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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC038557 1 SC038557 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. It provides short-break stays for up to five children who have a sensory impairment, learning disabilities and physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector spoke to three of the five children who were accessing their short- break stays at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The post for a registered manager has been vacant since July 2022.

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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

Dates of last inspection: 23 and 24 August 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Two compliance notices under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) were issued at the last full inspection. This was due to significant shortfalls that were identified in these areas. A monitoring visit was carried out on 18 October 2022. This visit confirmed that the provider had taken sufficient action to meet all the steps in both compliance notices. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038557 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/08/2022 Full Inadequate 02/08/2021 Full Outstanding 26/11/2019 Full Good 11/12/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC038557 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, leaders and staff have worked together to review all aspects of the home. Significant efforts have been made to train the staff and help them to work together to ensure consistent practice. This, combined with clear direction from leaders, means that the staff were well prepared to meet the children’s needs when the home reopened.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with the staff. Warm and friendly staff provide the children with nurturing and supportive care. This helps the children to have a positive experience during their stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff value and support the children’s education. While parents are responsible for their children’s education, the staff play a key role and ensure that the children’s educational needs are met during their stay. The staff work closely with education providers and encourage the children to attend school or participate in learning at the home. This helps the children to overcome barriers to their learning and make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between the home and children’s families are strong. Staff work with the children’s parents to ensure that the children’s moves to and from the home are smooth and child focused. To reduce the number of adults in the children’s lives, the staff collect some of the children from the local schools at the start of their stay. This support also assists some of the children’s parents, who make long journeys for their child to use the service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the role that they play in helping the children to achieve and reach their potential. Staff promote the children’s independence at every opportunity, and they support one child to go shopping and select their meals. Other children are learning how to look after themselves and run a bath. Children are encouraged to develop skills appropriate to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The physical environment of the home feels and looks like a family home. However, the home is looking tired cosmetically, and there are several repairs to be carried out. This does not encourage children to have high aspirations for their future living environment.

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

Children’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans are comprehensive and individualised. Staff regularly review and update these following an incident. Current and responsive risk assessments support the staff to understand the children’s individual risks and help them to keep the children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038557 4 Children’s health needs are now well managed. The leaders have improved the staff’s practice of medication administration. Robust checks take place to ensure that all children receive their correct dose of medication. Medication is stored in a safe place and records are detailed. When there are queries, staff ensure that these are followed up with children’s parents or seek advice from all relevant healthcare professionals.

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

The staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities to safeguard the children. The staff have attended safeguarding training, and safeguarding is discussed as part of the staff’s supervision sessions and during staff team meetings. This practice ensures that the staff know how to keep the children safe, and they teach the children how they can keep themselves safer.

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

Staff work alongside parents and professionals to help the children to achieve their goals. The staff work in partnership with multiple professionals effectively. Parents and a social worker said that they value the difference the staff make to the children’s lives.

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

Records of physical restraint demonstrate that this practice is proportionate and necessary to keep the children safe. Debriefs with the children and the staff are carried out in a timely manner, and good management oversight ensures that the children’s needs and behaviours are managed well.

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

The children’s welfare is taken seriously and promoted. The manager and staff demonstrate a good understanding of the provider’s whistle-blowing procedures, and they respond appropriately when safeguarding concerns arise.

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

Safeguarding concerns are responded to quickly, and subsequent investigations are thorough and involve all the relevant safeguarding agencies. However, the manager has not notified Ofsted of two serious incidents. This oversight has prevented Ofsted from scrutinising how significant incidents and potential safeguarding matters are investigated. This prevents Ofsted from being assured that the manager and staff have consistently taken effective action to safeguard the children.

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

The manager and staff are committed to achieving positive outcomes for the children. They have assessed the environment and changed the way that the children can access and leave the home. However, the manager has failed to seek the consent from the children’s parents to restrict their access in their home. While this has not negatively affected the care that children receive, it could lead to the staff providing inconsistent care.

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good

The responsible individual has clear views and expectations for the home. Despite this, there have been ongoing challenges with the registered manager position. The previous manager left the home in July 2022 and a new manager was appointed Inspection report for children’s home: SC038557 5 and joined the home in August 2022. However, this manager is currently absent from the home, and they have yet to submit their application to register with Ofsted.

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good

In the absence of the manager, the responsible individual and senior managers oversee the operation of the home. Together, they work with the deputy managers and the staff team. However, as the monitoring of the home is carried out by several managers from across the organisation, there are some inconsistencies in the operation of the home and how staff’s practice is monitored and reviewed.

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good

The interim manager has not produced the required quality of care review. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to identify the strengths and areas of development for the home and the staff team. This also prevents Ofsted from having any oversight of the development of the home.

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good

The children do not have an up-to-date guide about what they can expect while they live at this home as the children’s guide is not kept under regular review.

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good

Supervision sessions take place regularly. The deputy mangers have recently reviewed the supervision format and improved this to ensure that the staff’s supervision sessions are reflective and focus on the needs of children.

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good

Team meetings take place regularly. These provide the staff with an opportunity to discuss the approaches that they take to meet the children’s needs. This ensures that the staff’s practice is consistent. These team meetings have also given the leaders and managers a forum to reflect on recent failings in the quality of care provided at the home. Through these meetings, the management team has developed a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Managers now have a clear plan to ensure that there will be further improvements to the service.

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good

Staff now receive a range of training. Most staff have completed the provider’s mandatory training. The training raises the staff’s knowledge and awareness of the issues relevant to the children. Training is adapted in response to the children’s changing needs. The learning from this is implemented in the day-to-day care practice.

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good

Multi-agency working is a strength of the service. The leaders and staff ensure that they work collaboratively with a range of agencies, including schools, health professionals and the behaviour support team. This coordinated approach means that the children’s needs are well met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038557 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 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 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 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)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that the overall appearance of the interior decoration is updated and that individual items of furnishing are replaced. 6 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. 10 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC038557 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21 (c)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that the appropriate consent is obtained from each child’s parents to restrict the child’s access in their home. 10 January 2023

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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

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 10 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (4)(a)) 10 January 2023

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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: SC038557 8

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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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Inspector

Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC038557 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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