strategies to support the child, which includes providing additional staff cover and staff training.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported and prepared well to move into the home. The manager meets with the child, consults relevant professionals and, where possible, the child visits the home. Children also receive written information, such as the children’s guide, so that they know what to expect when they arrive. However, in one example, the children’s guide was out of date and was not adapted to meet the child’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to improve their health. They are helped to try new foods, which promotes a more varied diet. The kitchen remains the hub of the house where children learn to cook, spend time with staff and enjoy meals together at the dining table. For some children, they develop personal care skills, and they receive childhood immunisations that they have missed. Other children are supported to understand the negative effects that drug misuse has on their health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive help to make progress with their education and training. This means that some children access education after a long period of absence. The staff help other children to develop ambitions for their future employment. When children experience barriers to education, the manager takes effective action and arranges home learning. Some children are out of education for too long. However, the manager advocates well on behalf of these children and liaises with the relevant professionals to ensure that a suitable provision for the child is identified quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well to spend time with the people who are important to them. The staff understand the importance of children maintaining their links with their family, so they promote family time and help the child to attend. This has resulted in an improvement to some children’s relationships with their family. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033642 4 The staff support children to develop positive friendships in the local community. The staff are curious about who the children spend time with, and they make the time to get to know and understand the children’s friends to ensure that the children are safe. As a result, some children have enjoyed sleepovers at a friend’s home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to influence decisions that affect their day-to-day lives. The manager has improved the complaints process so that the children can easily make a complaint. On the rare occasion that a complaint is made, the manager carries out an investigation and completes a written response to the child. This helps the children to feel empowered and able to influence their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are regularly updated. However, some are lengthy and do not clearly set out the children’s goals and objectives. In addition, they do not link well with the children’s other plans, such as their education, health and care plan (EHC plan). This oversight prevents the staff from having all the relevant information that they need to meet the children’s identified needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The layout and the decor of the home are tired and institutional. The manager and staff are aware of this, and they have tried to make it more homely. To avoid the delays by the provider’s maintenance service, the staff regularly carry out simple repairs and decoration. However, the home environment continues to require improvement.

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

The staff have a good understanding of the children’s individual risks. They consistently implement the strategies required to increase children’s safety. When there are concerns about the children’s well-being, the manager and staff take effective action. As a result, children become increasingly safe.

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

Children are supported to have trusted and long-lasting relationships with the staff. Each child is allocated a key worker who remains in the role for several months, sometimes, years. Key-work sessions are carried out on a regular basis and include direct work with the child to discuss important issues and risks. These relationships support children to feel confident to talk with staff about any worries or concerns that they may have.

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

The staff understand the challenges and adversity experienced by the children and young people leaving care. Therefore, where appropriate, the staff keep in touch with them and offer ongoing support, such as advice, encouragement, and transport to important appointments.

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

Missing-from-home incidents have reduced. For some children, there has been a significant reduction. When children are missing from the home, staff take effective action. They follow the appropriate protocol. They look for the child and inform the relevant professionals, who also help in the search. When the children are found, Inspection report for children’s home: SC033642 5 they are supported to talk about the reasons that they were missing and what could be changed to avoid future recurrence.

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

There has been a reduction in children being involved in crime. However, the police are regularly called to the home to help the staff to manage the children’s behaviour. The manager understands the effect that criminalisation has on the children’s lives, and he is working with the staff and children to address this.

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

To address risk, and following the children’s request, some interior doors in the home are locked at night. The manager has carried out an assessment to inform this decision, and this is reviewed on a regular basis with the children and staff.

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

When children are involved in a serious incident, the staff and the manager complete a written record and inform the relevant agencies, including Ofsted. However, some incidents are not reported to Ofsted in the recommended 24 hours. This means that Ofsted cannot scrutinise the information in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has been without a registered manager for some time. However, a new manager has been appointed. He has experience of working in residential care and has the required qualification in management. He has applied to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good leadership skills, and he prioritises the children’s needs. He communicates clearly with the staff, and he leads by example so that the staff understand what is expected and where practice should improve. The manager has developed good relationships with the children. He joins in activities with them and listens to their ideas and views.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that the change in management is positive and they feel supported to carry out their role. Most staff supervision is up to date. Staff are supported to reflect on their practice, discuss the children and consider the safeguarding arrangements. Tasks are agreed and reviewed at the next supervision session, so staff development and progress are monitored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have good communication with other agencies, and they consult them on a regular basis. When shortfalls emerge in the quality of the service provided to the children by other agencies, the manager formally addresses these and escalates the matters appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses the internal and external monitoring systems well to review the quality of care that the children receive. These systems enhance the manager’s understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. In addition, a new independent visitor has been commissioned to carry out monthly visits. The manager values the feedback and uses this to make further improvements in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033642 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s EHC plans and personal education plans are included in children’s files and linked to children’s plans. 26 August 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s plans form the basis of their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. The home must comply with relevant health and safety legislation, such as alarms and food hygiene. However, in doing so, the home should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is available to all children when their placement in the home is agreed (or on arrival at the home if the placement is made in an emergency) and is age appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure that they understand

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Recommendations

it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.12)  The registered person should agree procedures and guidance on police involvement with the home with their local police force, to reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing behaviour and criminalisation of behaviours. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.40)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious incidents are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the incident occurs at the weekend or on a Inspection report for children’s home: SC033642 7 public holiday. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.3)

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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: SC033642 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Newcastle City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Newcastle Civic Centre, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8QH

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Inspector

Catherine Heron, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033642 9 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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