Children's home run by South Tyneside Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2718853 1 Registered provider: South 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.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection since the home was registered in July 2023. The manager was also registered in July 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection. One child has recently moved out.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2718853 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good relationships between the children and staff have developed over time. This helps children feel settled as they know staff are there to support them. Staff know the children well. They have good knowledge about the children’s needs and how to look after them. Staff care about the children, they want them to do well and want the best for them. Children speak to staff when they feel stressed or at times of crisis. Staff reassure the children, which helps them to remain calm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been absent from education for lengthy periods of time. One child returned to an education provision but stopped attending again. Another is on a reduced timetable to help them re-engage with education. Staff look for alternative ways to support children through vocational courses, home and online learning. Staff look for courses in the area that interest the child to help them to develop new skills. This provides improved opportunities for children’s future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s health and well-being and make sure that important health appointments are kept, and treatment given. One child’s fear of the dentist led to cancelled appointments. When there is some reluctance to go to certain health appointments, staff remain consistent in their approach. This helps children to go for treatment and to overcome their fears.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are reluctant to have formal house meetings to share views. Staff find other ways to get the children to say what they think about living at the home. This is usually done through informal chats. For example, one child likes to watch films and have a pamper night. Staff use these relaxed opportunities to talk and find out the children’s views. This makes sure that children’s wishes and feelings are heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see their families. Arrangements are flexible, suiting the age and independence of the children. Families said that they have good relationships with staff, who provide a lot of support. One parent said they could see how much better their child is emotionally and that staff really care about them.

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

Staff have a good understanding about the current vulnerabilities for the children. Individualised plans underpin the support provided by staff. The team is not judgemental, which encourages children to talk to staff about their worries. This helps children feel supported and well cared for.

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

Recently, the number of times a child goes missing from home has increased. Staff try to establish why this is happening and whether there are any people influencing the child. Staff are aware of their responsibilities to find the child if they are missing. Their actions reduce the harm that children may face while missing. Inspection report for children’s home: 2718853 3 Staff talk to children about the behaviours that could place them at risk of harm. Staff encourage children to make good decisions and stay away from risky situations. When needed, staff attend meetings with the placing authority so that other professionals can discuss and agree how best to keep children safer. This offers a multi-agency approach.

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

Staff manage children’s behaviour by talking, giving reassurance and redirecting them. These are some of the techniques used so that staff do not need to intervene physically. This is particularly important for one child, given their previous negative experiences. Staff are mindful that they do not want children to relive traumatic events through being physically held. This supports children’s emotional well-being.

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

Staff encourage children to manage their feelings and emotions. Informal chats and more formal discussions help children to become more open. Staff do not shy away from having difficult discussions, for example talking about a court summons and custodial sentences. This helps children understand the consequences of their actions.

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

However, one child has smoked cannabis in the garden on at least three occasions. This has gone unchallenged by staff. Although use is not frequent, this gives the children a confused message, particularly when staff are encouraging them to stop smoking cannabis. It also does not promote a healthy environment at the home.

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

Complaints are taken seriously. The manager and leadership team have followed the process for a complaint received. This was investigated properly, along with a discussion with the local authority designated officer. This ensures that the correct approach is taken to help keep children safer.

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good

When a new child is to move to the home, the manager completes an assessment to consider if children can live together and that the staff team can meet the child’s needs. However, the manager’s assessment completed for the most recent child did not support the two children living together. Senior leaders moved the child into the home despite this negative assessment, which found that this was an unsuitable match. This had a detrimental impact on the children and overstretched resources of the team.

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good

There are some shortfalls with the monitoring and oversight of the management team. The care and safety plan for one child has not been updated. It does not reflect the current risk of the child going missing from home. Additionally, the local authority care plan is out of date as it talks about previous arrangements.

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good

Although staff have supervision sessions, they do not include reflective discussions to help staff think about their own practice. Learning opportunities are therefore missed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2718853 4 Sleeping arrangements for staff are not good enough. One member of staff sleeps in the dining room on a camp bed. Staff lock the dining room doors at night for privacy. This has an impact on the children who are unable to access this part of their home. Staff are not provided with good sleeping facilities, and the use of the dining room as a bedroom has an impact on the homely environment.

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good

The manager is enthusiastic about what he does. He wants the best for the children and is committed to providing good care. He is supported well by two deputy managers, who share his passion.

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good

The staff team works well together. Staff are happy with the support from the management and leadership team. The team is child centred. Staff write about children in a way that is useful for them. This is consistent across all the records seen. Children can access their records in later life and understand their time in the home. This is important, as they can understand their journey through care.

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good

Professionals spoke positively about the staff and say that the children are well cared for. They have confidence in the staff’s ability to meet children’s needs both on a day-to-day basis and when in crisis. Inspection report for children’s home: 2718853 5

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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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; and

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)) 30 April 2024

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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)) 30 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2718853 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff work to make the children’s home an environment that supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health, in line with the approach set out in the home’s Statement of Purpose. This relates to making sure that there are clear guidelines about children’s smoking and cannabis use at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that the design of the home provides staff that sleep in the home overnight with appropriate accommodation and facilities to do so. This relates to making sure that there are adequate sleeping arrangements for staff that do not impact on the children’s home when two children are living there. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.26)

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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: 2718853 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: South Tyneside Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: FAO Beverley Scanlon, Learning and Early Help, Town Hall & Civic Offices, Westoe Road, South Shields, Tyne and Wear NE33 2RL

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Inspector

Miriam Dolman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2718853 8 regulates and inspects 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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