Children's Home run by St Cuthbert’s Care in Newcastle upon Tyne

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 1 SC033467 Registered provider: St Cuthbert’s Care Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a charity and provides care for up to six children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke with both children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on the 20 September 2019.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2022 Full Good 25/01/2022 Full Good 29/01/2020 Full Good 07/08/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children currently live in the home. It is a strength that children are supported to build trusting and secure relationships with staff. Therefore, children are making good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well as a team and with professionals to ensure that children receive individualised care and support. The property has accommodation for older children to develop their independent living skills in a safe environment with support from staff. This helps children to develop the skills they need for their future, before moving into their next home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to the views and wishes of children and involve them in day-to-day decisions about their home and care plans. Staff will advocate on behalf of a child to ensure that they have the right services involved to meet their needs. This helps children to feel that their voice is valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s health appropriately and ensure that children attend regular appointments with health professionals. This includes working in partnership with therapeutic services to support children with their emotional health needs. This joint working raises staff’s understanding of children’s needs and how they can better support children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend school and maintain a good attendance record. Staff support children’s learning at home and contribute to meetings about children’s education and development. This helps to improve children’s educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive time with their families. One parent described the home and staff as a ‘second family’ for their child. They said, ‘I have always looked at them as more than a care home, they were my eyes and ears that helped my heart when [name of child] lived with them’. The success of staff in promoting good communication with families supports children in maintaining those important relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote positive endings to children’s placement with them when this is possible. They contribute to transition plans to support the child through change. Not all children’s placements end in a planned way. Therefore, leaders and managers consider lessons learned to try to prevent similar experiences for children.

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

Staff understand the risks to children in their care. Children’s risk assessments and safety plans are kept up to date so that all staff are aware of and respond to children’s changing needs. This shows that children’s safety and well-being remain a priority for staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 4 Staff receive training to better meet children’s needs and provide a consistent approach to children in their care. Therefore, staff can recognise how children’s individual circumstances and childhood experiences impact on their behaviour. This helps staff to better support children when they are emotionally distressed or angry.

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

As a result of the training that staff receive, physical intervention techniques are rarely used in the home. All incidents are recorded appropriately with oversight from the manager. The team tries to manage children’s behaviours without external intervention, which demonstrates an emphasis on de-escalating any behaviours of concern. Therefore, children are able to learn the skills to manage their own emotions.

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

Consequences are used appropriately to help children learn from their behaviour. Any incidents of significance are discussed with the child’s social worker. Children are regularly rewarded for positive behaviour, which increases their confidence and helps them to feel valued.

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

Incidents where children go missing from home are rare. There are robust procedures in place for staff to follow, which ensures that children’s safety is a priority. Children are offered independent return home interviews to gather information about where children have been. This allows staff to monitor incidents, keep partner agencies informed and better safeguard children.

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

Room searches take place when there is a safeguarding concern. On some occasions, an immediate search is required, and staff record the reason for this. However, staff do not record whether a child’s permission has been sought or if they have provided an opportunity for the child to share their views. This could mean that children are not informed when adults are in their personal space.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced manager and her deputy. Feedback from staff suggests that the manager leads by example, is supportive and investigates any concerns thoroughly if raised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers support the staff through regular supervision and team meetings. This provides an opportunity for staff to reflect on their practice and children’s experiences. New members of staff benefit from an induction programme and opportunities to shadow experienced members of staff. This supports them while they develop their skills and relationships with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment practice ensures that adults who are caring for children are appropriate for this role. Managers support the staff to achieve the necessary qualifications to safely care for children and provide them training opportunities to develop their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 5 Important information relating to a child’s needs is not always recorded accurately or consistently across the child’s documentation. The manager’s monitoring system has not been effective in identifying shortfalls in children’s files being kept up to date or containing all relevant information. This could lead to children’s needs not being understood and met effectively by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that their statement of purpose is revised, nor have they provided this to Ofsted. This has prevented the regulator from scrutinising its content. This also means that out-of-date information may be sent to stakeholders who are looking to commission specific services for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 7 June 2023

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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, ensure that children’s individual needs and vulnerabilities are accurately reflected throughout their files and that discussions with children are recorded. 7 June 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms are not generally entered without their permission; however, it may be necessary to establish routines to allow for rooms to be cleaned regularly. Usually, rooms should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20) Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 7

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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: SC033467 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: St Cuthbert’s House, West Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE15 7PY

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Inspector

Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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