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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC038564 1 SC038564 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

This home is operated and managed by a local authority. It is registered to provide short-term care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2003.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home at the time of this 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 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: 7 November 2022

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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: SC038564 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/11/2022 Full Good 31/08/2021 Full Good 01/10/2019 Full Good 29/08/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC038564 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live at the home for a short length of time until they know which permanent home they will be moving to. Children have full knowledge that their stay is time limited. The open and honest communication helps children to build strong relationships with staff swiftly. Some children said that they would prefer the home to be a long-term option for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to share their views about the home. A new games room has been designed by the children, which helps them to feel that they have ownership of their home. Additionally, one child has chaired their own looked after review meetings. This helps to improve children’s self-esteem as they can see that their views are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff treat children with dignity and respect. Children are supported to develop a positive view of themselves as staff provide care that is sensitive to each child’s identity. Children are supported to attend specialist health appointments to improve their health and well-being. Additionally, staff accompany children to the gym, which helps to educate them to make healthier lifestyle choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education. Staff remove any practical barriers, such as transport issues, to ensure that children can participate in their education. Staff maintain strong communication with education staff. This collaborative approach ensures that children receive consistent responses. Education professionals speak highly of the staff at the home and the care that the children receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Additionally, children are supported to continue to learn after they leave school. Two children have secured apprenticeship opportunities, which helps them to experience a sense of achievement and responsibility. This increases children’s aspirations and lifelong opportunities for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to prepare to move out of the home. Some children are resistant to move, and staff use strategies to help provide reassurance. This includes visits and information about their new home to help minimise the trauma that a further move can create.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s personalities and interests. Planned activities help children to enjoy their hobbies and have fun. However, staff do not capture important memories or events that contribute to each child’s life story. This limits opportunities to show the children that their experiences at the home are important.

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

Staff understand children’s risks. Children have individualised risk assessments that are specific to their needs and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are regularly Inspection report for children’s home: SC038564 4 reviewed and updated. This helps staff to respond to children’s presenting needs and helps to reduce risks.

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

Children said that they feel safe living at the home and can identify an adult who they can trust and talk to. Most of the children identified numerous members of staff. This means that children feel confident in seeking support from adults who care for them.

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

Children are supported to take age-appropriate risks when spending time in the community. Children rarely go missing from the home. There are clear procedures and plans in place should this occur. Staff understand actions to take to help locate children who go missing. Effective communication with family members when this occurs helps to ensure children’s safe and swift return.

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

Physical holds are used as a last resort when de-escalation strategies have not been successful. Staff understand the emotional impact on a child who has been held. Children are given an opportunity to share their views with an impartial person. This helps children to make sense of what has happened and assists in restoring relationships.

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

When risks to children increase, the registered manager and leadership team act promptly to review safeguarding measures. This includes requesting specialist services and sourcing additional staff as support.

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

Agency staff are used as a last resort and are appointed as part of the local authority’s recruitment. However, the registered manager does not enquire about any international checks when staff have lived and worked in other countries. This means that the registered manager cannot be certain that adults working in the home are safe and appropriate.

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

Children have access to communal areas of the home where they can enjoy spending time together. However, some doors are routinely locked during the evening. This prevents children from freely accessing parts of their home. The registered manager knows the potential risks to the children due to the location of the home. However, he does not balance these risks with the restrictions placed on children’s access to all areas of their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from a stable and consistent leadership team. Leaders and managers work well together. This provides a predictable environment for the children and models good practice for staff to follow. The leadership team recognises staff’s strengths and addresses any poor practice through supervision and formal procedures. This helps to ensure that adults caring for the children can fulfil their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported in their role. They say that the leadership team is supportive and has an open-door policy. This helps staff to be confident to seek Inspection report for children’s home: SC038564 5 advice that will help them care for the children who live at the home. Additionally, this improves staff morale, which results in a cordial atmosphere in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions with staff take place on a regular basis, which allows discussions around staff’s well-being and provides learning opportunities. Regular reflective discussions and team meetings provide opportunities to discuss children’s progress and actions for staff to help children. This helps to provide consistent responses to children and supports relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager communicates with professionals and family members of the children. Family members said that they receive regular updates about their child. The registered manager carries out a quality of care review but does not include consultation with others as part of this oversight. This is a missed opportunity to consider information that could further improve the service and the care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff have made improvements to provide a more homely environment, which includes new bathrooms and kitchen. However, areas of the home are institutionalised, such as internal fire doors. Additionally, communal areas of the home need repair and maintenance. These features detract from a homely environment. The senior leadership team is aware of the issues and there is a corporate response to address these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and leadership team have a good understanding of the care children are receiving and any incidents that happen. However, the registered manager has insufficient audit tools in place to ensure that children’s records are up to date and contain all statutory documents. Additionally, errors in records suggest that bedroom searches have been carried out when they have not. This creates ambiguity in records. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038564 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 4 December 2023

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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

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and 4 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC038564 7 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)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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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 intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 4 December 2023

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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 quality of care provided for children;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 4 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC038564 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets children’s needs. The registered person should ensure that, as far as possible, a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression is maintained. The registered person should ensure that repairs and general maintenance are addressed promptly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand their important role in encouraging children to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. In particular, staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them to record significant life events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: SC038564 9

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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

Cat Makel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC038564 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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