Children's Home run by Highfield North East Limited in Redcar and Cleveland

Inspection report for children’s home: SC476512 1 SC476512 Registered provider: Highfield (North East) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to five children who may have social, emotional or mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2021.

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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: SC476512 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/06/2022 Full Good 28/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC476512 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children say that staff help them and make sure that they are okay, for example if upset. Staff are supportive towards children and understand their individual needs. One child said, ‘They are like family to me.’ This means that children feel cared for by adults who take the time to get to know them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend full-time education and make progress academically. Their attendance improves because of the encouragement staff provide. Staff encourage the children to access further learning courses in line with their interests. This means that children can meet their academic potential to prepare them for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in the home for a long time, which helps them to build relationships and supports them to make gradual progress. Parents and professionals comment positively on the progress the children have made. Staff have open discussions with children about any worries they may have and offer supportive advice. This helps children to understand and learn from issues that arise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children approach adulthood, staff support them to develop skills to live independently. The registered manager strongly advocates to ensure that children move into suitable adult accommodation. Staff continue to keep in touch with young people who have left the home. This enables children to feel supported by caring adults even after they have left.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children access a variety of activities. Staff promote incentives for positive behaviour for children to access special treats. Adults celebrate children accessing and achieving milestones such as attending the school prom. Staff ensure that photos are taken to capture these memories for the children. This supports children to enjoy the time they spend living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is very large and maintained to a good standard. Staff encourage children to personalise their bedrooms. The children have a range of places to relax, and the managers have plans to make the garden more accessible.

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

Staff ensure that children spend time with the people who are important to them. Caring adults take time to develop relationships with parents. One parent said, ‘They are not just there for [name of child], they are there for me too.’ This enables children to see positive relationships between carers and family.

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

Staff ensure that children have behaviour management plans and risk assessments. Staff seek children’s views to inform plans about them. These plans are regularly Inspection report for children’s home: SC476512 4 reviewed to reflect current and previous worries. This means that staff know how to support the children when worries or behaviours arise.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, staff act quickly to locate them. They work closely with partner agencies to ensure a coordinated response. Staff support children to have the opportunity to speak to someone independently. When children decline this, staff discuss the missing-from-care episode with children, which prevents further incidents.

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

When children make allegations about staff practice, managers act quickly. Leaders and managers carry out robust investigations. Investigations have clear outcomes to address shortfalls in practice. Managers implement changes from lessons learned following such incidents. This means that managers are reflective and want to improve for the children and staff.

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

Staff only hold children when there is a risk to the child or others. Staff attempt to use de-escalation techniques in line with the children’s plans. However, on some occasions, staff contact the police for assistance. Staff do not always record incidents of physical intervention accurately. Incidents are discussed with the children, but this is not always by someone independent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff like working at the home. They describe managers as ‘approachable’ and ‘supportive’. The manager is committed to supporting the children. One staff member said, ‘She (registered manager) is brilliant with the kids, she has a great way of explaining things to them.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been changes in the staff team but there is now a stable team supporting the children. The managers support when staffing shortfalls arise to ensure that there is no requirement to use agency staff. This means that children have consistent adults caring for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When staff join the home, they receive a planned and supported induction. This provides them the opportunity to gain knowledge about the home and the children’s needs. Staff access training to support them to care for the children. This means that children receive care from knowledgeable and skilled staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that staff receive regular supervision. The deputy manager aims to ensure that staff can speak openly during these sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager regularly completes a review of the quality of care report. However, there is a lack of analysis. An independent person carries out regular visits. However, they have missed opportunities to privately speak to children and gather consistent feedback from others. There is a lack of escalation from leaders and managers to address this. Both aspects prevent the service improving its quality of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476512 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 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

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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the independent person seeks consistent feedback from others involved in the lives of the children and provides scrutiny to ensure continuous improvement. The registered person must ensure there is analysis of feedback to inform the review of the quality of care reports. 13 May 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are accurate regarding the details of the incident and the measure used. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: SC476512 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Highfield (North East) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 37 Emerald Street, Saltburn by the Sea, Cleveland TS12 1EE

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Inspector

Jess Elliott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC476512 7 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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