Children's Home run by HMO NE Ltd in North Tyneside

Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 1 Registered provider: HMO NE Limited 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 is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have social or emotional difficulties, learning disabilities and/or a sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted on 13 July 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector spoke to the two children who were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children move into the home in a considered and planned way. While one child has moved out of the home in an unplanned way, the staff have done all that they can to support the child to have a smooth transition into their new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and content in the home and have positive relationships with the staff. The home is spacious and offers shared areas for the children to spend time together. There are spaces for individual activities and quieter times. Children’s bedrooms reflect their personal preferences and interests. This helps the children to feel settled and have a sense of ownership over their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and the staff are proactive in working in partnership with the children’s education providers. Due to the children’s needs and experiences, they require bespoke education packages. The staff put additional measures in place to support the children to maintain their school placements. For example, the staff remain close to one child’s school. This allows the staff to offer additional support and reassurance to the child should they become upset and distressed during their school day. This enables the child to refocus and achieve attendance for the full day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. Work is being done with the children on helping them to understand puberty. The staff have adapted resources and materials relating to this topic effectively so that each child can understand what this may mean for them. Staff use social stories to help the children to understand the changes to their bodies and how to manage these. Social stories are also used to help the children to understand their goals and what is planned to take place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s individual identity is valued and promoted. Staff recognise the importance of supporting the children to explore their gender identity and sexuality. Staff embrace the fluidity of the children’s identities. Because of this, children feel accepted and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to keep in touch with the people who are important to them. Good organisation and communication with the children’s families ensures that their family time is well planned, supported and enjoyed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s day-to-day records provide a good reflection of their experiences of living at the home. Children are supported to take part in variety of activities that they enjoy and are interested in.

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

Staff know and understand the children’s needs and vulnerabilities that may place the child at risk of harm. The children’s plans clearly set out the actions that the staff must take to manage the children’s risks. These plans are reviewed and revised Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 4 to ensure that the actions keep children safe. One child said, ‘I have been most settled since moving into the home. I feel safe here.’

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

Children have a safe presence in the online world. The staff seek out information to assess and address any potential risks to the children. Staff teach the children how to keep themselves safe online. In preparation for living independently, children are encouraged to take responsibility for using their mobile phones appropriately. This allows children suitable levels of freedom in a safe environment to take age- appropriate risks.

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

Some children have worries and struggles and engage in self-harming behaviours. The staff support and monitor these children closely. The staff support the children to learn new practical skills and strategies for managing their emotions and mental health. This approach to behaviour management has contributed to an overall reduction in the level of self-harm incidents in the home. This has led to a calmer atmosphere in the home. As a result, children are better protected.

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

Staff help the children to understand the impact of their behaviour. The staff use consequences that are restorative and fair. However, the manager has missed an opportunity to demonstrate that they have reviewed the effectiveness of this practice, as the records do not include the manager’s review.

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

The manager considers the needs of the child before they move into the home. However, the manager has missed an opportunity to consider how the new child’s needs may affect the needs of the children who already live in the home in this process. This oversight prevents the manager from being assured that she and the staff can meet the children’s individual and competing needs as identified in the home’s statement of purpose.

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good

The manager does not have a monitoring tool in place to ensure that the staff receive regular support and supervision. Therefore, staff supervision sessions are not regular, and they do not take place in line with the commitments identified in the home’s statement of purpose. New staff are not consistently offered more- frequent supervision sessions to support and review their work. In addition, the records of staff supervision sessions do not consistently demonstrate that staff have had the opportunity to reflect individually on their practice and consider the needs of the children in their care. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to address individual practice issues and generate clear plans to enable the staff to develop their performance.

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good

The manager cannot be assured that she and the staff are providing care in line with the children’s most up-to-date care plans as the children’s records do not include important documents. Children’s files do not include their most recent looked after children’s review minutes, their healthcare plan, and their education, health and care plans. The manager has failed to request these documents. Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 5 The manager does not consistently follow safe recruitment processes. Gaps in the staff’s employment history have not been fully explored prior to new staff starting to work in the home. This increases the risk of children being cared for by inappropriate adults.

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good

The manager is quick to escalate concerns when agencies do not act in the best interests of the children. The manager ensures that regular meetings are held to review any concerns so that clear timescales are set for resolving any shortfalls.

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good

Children are cared for by competent staff. The provider’s training package responds to, and meets, the children’s presenting needs. The staff are committed to their ongoing learning, and they are up to date with the provider’s mandatory training.

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good

Staff feel supported and report that staff morale is high at the home. The monthly staff meetings are structured and informative. They provide the staff with a forum to develop strategies to meet the ever-changing needs of the children and discuss the progress that the children make.

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good

Professionals are positive about the home environment, the staff and the care that the children receive. The professionals attribute this good-quality care to the progress that the children make.

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good

The leadership team is committed to achieving positive outcomes for the children. The registered manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. She is supported to make the improvements in the home by a competent deputy manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 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

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that the children’s looked after review documents, their looked after healthcare assessment and their education, health and care plans are obtained and kept up to date. 1 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must escalate their concerns to the director of children’s services of the placing authority when documents such as the children’s looked after review minutes, their looked after healthcare assessment and their education, health and care plans are not received in reasonable time. 1 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 1 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 7 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; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that all employment gaps are fully explored before the applicant takes up employment in the home. 1 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 1 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 8 In particular, the registered provider must ensure that all staff receive regular practice-related supervision as set out in the provider’s statement of purpose.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should only accept placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: 2676045 9

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Inspectors

Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 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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