Children's home run by North East Specialist Therapeutic Services CIC

Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 1 Registered provider: North East Specialist Therapeutic Services CIC 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 offers care for up to two children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in the home during the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2018.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/04/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The atmosphere in the home is calm, inviting and friendly, and the home is well maintained. The child’s views and wishes about the decor of their bedroom have been listened to and their room is personalised. The child said that they feel happy and safe living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s views are central to their care. There is regular formal and informal consultation with the child. Staff empower the child to have a say over their future and engage advocates to provide added support. This means the child feels valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported by a stable and consistent staff team that knows the child well. The child can identify staff who they can trust, and say they feel comfortable talking to staff if they have any worries or concerns. The child knows how to make a complaint and feels comfortable doing so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is evidence of good partnership working with the education provider. Prompt sharing of information has helped the child to keep increasingly safe and make progress. The staff help the child to prioritise homework to help prepare them for exams. This helps the child to achieve and keep focused on their academic targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff meet the child’s complex health needs, including encouragement to lead a healthy lifestyle. Staff ensure that the child attends their health appointments and regularly consult with medical professionals to help keep the child well. The child has been supported by the staff to re-engage with family members who they have not been in touch with for a significant period. The staff consulted with other professionals to make certain that the process was carried out at a pace the child felt comfortable with. This will help give the child a sense of belonging and increase their sense of self and identity.

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

The staff understand the child’s past traumas and the impact that traumas have on their behaviour. The child has been supported to identify situations which may lead to self-injurious behaviour. As a result, there has been a significant reduction in such incidents and the child’s feelings of self-worth have increased.

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

The child benefits from clear and consistent boundaries, which further supports their progress. When incidents occur, the staff undertake direct work with the child to raise the child’s awareness and thus make the child increasingly safer. There have been no incidents of the child needing to be held for their own safety or that of others. Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 4 The staff have access to the child’s social media accounts to complete regular checks. The child responds well to prompts about the risk posed by the internet. The staff are persistent and regularly talk to the child about the importance of keeping safe with regards to social media.

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

The staff encouraged the child to share information about bullying at school. The staff act promptly and liaise closely with the education provider, ensuring that bullying incidents are addressed.

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

The home adheres to safer recruitment practice to ensure that people appointed to work in the home are suitable to be employed and do not pose a risk to children. Health and safety is checked effectively. Regular fire drills are conducted with the child, and staff are aware of the procedures to follow. The manager ensures that any maintenance issues are identified and addressed on time.

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good

The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified for the role. There is a stable and consistent staff team, and this ensures that the child receives consistent care. The staff spoken to during the inspection said they feel well supported by the manager. One staff member said that the home is ‘the best place I have worked’.

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good

The staff work well together. They have positive relationships with one another and the child. Every week, the staff discuss the children with the in-house therapists. This means that the staff are well supported to help the child, particularly when new risks emerge.

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good

The child’s risk assessments are improved but continue to have missing elements. This means that staff do not have all the information needed to prevent some of the key risks to the child. The child’s care plan needs updating so that the staff are fully informed about the child’s targets.

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good

The management review of the quality of care report completed under regulation 45 does not include feedback from the child or family. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to assess the home’s development and the impact of the care offered to the child.

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good

Professionals report particularly good working relationships with the staff team. Staff team meetings and supervision sessions are regular and effective. They focus on the child’s well-being and progress. These meetings encourage staff to reflect on their practice.

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good

The manager has implemented systems to ensure that staff capture the voice of the child and their experiences during their time at the home. This has been achieved through life-story work and key-work sessions. The manager makes effective use of her auditing and monitoring tools. This enables her to have good oversight of the home, staff practice and the child’s progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 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, the 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 26 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b)) 26 December

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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: 1278217 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North East Specialist Therapeutic Services CIC

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 34 Westbourne Road, Hartlepool TS25 5RE

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jason Darbyshire

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Inspector

Ruth Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 7 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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