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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 1 SC068243 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

The home is operated and managed by a local authority to provide care for up to six children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspectors spoke to all six children during this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There is an acting manager in post who is in the process of applying to be registered.

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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: 18 January 2022

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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 for children’s home: SC068243 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2022 Full Good 21/05/2019 Full Good 03/07/2018 Full Good 31/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 3

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improvement to be good

Most of the children’s bedrooms need attention, as they are damaged and unkempt. This is because the staff do not take responsibility when children are unable to maintain their own rooms. Some of the communal areas are pleasant, while others have required repair for a considerable time. The manager’s plan to improve the home has not been actioned. Consequently, children experience living in a run-down home.

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improvement to be good

Recordings of key-work sessions fail to capture what has been discussed with the children. Key-work sessions do not always focus on pertinent topics, which is a missed opportunity to proactively provide the children with information and support.

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improvement to be good

Education is promoted and the children’s attendance and achievements are celebrated. Incentives help to motivate the children with their education and support them to make continued educational progression.

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improvement to be good

Staff patiently and sensitively help the children to adjust to their new surroundings when they move into the home. The support that the children receive helps them to build trusting relationships with staff at their own pace. Children are given a children’s guide when they move into the home. However, the guide holds outdated information, which limits the usefulness of this resource for the children.

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improvement to be good

When safeguarding concerns arise, there is not always sufficient curiosity to explore the support that the children may need. The manager has not escalated her concerns following a lack of response from a professional regarding a safeguarding incident. Written accounts of serious incidents are inconsistent, and two serious incidents have not been notified to Ofsted. Collectively, these shortfalls demonstrate that safeguarding processes are not always actioned promptly.

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improvement to be good

Children’s known risks and vulnerabilities are not always included in their risk assessments. This prevents the staff from having the information that they may need to understand the risks that the children face, and what they must do to keep the children safe.

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improvement to be good

A review of recruitment processes found that one Disclosure and Barring Service certificate has not been seen in its original form, and no further check to confirm the validity of the content of this document has been made. Further checks could further minimise any potential risks to children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 4 Staff support and encourage children to attend routine and specialist health services. Guest speakers at children’s meetings provide an alternative way for children to learn about the effects of choices on their health. Some children have reduced issues with drug misuse, which is progress from their starting point.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to learn life skills around the home, including doing laundry and cooking. Staff arrange baking events which the children take part in. These provide opportunities for children to learn together while having fun.

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good

The registered manager left on 1 March 2022. Senior leaders oversaw the management of the home after this time. The new manager took up the post in April 2022.

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good

Senior leaders have failed to complete actions identified by a health and safety professional in February 2022. The manager responded immediately and addressed a serious concern with a fire exit during the inspection. While some actions have yet to be addressed, these do not expose children to risk.

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good

Supervision sessions, which are held regularly, are used to challenge staff when poor practice is identified. However, records of these discussions are often mostly a replicate version of the previous session. This devalues the supervision process.

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good

None of the staff have received an annual review of their practice. This means that there is not sufficient focus on supporting the staff to develop in their roles.

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good

The manager is devising a new system to monitor the care that the children receive. Therefore, the effectiveness of these processes cannot be assessed. However, the manager’s process to scrutinise consequences imposed on children by staff, does not consider the effectiveness of these measures. Therefore, this practice is not subject to sufficient scrutiny to help to ensure that it is fair and proportionate.

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good

The manager had identified some of the shortfalls raised, and has developed an action plan to address these issues. The manager discussed how he proposes to incorporate the other shortfalls raised into the improvement plan, to raise the standard of care that the children receive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 5

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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 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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the children receive sufficiently thorough key-work sessions that focus on their individual needs.

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Requirement Due date

This also specifically relates to ensuring that the damage to the home is addressed.

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Requirement Due date

This also specifically relates to ensuring that the staff take responsibility for maintaining the children’s bedrooms and offer support to maintain bedrooms when necessary. 28 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 6 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

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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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;

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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)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(d)) 31 July 2022

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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

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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)(h)) 28 August 2022

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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; and 28 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 7 have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the staff received in- depth, quality supervision.

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Requirement Due date

This also specifically relates to ensuring that the staff have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised annually.

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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

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)) 28 August 2022

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to,

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered

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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

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 28 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is reviewed and updated, as necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.23)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 60, paragraph 13.1)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all the children’s case records are kept up to date and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, 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: SC068243 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Tyneside Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Quadrant, Cobalt Business Park, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear NE27 0BY

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Inspectors

Paula Kelly, Social Care Inspector Aasia Hussain, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 10 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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