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

Inspection report for 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 provides care for up to five children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspectors spoke to all four children who currently live in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 24 November 2020 and is suitably qualified.

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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: 17 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/02/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/10/2019 Full Good 22/01/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC032701 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress and they feel well cared for. The staff provide children with nurturing care. When children experience challenges in their lives, the staff adapt and increase the levels of support according to the child’s needs. One child said, ‘I’m really settled and feel looked after.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are gathered for every stage of their care. This is a strong feature of this home. Children’s ideas, suggestions and complaints are well documented and acted on. One child said, ‘The staff make you feel really involved.’ This helps children to feel empowered to influence what happens in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before children move in, the manager carries out a thorough assessment of how well the staff can meet the child’s needs, and they identify if any additional support is required. The manager considers other factors, such as the needs of the children already living in the home and the staff’s experience and skill set. This helps the manager to plan for children’s admissions and make decisions based on the children’s best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that good communication is maintained with the children’s families, which includes updates on the children’s progress and their well-being. Parents are encouraged to give their views about the difference that the home is making to their child’s life. The manager and staff value this feedback and they use this to influence the children’s care. As a result, parents feel involved in their children’s lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well furnished and has a homely atmosphere. The entrance features a large mural, displaying positive statements for each child. The shared spaces enable children to have visitors, for example family and friends, where they can socialise together and, when appropriate, have privacy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make progress with their education, training and employment. When school-age children are not accessing full-time learning, the staff liaise with the relevant agencies. Staff advocate well for children to receive additional support and, when appropriate, specialist assessments. To improve the children’s education at home, a room has been transformed into a learning zone. Uniquely decorated with bright colours, the room is used for the children to complete schoolwork, group activities and individual discussion sessions with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to understand their life story. The provider has recently introduced a new approach to life-story work, which is based on the child’s individual needs. For example, digital life-story books tell the child’s story using music and photographs. These are in the early stages of development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are individualised and clearly show the children’s needs, the actions that staff should follow and the children’s views. The manager appropriately Inspection report for children’s home: SC032701 4 challenges other agencies when they do not deliver the support according to the child’s care plan. However, in one example, a child’s plan to leave the home was delayed and the agency’s response was unsatisfactory. However, the manager did not escalate the matter further. This results in children experiencing unnecessary delays in their needs being met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s records clearly show the child’s life and their experiences while living in the home. They include a variety of photographs showing positive events such as children’s achievements, holidays and daily life. However, in some written records, there are minor inaccuracies. The manager was informed during the inspection and, where necessary, information was clarified.

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

The children’s welfare is promoted. The staff provide the children with helpful discussions about risks and how to reduce them. The children are involved in their safety planning and they know the actions that the staff will take to help to keep them safe. The children say that they feel safe and that they have positive relationships with the staff. Children feel confident that they can talk to staff about any worries. One child said, ‘They [the staff] don’t judge me.’

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

Incidents of children missing from care have increased. The staff respond appropriately and follow the home’s procedures. This includes searching for the child, and informing relevant professionals and, when appropriate, the child’s family. The staff complete a clear record of the actions taken, which includes key information. When a child returns, they are encouraged to speak with an independent person about their missing-from-care incident. The staff evaluate every incident to look for themes to help them avoid reoccurrence .

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

Risk assessments are good quality. They focus on the children’s individual vulnerabilities and the strategies needed to reduce the identified risks. Staff consistently follow the agreed strategies, and they have a good understanding of how to help the children. Where appropriate, the staff involve specialist services to increase the children’s safety.

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

Children receive praise and encouragement to develop positive behaviour. The staff talk to the children about their behaviour, and they support the children to think about the effect that their behaviour has on themselves and others. In addition, the staff work in partnership with the children’s family and other professionals to identify strategies such as incentive schemes, to encourage the children to behave well.

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

The staff respond appropriately to serious incidents involving the children. Actions taken are clearly recorded. Information is promptly shared with the children’s family and relevant services. However, in one example, the manager did not inform Ofsted of an incident when the police attended the home.

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

The management team uses an effective system to monitor the children’s care with an emphasis on safeguarding, serious incidents, and identification of themes and Inspection report for children’s home: SC032701 5 trends. This enables the manager and staff to be proactive, and to implement new strategies to help reduce the risks to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supported well by two deputy managers and a senior leader. Together, they are passionate about making a difference to the lives of the children living in the home. Using their findings from internal and external audits, the management team know where shortfalls exist and, in consultation with staff, have solutions to address them. This positive culture has resulted in continued improvement in the quality of care that the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is fully staffed with a diverse group of people, who have experience of working with children in residential care. Most of the staff have the required qualification. The remainder are progressing through the course or about to enrol. This helps to ensure that the children receive care from qualified and experienced staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has introduced team meetings and team development days, which take place on a regular basis. This enables staff to spend time together, without the managers, and discuss practice, reflect and strengthen relationships with each other. This results in the staff feeling supported in their role, and confident to talk about practice-related issues and their well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider invests in the staff training to enhance their skills and ability to care for the children. Face-to-face training is provided and a bespoke training package has been introduced for all residential care staff. The staff say that the training is beneficial and helps them to feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors the staff’s training as part of the home development plan. However, the plan does not include the timescales for the staff to achieve induction, probation or the provider’s mandatory training. This means it is not clear when staff development and completion of training is overdue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose is mostly up to date. However, some information about staff training, and consent for surveillance, is not included. In addition, when the statement of purpose is reviewed, it is not sent to Ofsted as required. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032701 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home plays a full part in promoting the best interests of the child, proactively advocating for the child to ensure that others play their role and deliver the high-quality support that is needed. Such partnership working should always take place and include when the child prepares to leave. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.4)  The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is kept up to date and, when reviewed, a copy sent to Ofsted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that the workforce development plan details the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training such as safeguarding, health and safety, and mandatory

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Recommendations

qualifications. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.11)  The registered provider should ensure that all of the children’s records are kept up to date, are clear and are objective. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that they notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40 occurs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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: SC032701 7

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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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Inspectors

Catherine Heron, Social Care Inspector Laura Grundy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC032701 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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